Achieving success is hard for any regular person. However, the truth is not everyone gets a fair shot at success. The journey to success is different for everyone — some people get a head start, while others begin far behind. Some people's journeys are easy shots to success, while others face obstacles most would never imagine. Fortunately, many have gone through similar journeys and have shown that being successful is something that you can achieve. As times change, hopefully we can take a different perspective on how people receive opportunities. Everyone deserves success.

Carice Anderson is one of these people who have learned their lesson, adapted, pushed through, and reached for success. She joins us in this episode of Seek Go Create to share her experiences in the professional world as a successful black woman. Carice shows a different perspective that highlights the challenges of being different. Her insight can teach you to overcome these differences.

If you resonate with Carice’s experiences or are just someone who wants to make a change, listen to this episode to learn more about what you should do.

3 Reasons to Listen:

1. View the world from a different perspective and start listening to others’ stories.
2. Find out what you need to thrive and succeed beyond book smarts and intelligence.
3. Learn how to use your privilege to be better and understand people different from you.

Resources

• Visit us and find more resources just for you on Seek Go Create’s website
• Listen to Seek Go Create Episodes:
• Celebrating 200 Episodes: A Special Look Into Being a Podcaster
• Solo Episode: The Power of Being Emotionally Intelligent
• Jireh by Elevation Worship and Maverick City
• Intelligence Is Not Enough: A Black Person’s Guide to Thriving in the Marketplace by Carice Anderson
• Amazon
• Walmart
• Barnes & Noble
• Connect with Carice Anderson: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

About Carice

Carice Anderson is a global learning and organizational development leader. She is currently the Director of People Manager Strategy at Black Rock, a leading asset management firm. She has a Master's in Business Administration from Harvard. Carice has worked with professionals from all over the world and helped them thrive in their careers.

Carice is also an author. Her book, Intelligence Isn’t Enough: A Black Professional’s Guide to Thriving in the Workplace, shares what professionals need to know to succeed in high-performing environments. She envisions a world where black people thrive in the highest positions in the corporate world and is slowly helping make this happen.

Learn more about Carice and what she does on her website. You can also connect with her through LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Episode Highlights

[03:01] The Work Carice Does

• Carice's job is to help support and develop people managers worldwide. In her spare time, she works to share the unwritten rules of success with others.
• Her mission is to empower people to know themselves, know others, and know their environments better. This way, they can make a bigger impact and have fun.
• Humans spend a big part of their lives centered around work. That’s why work needs to be a fun and positive experience where people can make a difference.
• Carice has experienced being miserable at work. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned so that others won’t make the same mistakes she did.

[04:11] “I think we spend more time at work than we probably do with our spouses, children, families, closest friends, and I'm just of the mindset that it needs to be a positive experience.” - Click Here To Tweet This

[06:20] Meeting Halfway

• In any relationship, including work, people need to meet halfway. You can do your best to be better, but other people also need to make an effort.
• Focus on the things that you can control and influence, including yourself. You can't control other people, but you can choose how you show up and what you say and do.
• Your actions can encourage others to take a different perspective and change how they show up.
• For Tim, we need to bring our 100% to relationships, especially marriage.
• Everybody should bring the best they can give. However, you can’t force others to do the same.

[11:32] The Four Themes That Shaped Carice

• Four themes define Carice's life. First is the impact of her close-knit family.
• Secondly, her family and school are deeply rooted in spirituality. It’s this upbringing that helped her become a values-driven person.
• Third, Carice uses music to manage herself and her emotions. It reminds her that there is a much bigger picture than the stressors in her life.
• Lastly, her family puts a lot of emphasis on education.
• Carice realized it takes more than smarts and titles to become successful. You need to have relationships and understand your environment to reach your goals.

[12:43] “You need other people. You need relationships. You need to understand the environments in which you're working so that you can really be successful.” - Click Here To Tweet This

[13:37] Challenges that Redefined Carice’s Success

• Carice felt she was doing well in her first job. She grew despondent and didn't want to go to work.
• This experience made her realize that intelligence wasn't enough. She had to find a new way to enjoy work and become successful.
• The experience also encouraged her to develop a deeper relationship with God.
• In her second job, she put a lot of faith in the company. However, it collapsed during her time there, making her reflect on who she should depend on.
• In 2011, Carice moved to South Africa to live with her husband. This shift was what she needed at that time.

[23:05] Becoming Aware of Different Experiences

• When you grow up in an environment built for you and surrounded by similar people, you don’t tend to think of others’ experiences.
• Privilege involves taking a different perspective and asking if there is an aspect of who you are that hasn't made your life more difficult. 
• You can expose yourself to other people. Listen to other people's stories to become more mindful of their experiences and challenges. 
• You may not fully understand someone's experience, but you can become more aware. It encourages you to think about those whose voices go unheard.
• Not everyone has access to the same opportunities, setting people back. It also creates a continuous cycle that widens the gap between people.

[26:56] “It's about how we can expose ourselves to different kinds of people and hear other people's stories so that we can be more mindful of somebody else's experience and what the challenges that somebody might be having.” - Click Here To Tweet This

[31:54] A Fair Shot For Everyone

• People would name famous black people to claim that everything is okay now. However, it's when black people can live regular but still good lives that we can say that it's okay.
• Everyone should have access to education, healthcare, jobs, and opportunities. Without that, everyone suffers.
• Look out for each other. Not everyone has equal talents and gifts, but you must ensure everyone is okay and has the chance to be okay.
• God loves everyone equally. People deserve love, respect, and dignity.
• Most black people want a shot to excel. It's vital to be fair in giving opportunities that can one day lead to success.

[36:30] “God loves us all equally. God doesn’t place value on certain people and a lesser value on others.” - Click Here To Tweet This

[41:45] Why Carice Wrote Intelligence is Not Enough

• Carice noticed that many bright black professionals often struggled in their work. She wanted to share through the book what you need to succeed.
• She doesn't have all the answers. However, it's asking the right questions that can help you discover what it takes to succeed in your current environment.
• Most Black people grow up in homes where they don't get to have a voice, affecting their performance.
• Try to look and reflect on how you’ve been socialized. Others might have told you to keep your head down even at work.
• However, you must find your voice and open up to grow and succeed. Share something about yourself.

[47:21] Your Voice at Work

• African culture is generally very hierarchical. People learn never to interrupt or challenge authority. 
• However, disrupting and interrupting authority is sometimes a necessity.
• You need to create a boundary between how you operate culturally and personally to how you operate professionally. 
• You may not have grown up this way, but you must be fluid and flexible. If you want to be effective and have an impact in different situations, you need to change.

[52:03] The Importance of Diversity and Representation

• There need to be more people who are willing to pull others into a conversation. Allies, like Tim, can speak up and use their power and privilege to assist excluded people.
• Speaking up and challenging what you don’t think is right can prompt people to think. They can start to understand what’s wrong and the impact of their actions and words.
• Black people are often underrepresented in history and the workplace. Without these representations, they don’t feel reaffirmed as a person.
• Carice wrote this book with black professionals in mind. She emphasizes the benefits of having diversity and a different perspective on matters.
• Without that representation, it’s hard to believe that you can do it.

[55:08] “You need to see yourself reflected in the people around you to make you think that ‘yeah, okay, well, this person did it so I could do it too.” - Click Here To Tweet This

[58:20] How You Can Be Better (When You’re Not Black)

• Carice’s book tells the reader what it is they have control of. This includes how they show up, their mindset, behavior, communications, and more.
• It’s good to read books about people who are different from you. For people outside its target audience, it can provide a different perspective.
• The book can help you understand the mindset and behavior of different people around you. It encourages you to start thinking about what you can do to create a safe space for them as well.
• As a leader, think about who you’re giving opportunities to. Be intentional and learn to expand your group. Reach out and connect with people who are different from you.
• Social media is also a great way to find and follow different people. It expands your exposure to different perspectives.

[01:02:42] A Message for Black Professionals

• The book’s framework is to know yourself, know others, and know your environment. With these three, you can grow professionally to have maximum impact.
• Carice shares the unwritten rules of success for performing well in high-performing environments. Her book can greatly help those who are struggling and want to improve.
• It includes not only career advice from her but also from 30 black professionals.
• In her career, Carice has learned a lot and made many mistakes. She shares this message so that you won’t make the same mistakes as her.

[01:05:01] Getting Things Created

• For Carice, “create” resonates the most.
• She realized that the world needs people who get things done.
• That is what she did. Carice wrote the book, created it, and got it done.

Enjoy the Podcast?

Seek Go Create is for anyone seeking excellence, moving towards success, or creating something new. We share topics, stories, and conversations that allow us to rethink how we live, work, and lead. It’s time we took a different perspective on how society works and the meaning of success.

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To growing and becoming all we are created to be,

Tim