The Model Black: How Black British Leaders Succeed in Organisations and Why It Matters

This book is for anyone who wants to understand what being more inclusive at work means, especially as it relates to black leaders. It is intended for those people who are saying “I don’t know where to start,” “I don’t know what to do” and “I don’t know what to say” when understanding and talking about race at work. Based on candid interviews with 30 successful black leaders, it peels away the multifaceted layers of black British leaders in organisations to offer a new way of thinking about the black British experience.

This book provides the insights and ideas required to have positive conversations about race at work and to create work environments where black leaders can thrive. In identifying the attributes and behaviours that successful black leaders have in common, this book offers new ways of thinking about black people at work that help to further inclusion. It shines a light on the daily reality of being a black leader in the workplace, providing an alternative entry point for conversations around inclusion and explores what individuals and organisations can do to increase inclusion in the workplace. Through first-hand stories this book explores the challenges, compromises, struggles and successes that black people encounter, and the range of strategies they employ to achieve success as they navigate the “white” workplace.

It is essential reading for business leaders in the private, public and third sector, human resources professionals, students, anyone teaching or mentoring black students or leaders and everyone interested in understanding race and furthering inclusion in the workplace.