Big Fish in Small Pond or Small Fish in Big Pond: What Works for Women in Corporate?

by Solange Lopes | Feb 26, 2014 | Career | 2 comments

Ursula Burns, Xerox CEO

When I look at corporate sisters across the corporate sphere, I can’t help but notice that they appear to fall into two distinct categories: either they are at the top of the corporate game in small professional ponds where they are one of the very few double minorities at the top, or they are lost somewhere in corporate shuffle and bustle trying to find their way up the corporate ladder. In other words, we have the big fish in very small corporate ponds in terms of diversity of opportunity, and the smaller fish in the gigantic corporate pond. And of course, it goes without saying that even as both categories are still corporate double minorities, the big fish are even more a scarce species to come across…

Looking at the corporate sisters at the top of their game, and how they’ve positioned themselves as big fish in the infinitely small pond of corporate diversity, we note that they have a few things in common, a few important things that can help the rest of us position ourselves at the top of our corporate game as well:

• They transcend their circumstances: I was humbled and inspired by listening to Xerox CEO Ursula Burns speak about her humber beginnings, and boldly declare that basically our circumstances should not keep up from being our best. As corporate sisters and minorities, our challenges are different, and many a times harder than our colleagues. Economically, socially and even spiritually, we may come from different places and deal with different types of pressure. Yet in order to rise up and become a big fish in the small pond of corporate diversity, we must transcend these circumstances, whether they be linked to education(or the lack thereof), humble beginnings, or challenging family situations. Success starts from the inside, and many a times, as we fail to surpass our own internal limitations, we fail to realize that we are setting ourselves up for failure from the start.
• They citeEducation as key: Xerox CEO Ursula Burns excelled in school, and later in college as an Engineer. Senior VP and Director of Marketing for Ariel Investments LLC Mellody Hobson is a Princeton grad. And so many others…It really starts with educating yourself! Whether your education is a formal or an informal one, to stand out in the corporate world, we must come armed with the right ammunitions. And the best of these is a strong, solid educational foundation…
• They talk about opportunity more than they mention race: Yes, succeeding as a double minority in the corporate world is a feat in itself. Gender and race-based stereotypes do unfortunately exist, and are more prevalent than they should be in many a setting. Yet, it is less about how others perceive us, as to how we perceive ourselves, and allow others’ perception to affect who we are. When I look up at some of the corporate sisters who are my role models, I see them making strides by taking risks and turning opportunities into achievements. I hear them speaking about their goals and objectives. When they speak about race, gender, and others obstacles on the path to women’s corporate success, it’s in terms of improvement and the creation of additional opportunities for women. And it;s just what we should be after, the opportunities to improve, to better position ourselves, not in spite of our limitations and obstacles, but precisely because of them…

In your opinion, what works for corporate sisters? How can we rise up to become big fish in the small pond of corporate diversity?

The Corporate Sister.