4 Things This Black Haitian-American CSM is Doing to Build Relationships in a White Workspace

Client: This is just like that Guns N’ Roses song…

Me: I’m not familiar with it.

Client: You know! The one that goes… (Client sings half a chorus. Solid voice too.)

Me: (Shaking my brain’s bucket of rock music) I’m not familiar with it. My rock library is slim. I’ll have to check it out later. 

Growing up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and later in a Caribbean bubble in Boston, rock bands were not part of my childhood. And to this day, I can’t distinguish between members of Guns N’ Roses, Blink 182, Aerosmith, and Coldplay (my younger sister, a Coldplay fan, will be disappointed when she reads this). 

Why are we talking about rock bands? Because it’s one of many examples of how I am culturally different from my clients and colleagues. Building rapport and creating trusting relationships are crucial for CSMs. In the following paragraphs, I’ll share four things I’ve done in my career to help me, a Black Haitian-American, succeed in a predominantly White arena. (Yes! Anyone can employ these tactics, though we may have different reasons and degrees of need for doing so.)

1. Preparation. Preparation. Preparation!

Let’s cut to the chase. Bombarded as we are with overt and covert messaging that Black folks are less competent and have poor work ethic, many professionals expect less from their Black colleagues and collaborators. To counteract these false stereotypes, I try to prepare meticulously before my interactions with others. For example, in a customer onboarding kickoff, knowing the customers’ terminology, key players, competitors, recent activities, and success metrics helps me have more nuanced discussions and lets them know that they are getting a competent CSM.

2. Share my communication style

When initiating long-term projects with new collaborators, I sometimes share my communication style. I find this helpful because communication in Haitian culture and Black American culture can be more direct than in White American culture, American workspaces’ predominant culture. I make adjustments for my collaborators, but I also find it useful to lead a conversation about our default communication styles. 

3. Discourage generalizations, stereotypes, and inherently judgmental comparisons

Whether it’s reminding folks that their individual experiences are not enough to judge a whole group or suggesting they use the word “different” to compare situations or people, I try to help my colleagues and customers reframe how they think about situations or people. (See #4 from the 2020 ROLI article.)

4. Share personal information through jokes

Jokes and sharing tidbits about myself have always been useful in allowing my colleagues and customers to let their guard down and get to know me. Humor can be an effective tool in relationship building and making your day-to-day work more enjoyable. Don’t take it from me; the folks at Harvard agree with me.

Sure, I use these four tactics to earn respect and build relationships as a Black Haitian-American CSM, but the work of forming inclusive professional spaces should be a shared responsibility. Where do we go from here? How do we make our workspaces equitable? I start with this approach: People are different... that’s a thing. I have my biases. I’m working on them. I strive to be aware of myself and the person across from me to form strong, respectful relationships. (Low key, I’m hoping this approach catches on.)

Photo by Rupert Britton