Navigating Your Leadership Journey: Tailored Tips for Black Men in Mid-Level Roles
By Dominic George · January 17th 2026

Happy Saturday! Word Count: 2030…15.37 minutes. Copy edited by Dominic George

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Vision Leadership for Life newsletter, designed with the specific challenges faced by Black men in mid-level leadership positions in mind. We understand the unique journey you’re on, and our goal is to provide practical insights to help you thrive in your professional evolution. So, lets dive into today’s topic and Elevate Your Leadership.

Black Men, Here’s How to Build Teams that Feel Seen and Stretched

Leadership at its best is not about comfort and it is not about control. It is about creating an environment where people know they matter and where they are also expected to grow. That balance is harder than most leaders admit. Too much focus on being liked and teams stagnate. Too much pressure without care and people burn out or disengage. The work of modern leadership especially for Black men navigating complex systems is learning how to hold both.

At Vision Leadership for LIFE, we talk often about leading without losing yourself. That principle does not stop with you. It extends to how you build and lead teams. The question is not whether your team is busy. The question is whether your team feels seen and stretched at the same time.

Feeling seen is about dignity. Feeling stretched is about purpose. When one exists without the other, performance eventually suffers.

Many leaders default to what they experienced. Some were pushed without support and learned to survive by grinding. Others were protected without challenge and learned to stay small. Neither produces sustainable excellence. The leaders who build lasting impact are intentional about doing something different.

To feel seen, people need more than praise in public meetings. They need to know their perspective matters, their context is understood, and their contributions are recognized even when outcomes are still in progress. Feeling seen answers the human question: Do I belong here as I am?

Challenge Without Disconnection

To feel stretched, people need more than vague encouragement. They need clear expectations, honest feedback, and opportunities that make them uncomfortable in productive ways. Feeling stretched answers the leadership question: Do you believe I am capable of more?

When teams feel seen without being stretched, comfort replaces growth. When teams are stretched without being seen, pressure replaces trust. High performing teams live in the tension between the two.

For Black men in leadership, this balance is especially charged. Many of us were taught that excellence was the only protection. We learned early that mistakes were costly and visibility was double edged. That history can quietly shape how we lead. We may push our teams hard because no one ever gave us grace. Or we may shield them excessively because we know what unchecked pressure feels like.

Neither extreme serves the people we are responsible for.

Building teams that feel seen and stretched requires self awareness first. You cannot create what you have not examined. Ask yourself where you default. Do you lean toward empathy at the expense of accountability or toward results at the expense of relationship? Your answer is not a flaw. It is information.

When leaders slow down enough to see their people clearly, they start noticing patterns. Who speaks freely and who stays quiet. Who is consistently reliable and who is quietly overwhelmed. Who is ready for more and who needs support before the next step. Seeing people is not about lowering standards. It is about being accurate.

Accuracy is a Leadership Advantage

Once people feel accurately seen, stretch becomes an invitation rather than a threat. Development conversations stop feeling like judgment and start feeling like investment. Feedback lands differently when trust is already present.

Stretch should never be random. It should be intentional and aligned with both individual growth and organizational need. Stretch says I am going to ask more of you because I see what you are capable of becoming. It also says I will not abandon you while you figure it out.

That is leadership maturity.

The best teams I have observed are not the ones without tension. They are the ones where tension is named and navigated together. Where challenge is normal and care is consistent. Where leaders are not afraid to say this is hard and I believe you can handle it.

This kind of leadership requires courage. It requires presence. It requires resisting the urge to manage by fear or by approval.

It also requires patience. People do not instantly trust that they are truly seen. Many are conditioned to wait for the other shoe to drop. Consistency over time is what proves your leadership is different.

When teams feel both seen and stretched, something powerful happens. Ownership increases. Creativity expands. Accountability feels shared rather than imposed. People stop performing for survival and start contributing with intention.

This is not about perfection. You will misread people at times. You will stretch someone too fast or support someone too long. What matters is your willingness to adjust, to listen, and to remain anchored in your values.

Leadership is not static. Neither are people.

If you are building a team right now, ask yourself this simple question. Who on my team feels deeply seen but not challenged enough? Who feels challenged but not fully seen? Your answers point directly to your next leadership moves.

Additional Tip for Black Men: Clarity is not harsh. It is a form of respect that protects trust. Stop avoiding hard feedback in the name of empathy and start delivering clear expectations paired with belief in your team’s capacity to meet them.

Solution Shift: Before your next feedback conversation, write down one specific behavior that needs to change and one reason you believe the person is capable of rising to the standard, then say both out loud in the same conversation.

What Leadership Responsibility Demands Of Black Men

Seeing people is only the starting point. Stretching them requires intention and structure. Recognition without responsibility eventually becomes empty. Responsibility without recognition becomes heavy. Leaders who sustain performance design systems that honor both.

Stretch should be tied to clarity. Ambiguity masquerading as growth is a recipe for frustration. When you ask someone to step up, be explicit about what success looks like and what support exists. Stretch is not about throwing people into the deep end and calling it development. It is about expanding capacity with guidance.

One of the most common leadership mistakes is assuming high performers automatically want more. Some do. Some do not. Stretch should be invited and discussed, not assigned without conversation. When people have agency in their growth, commitment deepens.

Care Requires Candor

At the same time, leaders must not confuse empathy with avoidance. Avoiding hard conversations in the name of care ultimately disrespects people. Clear feedback delivered with respect is one of the highest forms of seeing someone. It says I care enough to be honest.

For Black men in leadership, modeling this balance matters beyond your immediate team. You are often watched more closely than you are told. How you develop people becomes part of your leadership reputation. Are you known as someone who grows talent or someone who extracts output?

That distinction follows you.

Stretch also includes exposure. Who gets access to decision making spaces. Who is trusted with visibility. Who is sponsored when opportunities arise. Leaders who truly see their teams look beyond comfort and proximity when making these choices.

If your team is diverse but development is not, the message is clear even if unspoken.

Intentional Leadership in Action

Building teams that feel seen and stretched is not about charisma. It is about consistency. It is about aligning what you say you value with what people experience daily. It is about being willing to do the inner work so your leadership does not unconsciously recreate harm.

This is the work of Vision Leadership for LIFE. Leading intentionally. Leading with clarity. Leading in a way that honors humanity and demands excellence.

Your team does not need you to be perfect. They need you to be present. They need you to be honest. They need you to believe in their capacity enough to both support and challenge them.

When people feel seen, they stay. When they are stretched, they grow. When both are present, teams transform.

That is leadership without losing yourself and without losing your people.

Additional Tip for Black Men: Consistency, not charisma, is what makes your leadership safe and credible. Align your stated values with your daily leadership behaviors so people experience what you say you stand for.

Solution Shift: Choose one value you often speak about and ask yourself how your team would see it in action this week, then intentionally demonstrate it through a decision, a conversation, or a boundary you hold.

Closing Thoughts:

In summary, as you leave this message, remember this. Leadership is not measured by how comfortable your team feels or how hard you push them. It is measured by whether people experience you as someone who sees them clearly and believes in their capacity to grow.

If your team feels supported but not challenged, growth stalls. If they feel challenged but unseen, trust erodes. Your responsibility is to hold both at the same time with consistency and intention.

The work moving forward is simple and demanding. Examine where you default. Align your values with what your team experiences daily. Be clear, be honest, and be present. How you develop people will define your leadership reputation long after titles change.

This is leadership without losing yourself and without losing your people.

That’s the new path forward.

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Fellas, your journey is both unique and powerful. If you’re ready to start leading from your authentic edge, then your on the roadmap for greatness. When you’re leading from within, you are not only advancing your career but also paving the way for future leaders.

Feel free to reach out for personalized coaching or share your success stories.

Your success is our shared triumph.

Real Talk: If you’re ready to:

• Reclaim your voice in high-stakes spaces.

• Lead with strategy, not survival.

• Build a legacy that doesn’t require you to perform to belong.

You don’t have to lose yourself to lead. You just have to reclaim who you are, and lead from there.

Have a POWERFUL Day!

Dominic George

Founder, Vision Leadership for LIFE - LLC

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