The Visibility Mindset: How Asian American Leaders Create Opportunities and Push Past Barriers
By Bernice Chao and Jessalin Lam
Published November 2022
Wishing for guidance as you navigate your career? Searching for a mentor who can relate to your Asian American background? Look no further than The Visibility Mindset. This book is filled with wisdom, advice, and encouragement to support your professional success and personal well-being as an Asian American employee.
The Visibility Mindset feels like a pep talk in book form. Your coaches are authors Bernice Chao and Jessalin Lam, marketing gurus who formed Asians in Advertising, a non-profit that supports the professional growth and advancement of APIA workers. They realized that the “career enhancement strategies” they’d gathered were applicable to Asian American workers in other industries, so they decided to write The Visibility Mindset to equip and empower you with information and tools to help you feel and be seen in the workplace.
This book is a testament to the power of sharing resources and exchanging stories. Chao and Lam have synthesized research and insight from dozens of Asian American leaders in different fields. Interviews that dovetail with the topic of each chapter are a standout feature of this book. Founders, CEOs, and other leaders speak candidly, sharing obstacles, frustrations, successes, and suggestions from their own careers.
Whether you’re managing a team, looking to make a career change, seeking promotion, or just starting your first job, The Visibility Mindset has strategies for you. Chao and Lam invite you to be an active participant: they provide activities and questions for reflection. They recommend countless resources for further learning, including a microaggression toolkit, AAPI therapist directories, and a guide to delegating work. With practical tips and step-by-step action plans, they encourage you to cultivate self-worth, forge meaningful professional connections, develop strategies to support your mental health, and advocate for more inclusive workplaces.
Much of their advice is applicable to anyone in the workforce, no matter your race. But what’s unique about The Visibility Mindset is that Chao and Lam acknowledge the cultural values, stigmas, and stereotypes that may influence the beliefs, mindset, tendencies, and work styles of Asian American workers. Careful not to make sweeping generalizations about Asian American cultures, the authors dispel the myth of the “Asian monolith” and leave room for an array of life and work experiences.
No need to justify your feelings, upbringing, or heritage: Chao and Lam respect you as you are. The authors write in the first person, making it feel like you’re in conversation with them, learning and connecting. Subheadings, bulleted and numbered lists, charts, and examples make this book approachable and digestible.
The authors intend for The Visibility Mindset to be a valuable guide for allies who wish to better understand and support their Asian American colleagues. This book could also be included in the curriculum of a professional development training or management course. As someone who’s about to graduate with a master’s in library and information science, I feel so grateful to have been “mentored” by Chao, Lam, and so many other inspiring Asian American trailblazers.
Review by Zoë Bowlus, editing assistance by Molly Higgins.
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