Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians
352
Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Career Strategies for Asians
352Hardcover
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Overview
Leading Asian American career coach and advocate Jane Hyun explains that the lack of Asian Americans in executive suite positions is brought about by a combination of Asian cultures and traditions strait-jacketing Asian Americans in the workplace, and how the group’s lack of vocal affirmation in popular media and culture, afflicts them with a “perpetual foreigner syndrome” in the eyes of Americans who don’t know enough to understand the challenges placed on Asian Americans in the corporate environment.
Filled with anecdotes and case studies from her own consulting experience covering the gamut of Asian Americans from various backgrounds, the book discusses how being Asian affects the way they interact with colleagues, managers, and clients, and will offer advice and real world solutions while exposing the challenges encountered.
For the Asian reader, the book will help them to see the cultural barriers they subconsciously place in their own career paths and how to overcome them. For the non-Asian reader, the book serves as a primer for promoting optimal working relationships with Asians, and will help start a dialogue that will benefit all.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780060731199 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 05/03/2005 |
| Pages: | 352 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.13(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling
Career Strategies for Asians
Chapter One
Your Asian
American Roots
And You
My first impression upon meeting Trinh was that she was far more Chinese than I: engaged with the (Asian) community, fluent. Also, less polished, less assimilated than I. But there are some who would consider her very un-Chinese. She speaks up, she fights, she exposes hypocrisy. She cares less about race than about basic moral courage ... The irony, then, is this: I am perhaps more Americanized. She is perhaps more American.
-- Eric Liu, The Accidental Asian
ASIAN AMERICANS: A MOSAIC OF BACKGROUNDS --
The 2000 U.S. Census reported that there are 11.9 million Asians in the United States, a 72% increase since the previous census. Compare that to the total U.S. population growth of 13% for the same period. Even though Latino Americans are the largest minority group in raw numbers, Asians are the fastest-growing minority group, and the population is expected to double by 2020 and triple by 2030. Forty-four percent of Asian Americans over age 25 have graduated from college, the highest percentage for any racial group. These numbers imply a success story. However, these statistics don't always tell the whole story of what really happens to Asian Americans once they leave the halls of academia for corporate America.
Who are Asian Americans? Far from being homogeneous, we are of varied Asian ancestry. We represent multiple nationalities and languages as well as many social and political viewpoints. At last count, there were over 80 distinct Asian languages spoken in the United States. Even within each specific Asian group, there is considerable variability in education, class, and acculturation level. In addition, there is a long history of war, political unrest, and resulting prejudices in many Asian nations. What further complicates matters is that non-Asian Americans often think of Asians as a homogeneous group of people. Companies tend to view us as the Asian Pacific American constituency and do not necessarily categorize us by our specific nationalities.
THE MANY FACETS OF PERSONAL IDENTITY --
An Asian American woman who works at a large distributor of home appliances notes: "I used to be quite involved with Asian networking group activities. But lately, I find a much deeper sense of community with the multicultural women's networking group. As a new mother attempting to juggle home and a very demanding job, I identify myself as a woman and mother first, then take my ethnicity into consideration next." You can define yourself along a continuum of factors, your cultural heritage being one of them. Most people describe themselves differently throughout the stages of their lives, such as oldest daughter, father, mother, Catholic, manager, Asian American, cancer survivor. Yet we know these tags don't fully define us or what we are capable of. We're each composed of so many qualities, skills, ideas, emotions, values, and behaviors that a few descriptors won't do anyone justice. We also know these self-ascribed tags aren't necessarily how we are perceived by others, especially those who don't know us well or who know us in other contexts.
WHEN PERCEPTION BECOMES REALITY --
In workplace scenarios particularly, perception is often reality. As a result, what they don't know can hurt you. An assessment of your character and how you perform is based not solely on the quality of your "work deliverables" but also on how you interact with your colleagues. It's not what you say but how you say it. How confident do you sound? How articulate are you? How well do you motivate others on your team? Do you take the time to chat with colleagues, whether it's to discuss a project more thoroughly or to just socialize? Other cues that may brand you can be as superficial as how you dress, how you carry yourself, and what your facial expressions are. Behavior is often misinterpreted by people from different cultures, because it is visible, unlike motivations, feelings, intentions, and thought processes. At the most basic level, an underrepresented group like Asian Americans will stand out more.
To manage your career then, you must manage your personal brand -- your image, how you come across. And knowing yourself is the first step in shaping the impression you make and in achieving your professional goals. You must understand your personality, strengths, weaknesses, and internal driving forces to guide how this all plays out in a work environment.
You may already know that your Asian background is integral to your identity. But not fully realizing how that background manifests itself in your attitudes and behaviors may cause misunderstandings in a Western corporate setting. Your Asianness doesn't have to work against you, however. In the process of deciphering your Asian cultural values and integrating them into your workplace persona, you can leverage your natural talents and maybe even learn new skills. You will learn the tools to help break the bamboo ceiling without compromising yourself. Training in selling, presenting, negotiating, and assertiveness can tap and channel your knowledge to enhance your presence and capabilities.
Keep in mind that professional upward mobility requires action on your part. It's unrealistic to expect that your managers and colleagues will automatically want and know how to unearth the true you and understand all you are capable of offering. People miscommunicate and misunderstand one another all the time; there will always be inaccurate perceptions of underrepresented emplyee populations. You have to take the initiative in clarifying the issues to effect change.
The corporate world is also recognizing that it's up to them as well. By 2050, the majority of Americans will come from non-Caucasian backgrounds. When a managing director from a top financial services institution went to a Harvard recruiting luncheon in 2002 to identify candidates for the investment banking training program, she was surprised to see more than 50% of the students who attended were of Asian descent, including a majority that were students who resided in Asia. She realized then that if this was the future of her company, she had better start understanding Asians better as her new recruiting targets -- as the pipeline of potential bankers at her firm.
Breaking the Bamboo CeilingCareer Strategies for Asians. Copyright © by Jane Hyun. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | xvii | |
| Part I | Understanding Asian Cultural Influence and Its Impact | |
| Chapter 1 | Your Asian American Roots and You | 3 |
| Chapter 2 | "But I Didn't Mean It That Way!": How Cultural Values Can Help or Hinder You at Work | 27 |
| How Asian Values Affect Individual Behavior and Workplace Interactions | 27 | |
| "Technical but Not Management Material": Dispelling Stereotypes and Inaccurate Perceptions | 46 | |
| Chapter 3 | The Latest Trends in Corporate Diversity Practices | 55 |
| Part II | Career Choices and Getting in the Door | |
| Chapter 4 | Doctor? Lawyer? Or Inner-City Teacher?: How Cultural Influences Impact Your Career Choices | 73 |
| Chapter 5 | To Thine Own Self Be True: Understanding Yourself, Your Vision, and How to Break Your Bamboo Ceiling | 91 |
| Understanding Yourself | 93 | |
| The Seven Stories Exercise | 93 | |
| Understanding Your Asian Identity | 103 | |
| Asian Identity Exercise: How Assimilated/Acculturated Are You? | 103 | |
| Work-Related Values and Motivators Exercise | 107 | |
| The Trusted Advisor Assessment | 108 | |
| Authority and Hierarchy Exercise: A View of Your Relationships with Bosses, Peers, and Subordinates | 114 | |
| Understanding Your Vision | 116 | |
| The Forty-Year Vision | 117 | |
| Understanding How to Break Your Bamboo Ceiling | 132 | |
| Identifying Your Bamboo Ceiling | 132 | |
| The Career Mobility Checklist | 134 | |
| Chapter 6 | Perfect for the Part: Mastering the Face-to-Face Job Interview | 141 |
| Chapter 7 | Moving Past the Hors d'Oeuvres Table: Finessing the Art of Networking | 172 |
| Part III | Getting Ahead on the Job | |
| Chapter 8 | On-the-Job Mobility Strategies | 187 |
| Learning to Toot Your Own Horn: Navigating in Corporate America | 187 | |
| Superior Mentoring Strategies | 213 | |
| Staying in the Succession Planning Pipeline | 225 | |
| Getting Your Voice Heard: Saying No...and Pushing Back with Diplomacy | 228 | |
| Chapter 9 | Extending Your Reach: Professional Associations and Affinity Networking Groups | 240 |
| Chapter 10 | Getting and Maintaining Your Worth: Show Me the Money...and a Promotion! | 249 |
| "How Am I Doing?": Acing Performance Management Discussions | 249 | |
| Negotiating Your Compensation and Severance Package | 252 | |
| Epilogue: Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling | 263 | |
| A Conversation with Andrea Jung, Chair and CEO of Avon Products | 273 | |
| Appendix A | Summary of Challenges to Management | 277 |
| Appendix B | Asian Pacific American Organizations | 281 |
| Bibliography | 307 | |
| Index | 311 |
What People are Saying About This
“This much-needed work ... will be hugely valuable to anyone who’s interested in achieving cultural fluency in the workplace.”
“[This] is the book Asian Americans in the workplace have needed for decades.”
“Should be required reading for both Asian and non-Asian readers.”
“Read it, and find clarity about who you are and what you want to become.”
“Read this book and find out how best to manage your career in today’s multicultural workplace.”
“I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is committed to diversity and inclusion.”
“A well-written, easy to read and thorough compendium for every Asian who wants to move up the ladder.”
“A clear, straightforward guide to easing cultural barriers between Asian Americans and their non-Asian counterparts.”
“Addresses an issue that most of corporate America and diversity experts have been silent about... [an] important work.”
“Jane Hyun confronts the dilemma of how to be an Asian in America...a truly valuable and insightful resource.”
“Jane shows how cultural values can adversely impact workplace behavior, and provides tips for overcoming those differences.”
“Inspiring and engaging! Every Asian professional and student, (and) anyone who works with them, should read this book.”
“Finally! A book that addresses the truth and shatters so many myths and misconceptions about Asian Americans in the workplace.”
“Provocative, thoughtful, and engaging ... offers insights and strategies for all persons of Asian descent striving for career advancement and success.”
“Powerful ... Hyun presents valuable strategic and tactical next steps that Asian professionals can implement to advance their careers.”
“Knowing yourself and the values that you hold are integral steps to developing leadership competencies... A must read .”
“(Empowers) individuals to take charge of their careers and gives them the tools to navigate the corporate structure.”