This week’s ‘Start Where You Are’ Challenge: Document your praise for a high-performing black colleague

All too often, we’ll see a peer, direct report, or even a manager go above and beyond in their work and while we recognize it, we’re not intentional about making sure that recognition is documented. Supporting documentation — whether it’s an email or a social media post or even a handwritten note — is especially critical for people who are often overlooked in the workplace or misjudged as arrogant if they “speak too highly” of themselves. Black people know we have to work that much harder to be perceived as valuable. And we also know that it’s less likely that someone will just take our word for it (or even remember) if we verbally report a compliment and that there aren’t usually many decision makers who look like us in the room when our performance rating is selected. So if you really want to show your support for your black colleagues, take the time to put your praise in writing. This is an especially meaningful gesture that could have very real and positive outcomes.

Originally published at https://www.jessicabantom.com on October 7, 2021.