Built to lead (Image: Thinkstock)

One of the most appealing characteristics of professional sports is the idea that there’s a meritocracy in place—the best players get to play. But one thing you won’t see amidst the pageantry this weekend as the New York Giants face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI is an African American taking the snaps.

While both teams boast elite starting quarterbacks, this coveted position has often eluded many black athletes—particularly at the professional level. As the field generals of the team, a study indicates that racial stereotyping is playing a role. And this same stereotype is what results in so few African Americans at the upper echelons of the corporate hierarchy. Case in point, African Americans make up nearly 13% of the US population; but in 2009 only 1% of the CEOs of the largest 500 publicly traded companies were black.

In the study, published by the Academy of Management Journal, more than 600 sports news articles representing all 119 NCAA Division I colleges were analyzed. “We cast a fairly wide net and again what allowed us to do this was that, there are 80-plus white quarterbacks, there are 30-plus black quarterbacks, and so we really wanted to capture this phenomenon, and we wanted to do it at the highest level of college football,” says Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, a professor of organizational behavior at Duke University, and one of the two authors of “Explaining Bias Against Black Leaders: Integrating Theory on Information Processing and Goal-Based Stereotyping.”

Rosette adds that despite that the most recent Heisman Trophy winners, Robert Griffin and Cam Newton, are both African American quarterbacks. “We don’t believe this negates the aspect, because two superstars do not a trend make.”

(Image: ThinkStock)

The study concludes that black leaders are not evaluated comparably to their white counterparts, resulting in severe consequences for black organizational members and also finds that bias against black leaders is sustained because the way evaluators subscribe to stereotypes. In short, if a black quarterback leads his team successfully, he’s a gifted athlete, not a great leader. But if he fails, he’s a poor leader. “A problem I find in here, is regarding how African Americans are perceived,” says Rosette.

According to Rosette, this is an example of compensatory stereotypes, as they compensate for a negative stereotype, but does not conflict with that negative stereotype. So we looked at it in college football, and that compensatory stereotype would be athleticism.  So the African American quarterbacks, who are leaders on the field, and have led their team to victory, they have led successfully, are not described as good leaders, but instead are described in this compensatory term, which is athleticism, and there are several examples in terms of how this could move from the football field to the actual corporate environment.

According to the data, an African American who is placed in a leadership role as a quarterback must contend with certain perceptions that they’re going to have to overcome simply because they are not expected to be in that role, and secondly are not expected to do well in that role. While there’s currently an African American in the White House, Obama represents more of an aberration than a trend. “I think what would cause a change is, when the expectations of the race of our leaders changes,” says Rossette. “When you think, what’s going to be the race of our next president after Obama? I can probably guess, most people in general would say it’s probably going to be another white person.”

Read more at BE Next.

Qiana Martin chose to leave corporate America to pursue a love for playing soccer and giving back. (Image: Martin)

When she was a young girl in Seneca, South Carolina, Qiana Martin’s mother would show her newspaper clippings of successful doctors and lawyers and eventually athletes and entertainment figures. Martin’s mother could not imagine that years later those clippings would inspire her daughter to leave a position at one of the nation’s top law firms to become an international soccer player. “Unwittingly, she opened the door to me researching what else was out there in the world, and it was motivational.”

It took some time before Martin was fully compelled to see what else the world had to offer. Initially, she followed the traditional path laid out before her. After graduating from college she began working as a hiring specialist for one of the a law firm in Atlanta, where she earned $40,000 to $50,000 per year.

But, once the clock hit five, Martin would trade in her professional attire for a sports bra, shorts and soccer shoes to hit the ground playing local street soccer games. For Martin, playing soccer reminded her of her first love: sports.

“Sports was something that I was always around. I always ran track or played basketball. It was a stress reliever, but it wasn’t a long-term goal that I saw for myself.”

That all began to change once she realized that she had skills on the soccer field. She learned to hone her craft and was also introduced to one of the challenges of the career that she was considering pursuing full-time: sexism. As an African-American woman in the street soccer community, she was an anomaly.

“I played with many West Indian and Latin American men, and they didn’t want to pass me the ball,” Martin recalls. “But as I kept showing up and being persistent and making good passes they began to respect me.”

Finally, after a training session while on vacation in Miami, she decided to put in her resignation at the law firm and fly to Brazil to pursue her dreams — a decision that raised concern from her co-workers and family. “They were shocked. They didn’t know what I expected to achieve,” she says.  “My grandparents thought that since I had a degree that I should stick to a 9-to-5.”

Adding to the growing list of concerns was Martin’s age — she was in her early 20s at the time. “Most in this field who start out are 15 or 16 years old, but I felt like I could make a bigger contribution doing something I was passionate about and that small confidence allowed me to pursue this dream.”

Today, after years on the circuit, Martin competes internationally as a freelance soccer player in locations including South America and Europe.

Martin felt it important to draft a strong financial plan of action, a lesson she learned growing up, knowing she always had to plan ahead when it came to money. “There is no paycheck coming in from one place every week, and that’s forced me to be financially creative, but I am happier.” With her business savvy, she’s developed secondary sources of income through speaking engagements and collaborations with the likes of Fila and British Airways.

Martin adds that the higher earnings potential of her new career path has maximized, and the reward of following her dream offers an infinitely greater return on investment.

In between soccer games, Martin is focused on advocating for Atlanta-based, nonprofit soccer program, Soccer in the Streets, promoting the female soccer documentary she co-produced “The Anderson Monarchs,” and on making her dream to represent the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics a reality.

“I know that I’m making more of a difference being able to finance and underwrite nonprofits, and encouraging others to follow their dreams.”

The $100 million dollar man (Image: File)

The six-year $100 million contract that Eagles star Michael Vick signed yesterday guarantees that he will be the team’s starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

As an Eagles fan, this move leaves me a little uneasy. Although Vick performed at an MVP level last year, there’s still room to question the wisdom of giving him the keys to the franchise based on a single year of excellence. Although it’s possible that Vick has truly developed into the mature player and person that we saw last year, there is always the chance of a personal and professional backslide. (Given the Eagles’ offensive line and Vick’s late-season propensity for hastily exiting the pocket, I’m much more concerned with the latter.)

As a fan of justice, however, I couldn’t be happier with the Eagles’ decision. More important than money, the Eagles gave Michael Vick something that is increasingly rare in our society: a second chance.

Author and 'Our World with Black Enterprise' host, Marc Lamont Hill

In April 2007, Michael Vick went from national celebrity to international pariah when he was hit with felony charges related to his role in an interstate dog-fighting ring. Two years and 18 months in prison later, Vick was back in the league but no longer in the driver’s seat of his career.

Many of the same people who cheered his every move now looked upon him with contempt and scorn. The majority of NFL teams refused to even schedule a meeting with him. Countless fans swore to cancel their season tickets if he ended up wearing their home team’s uniform.

Like literally millions of Americans, he was an ex-con facing an unforgiving world and an uncertain job market.

Read the complete article at philly.com

Wyclef Jean. Ledisi. Ne-yo. Mint Condition.

Just a glint of the star power that will be on hand Labor Day weekend at this year’s annual Black Enterprise Golf & Tennis Challenge at the Miami Doral Golf Resort and Spa. From September 1st through September 5th, more than 1000 black professionals will enjoy events and activities every day, themed parties every evening, and exclusive performances from some of the hottest and most talented names in music during a weekend of endless entertainment!

Need more? Lounge poolside; get pampered at the spa; hit the tennis court; play a few rounds of golf; show off your game in our basketball tournament; test drive a new car; learn to cook from a master chef; get your copy of the new book The Wealth Cure signed by author and actor Hill Harper—dull moments simply don’t exist!

If you haven’t booked your registration yet, call now at 800-209-7229!

For the full schedule for the Black Enterprise Golf and Tennis Challenge, visit www.blackenterprise.com/gt.

Game on: Avery Johnson calls the plays (Image: Press)

During his days as a point guard for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and other teams, he was nicknamed the “Little General.” At a modest (by NBA standards) 5-foot-11, Avery Johnson showed the leadership skill that enabled him to transition into coaching once his playing days were over.

Johnson gained notoriety by coaching the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance and four consecutive 50-plus win seasons. Now, as head coach for the New Jersey Nets, the 46-year-old hopes to turn the beleaguered team around. He now has his work cut out for him, as the Nets finished up a dismal 12-70 the season prior to Avery’s appointment. In his first year as coach, the team improved somewhat to 24-58, but finishing just two games ahead of the last place Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference.

BlackEnterprise.com caught up with Johnson to talk about qualities in a good leader and how one can turn around the performance of an organization. Here’s what he had to say:

BLACK ENTERPRISE: You inherited a team that was perhaps the worst in the league.  How did you work to keep players motivated after such disappointment?

Avery Johnson: One of the first things we had to do was figure out how to change the culture within the whole organization.  We addressed that, obviously, with new ownership with Mikhail Prokhorov and our Russian group.  We’ve also made some other key strategic moves within the organization to eliminate in some areas, retain in other areas, but also add a different type of person with the right kind of DNA that we need to get the next elevated and catapulted in what I call a successful direction.  I think our focus, initially, and my focus has been more internal with auxiliary staff, also key upper level management positions to address those first. Then, in terms of the team, I had to sign some free agents, allow some guys to go and join other teams, and really just try to get my arms around this whole model in terms of how this team practices, how they travel, how they play games, how they retain information.

How do you change your culture?  Give me the biggest thing, the most significant thing that was done, other than new ownership, to change the culture?

Avery Johnson: You change it by bringing in…you can just call it the C Plan.  You change it by bringing in people with strong character, individuals who are competitors, who are confident, who know how to communicate well.  That’s how you change it.  You bring in individuals with that type of DNA.

When you start talking about the distractions, and especially the media plays a big part of everything, what do you do to keep the players focused?

Avery Johnson: I think, strategically, you get them focused on small victories.  For us, it’s about small victories.  It’s about baby steps.  Can we have a really good practice?  And, if we can have a good practice, can we come back and have another good practice?  Then, can we transfer having a good practice into winning a quarter in the game?  Can we win the first half?  Now, can we win the game? After we win the game, can we come back and have another good practice and have a good shoot around.  I think for us, can we get stronger in the weight room? It’s all about small victories, short-term goals.

What do you think are the most important qualities of leadership?  And how do you employ them now as a coach?

Avery Johnson: I think leadership is about education, being educated and competent in what you’re doing.  Leadership is about development, developing players mentally and physically, also developing in a way that they understand that this is a business, and their relationships to the community and sponsors are important also.  Leadership is about accountability, not only holding someone else accountable, but also holding yourself accountable.  Leadership is about decisions, making decisions that are in the best interest of the team first and not yourself.  I could go on and on, but that’s what…and leadership is also about resolving conflict.  You have differences of opinion and disagreements; but you have games where…games get pretty intense.  How do you resolve conflict?   Also, leadership is about understanding how to get to a desired result.

The Nets aren’t the most talented team in the league right now. How do you plan to get the most out of them?

Avery Johnson: The main thing is, t starts with having players that understand the need to train intensely in the off season.  We feel we gave them the necessary tools at the end of the season so that they can go and improve themselves in the off season.  We also understand that your great cultures, they have great players; and we know we have to improve our talent pool.

At the same time, we feel we’re going to be one of the preeminent franchises in basketball with us moving to Brooklyn, what I call a Taj Mahal of arenas in the Barclays Center, great ownership that’s willing to spend money in whatever area wisely to make sure that we have everything we need to be successful.  Jay-Z is really becoming more and more active in our ownership group, especially with us moving to Brooklyn, partnering with our Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Bruce Ratner.  We feel we’re a team that can go from worst to first.

NBA guard Dahntay Jones discusses finances during a lockout

First it was the NFL, now it’s the NBA that’s threatening to force their fans to find another hobby rather than watching hoops during the week. With the dark cloud of a work stoppage hovering over the league, players are preparing for a life outside of basketball this season. While some of the NBA’s elite are financially secure and looking over opportunities to play overseas, not all of the players in the league are afforded that luxury.

BlackEnterprise.com sat down with Indiana Pacers guard Dahntay Jones to discuss exactly what’s going on with the lockout, what his plans are if there is no basketball season, and how his basketball wife, Valeshia Butterfield, is helping him with alternative career plans.

BlackEnterprise.com: Can you give some insight into what’s going on right now with the NBA and the lockout?

Dahntay Jones: As of right now, we’re far apart when it comes to reaching an agreement. It’s about revenue sharing; if big teams should share with little teams and should owners claim that they’re losing this gigantic amount of money. They want us to take the bigger hit because of our salaries and we don’t think that’s the problem. We think we can come to an agreement, but we started so far apart that it’s hard to find a middle ground. We’re not even close to landing a deal. For any normal worker, no matter what your wage is, whether it’s $2 or $2 million, if I come and tell you that we’re cutting your salary in half, you’re going to be upset.

It sounds like the owners want the players to pay for their mistakes.

They don’t want to take responsibility for the steps they’ve taken to get where they are. You have a small market team like San Antonio that wins and makes money. But then you have larger markets that make riskier decisions and lose money. We don’t think the whole NBA is losing money but they don’t want to show us any of their books, so we can’t really be sympathetic to that. If I told you I was losing money I’d just show you everything that I’m losing. Not just part of it and say they I can’t show you the rest.

What’s your response to outside skeptics that say, “Who are you to complain when you make millions playing basketball?”

The reality is that a majority of players don’t make an exorbitant amount of money. It may be more money than most have but it’s not a drastic amount of money. You try to make that money work on several different levels and guys are just trying to stay financially secure and take care of their families. Our careers are only for a short period time. A normal worker can work 30-40 years and we work a maximum of 10, with the league average being five. We have to make this money stretch out.

Continue reading on the next page…

Jones with his wife Valeshia Butterfield

With the sides being so far apart, a work stoppage seems likely. So what have you been doing to keep yourself busy?

This summer I’ve taken the time to look forward and see what I want to do. I took a course at Syracuse University that’s called “Sportscaster U” and I just wanted to see if that would be something I’m interested in. I got help from the guys at ESPN and learned about the ins and outs of the sports casting world and how intricate it is. I want to test that to see if that’s something I possibly want to do someday. They give you real-life camera experience. It’s something that I’m considering.

I also went to the PAFI [Professional Athletes Franchise Initiative] seminar for athletes at Georgia Tech. That’s something I’ve been interested in. I look at business opportunities that bring people together and improve the community. My cousin [Denver Nuggets forward] Al Harrington and I are in the works of trying to get a company together where we try to improve the environments in the state of New Jersey so people can live better. Kind of like Magic Johnson and Grant Hill do with other communities. It’s sort of taking care of where you’re from and adding to the growth with what we’ve learned in this world so far.

You hear about so many athletes going broke after their career ends. Some of it is due to reckless spending and bad financial habits. What are you doing to ensure you don’t end up in the red after your career ends?

I’m trying to save as much as possible and make better business decisions. Most adults learn the power and meaning of money in their late 20s and early 30s. You have guys coming in at 21 and they’re just now learning how money works. At first you think you’ll make this forever but you soon realize that it’s not. You have to make the best decisions. You have some financial institutions that don’t have our best interest at heart. Basketball is our business, not finance. You have to worry about the people that focus on finance and hope they make the right decisions for you. There are a lot of guys get caught up by not understanding financial responsibility. I’m looking for things to grow with. It’s not a quick fix here or there. I’m just trying to find things that I’m personally interested in and I can grow as a man who learns more and more.

It also doesn’t hurt that you’re married to a woman who is more than a trophy wife. You recently wed Valeshia Butterfield, CEO of WEEN & The Butterfield Group. How are you two working together at this time?

We’re learning how to be resourceful and work together to balance a home budget to make the most out of our money. I just recently married and have never had to think about someone in that capacity before so I’m embracing the fact that I have to worry about my wife and her wellbeing and she worries about me as well. I’m fortunate to have someone who worries about me at a time like this. She helps me just like I help her. She works in a different field than I’m used to but I help her when I can. We’re both learning about the different things that we do.

How can playing so bad feel so good? (Image: Courtesy of the Shell Houston Open)

It’s been more than four months since I surrendered to the game of golf at the Shell Houston Open ProAm. I resisted the seduction of the game for more than 15 years, ever since I took my first golf lessons at the Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge back in 1996, our first in Miami. Until my horrifying-yet-exhilarating experience at Houston’s Redstone Golf Resort this past March, I played hard-to-get with golf. But now, I’ve got it bad. It’s got me feenin’.

Golf now dominates an increasing proportion of my thoughts: “When can I practice my swing? How many times can I get to the driving range this week? Would hypnosis help? I sure love my Callaway Diablo Edge irons. Would it be that weird if I slept with my clubs?”

As I prepare for my next golf goal, to play for the first time ever in the Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge this Labor Day Weekend, I practice every chance I get, as anyone who follows me on Twitter knows. I use little magenta golf-sized wiffle balls to practice my full swing and real golf balls to practice pitching in the back yard. I go to the local park in my neighborhood, where I have the room to smack around almostGolf balls (my absolute favorite practice tool to date). I have an indoor putting green, where I can practice putting, as well as chipping balls from my dining room to my living room. I’m devouring golf magazines and books, including Golf for Dummies by Gary McCord and Golf Rules & Etiquette for Dummies by John Steinbreder (both of which I strongly recommend). On top of all that, I now actually watch golf tournaments on television! The commentary still puts me into a semi-comatose, waking-sleep state (I have to toggle the remote to the NFL Network just to get my heart rate back up), but I am increasingly enjoying what I’m learning from watching the best golfers in the world play.

Golf still reigns supreme as the sport for creating and strengthening the business relationships that are necessary to take advantage of opportunities, solve challenges and make things happen. This is a key reason for the popularity of the Black Enterprise/Golf & Tennis Challenge and similar golf-centered events. Golf is a great way to get an extended audience with key clients and influencers, and to communicate your value as a potential business partner, client, vendor or hire. Many people use golf, a game in which rules, sportsmanship and etiquette are paramount, to evaluate the character of potential business partners and associates, in order to decide who they should or should not do business with. In fact, when it comes to business, how you play is more important than how well you play golf.

Today, more African Americans, and more black women in particular, are playing golf than ever. This is important, because for too long, minorities and women were kept at the periphery of the sport, banned from the elite golf venues where key and lucrative business networks operated. Now, many of those barriers have been lowered, if not outright eliminated, opening up additional pathways to relationship-building that is necessary to maximize business, professional and other opportunities.

However, too many black entrepreneurs and professionals miss out on opportunities because they refuse to learn and play the game. If you’re a businessperson (I’m talking to you ladies, too) with ready-made reasons for why you don’t play golf, as I once was, I strongly urge you to reconsider your position. I’ve personally discovered that many of the things I accepted as valid reasons for not playing golf are either unfounded or no longer true.

So if you’ve been considering the game, but hesitant to commit, let me address at least some of the most reasons for not playing golf, in a sincere effort to get you out on the links with me.

Continue reading on the next page

It’s too expensive. You can spend an awful lot of money on golf. Or you can spend not much at all. Thanks to public golf courses, easily affordable golf clubs (both new and used) and other equipment sold both online and in stores, it really is no more costly to get started than most other sporting activities and pastimes. My golf shoes? $45 dollar FootJoys. My glove? $12. That’s it for my sports related attire. The rest of your uniform: golf shirts, slacks (not jeans) or long shorts and baseball caps, needn’t cost much, and you probably have that stuff already in your wardrobe. On the other hand, if you’re golfing for business, fly golf attire is just a smart investment. While there is a traditional dress code for the game, it’s more strictly enforced at private clubs and top golf resorts—which you probably won’t spend as much time at if you’re budget conscious. Dress codes at municipal courses vary, but are usually more flexible. Green fees for the public course where I live are only $29 for county residents, plus $45 a year for a county golf card. Even golf lessons are more accessible and affordable, especially if you opt for semi-private (as I did at Manhattan’s Chelsea Pier) or group lessons.

"Baby, I was only kidding about sleeping with my clubs. Unless you'll let me do it."

What about the clubs? I got my driver and hybrid on sale for $49 from Sports Authority. Not each. Total. It’s possible to get a set of irons and wedges, with bag, for less than $150 (even less if you buy them used) on Amazon or at retail outlets including Golf Galaxy and Golfsmith. You can get an 18-pack of golf balls for less than $15. Would Tiger Woods or Fred Couples be caught dead with this equipment? Probably not. (Of course, the average PGA pro can beat most regular humans with an umbrella.) But when you’re just learning the game, you don’t need to spend a fortune on clubs and other stuff. As you get better—or as you make more money as a result of the great networking you’ll be doing at the golf events you’ll now accept invitations to—you can trade up and play badly with the best clubs money can buy.

It’s too time consuming. A round of golf should be completed in four hours or less. I used to spend way more time than that playing basketball on Saturdays. What takes up a lot of time with golf is not the actual playing. It’s practicing, which you have to do to be decent enough to have fun playing. Back when people had to do all of their practicing at an actual golf course, this could be a time-consuming endeavor. But now there are all kinds of tips and tools you can use to practice your swing, chipping, pitching and putting at home, at your office, in your hotel during business trips, wherever and whenever, so you can spend most of your time at the actual golf course playing. Of course, you want to practice and play on a real course as much as possible, but there are all kinds of ways to work on your game with the time you have.

It’s not enough exercise. I once believed that if an activity didn’t involve running, jumping, catching, hitting or throwing something, such as football, basketball or tennis, it could not possibly keep me fit. Since then, I’ve discovered that there are different kinds of fitness that don’t involve explosive aerobic activity, such as bodybuilding, a sport I’ve pursued as a hobby for nearly 20 years. Golf also fits into that category, assuming you don’t use a golf cart to get around the links. An 18-hole round of golf requires you to walk as much as 7 miles or more, depending on the course and how often you have to hit the ball. (I’m sure I’m doing more than 10 miles a round.) Remember, you’re doing this while toting around as much as 30 lbs., the typical weight of a golf bag with a full set of clubs, a half dozen golf balls, tees and other tools of the sport. Add in 60 or more full swings of a golf club along the way, and it’s a pretty good workout, one reason it is critical to stay hydrated as you would with any other sport or workout activity. A weekly round of golf is a great way to get or stay in shape—but not as hard on the joints and easier to recover from than, say, those weekend pick-up basketball games. (However, stretching before playing, particularly the lower back, is highly recommended.) Golf has been a great addition to my other fitness and sports activities.

The bottom line: Golf is more accessible and affordable than ever. Approached properly, it can be a good fitness activity, too. And it’s actually a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon with friends or business associates. I’m sorry I bought into these reasons for not playing golf and put off embracing the game for so long. Don’t make the same mistake.