Caribbean at Work: Navigating Corporate Culture
In this episode, I’m joined by organizational psychologist Dr. Kerriann Peart. We talked about what happens when Caribbean professionals enter corporate spaces carrying cultural values like discipline, excellence, and focus; then realize those same values are being interpreted differently. What you see as being “serious about your work,” others may read as distant. What you understand as respect for structure, others may interpret as rigidity. And in that gap between intention and perception, many of us begin to question ourselves.
For me, this wasn’t theoretical. It was lived. My early career experiences, the misunderstandings, the lack of mentorship are all part of what led me to start Carry On Friends in the first place. At the time, I didn’t have the language of “cultural identity at work,” but I knew something wasn’t adding up. My lessons and insights from my lived experience and from the 12+ years of Carry On Friends is what led to me developing Lens 5 of the Caribbean Diaspora Experience Model (CDEM): Culture Influences How We Show Up at Work.
Dr. Kerriann brings language and structure to what many of us have experienced: the idea that professional well-being isn’t just about benefits or policies — it’s about whether you can exist in your full identity in the workplace without constantly negotiating who you are.
This is where Lens 5 becomes real. It’s not just about career paths or industries. It’s about how culture shapes:
- how we communicate
- how we lead
- how we interpret respect and authority
- how we define excellence
And importantly, how others interpret all of that.
This conversation is Part 1 of a two-part discussion, where we name the experience — the tension, the misunderstandings, the cultural dissonance. In Part 2, we go deeper into what it means to recalibrate — not just professionally, but personally — as Caribbean women navigating work, ambition, and well-being.
Connect with Dr. Kerriann Peart: Website | LinkedIn
The Six Lenses of CDEM
The Caribbean Diaspora Experience Model™ (CDEM) is a new way to understand how our Caribbean identity forms, evolves, and expresses itself in the diaspora. Created through real-life experiences, this model provides the language many have been missing to describe their complex cultural journeys. At the heart of CDEM are six interconnected lenses that help individuals understand their relationship with Caribbean culture.
Here’s a brief overview:
- Where You Start Shapes the Journey: Whether you migrated as an adult or were born in the diaspora, your connection to Caribbean culture starts somewhere. That starting point matters.
- Where You Live + What You Seek = How You Connect: Living in Brooklyn versus Milwaukee isn’t just geography, it’s a different experience of Caribbean culture. Where you live + your intention shapes your connection.
- Cultural Anchors Keep Us Rooted: Food, music, language, celebrations, spirituality, and family. These are the touch points that carry memory and transmit knowledge.
- Your Identity Will Shift, That’s the Point: As we age, our relationship with culture evolves. It’s not loss, it’s recalibration.
- Cultural Identity Influences How We Show Up at Work: Our work ethic, ambition, and how we navigate professional spaces are all shaped by cultural values.
- You’re Not Either/Or, You’re Both/And: Being fully Caribbean and fully American/Canadian/British at the same time is not a contradiction, it’s our strength.
Stay Connected
Connect with @carryonfriends – Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
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