Navigating Your Leadership Journey: Tailored Tips for Black Men in Mid-Level Roles
By Dominic George · July 26th 2025

Happy Saturday! Word Count: 2118…16.20 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.

Courage vs. Compliance: What Every Black Man in Leadership Must Consider

There are moments in leadership that live far beyond the quarterly reports, the public wins, or even the promotions that make the headlines. They’re the moments that cut straight to your identity, when you have to choose between the courage of your convictions and the safety of compliance.

I remember one such moment vividly. It wasn’t in a boardroom where I had all the answers neatly organized in a deck. It wasn’t on stage in front of an audience who already believed in me. It was in the quiet pressure of a decision that felt bigger than the title I held, bigger than the team I led. It was a moment that tested my willingness to lead without losing myself.

The Crossroads of Courage and Compliance

When you build a career in corporate spaces, you’re constantly taught to play the game. Watch what others are doing. Don’t rock the boat. Learn the culture and fall in line. And in many ways, compliance is what helps us get in the room in the first place. You learn how to read the temperature, how to respond to power dynamics, and how to show up in a way that doesn’t threaten the status quo.

But here’s what no one tells you: compliance can cost you pieces of yourself.

I found myself in a season where my team was being pushed into a direction that undermined the very values we said we stood for. On paper, the decision looked safe, it would protect our reputation in the short term and shield us from risk. But I couldn’t shake the tension. What we were about to do would quiet a voice that needed to be heard.

I thought about the young professionals on my team watching me. I thought about the culture we were creating, one decision at a time. And I thought about the long game of leadership, the legacy beyond the metrics.

I had a choice: stay silent and comply, or speak up and step into a courage that might cost me something in the moment.

Why Courage Feels Risky

It’s easy to talk about courage in leadership when you’re not the one who might lose credibility, relationships, or even a paycheck.

For Black men in leadership, like so many of us in spaces where we’re the “only one,” courage feels even riskier. We know the unspoken rules. We know the microaggressions that follow when we deviate from the script. We know that our missteps are rarely seen as isolated events, they become a narrative about all of us.

That’s why so many of us default to compliance. We tell ourselves we’re protecting our future. But here’s what I’ve learned: your future doesn’t need you to shrink. It needs you to lead with integrity, even when your voice shakes.

In that moment, I made the choice to speak up. I shared my perspective in a meeting that was otherwise moving in one direction. I asked hard questions. I reminded my peers of the values we claimed to champion. And yes, there was tension. There was silence. There were side-eyes.

But there was also something else, relief. People later told me they had felt the same, but didn’t know if they could say it out loud. My courage gave them permission to be courageous too.

Additional Tip for Black Men: Build allies before the hard moments come.

Solution Shift: Start cultivating relationships with peers and mentors today by having deeper conversations about shared goals and values so you are not standing alone when you need to show courage.

The Hidden Crossroads that Shape the Careers of Black Men in Leadership

The Leadership Lesson I’ll Never Forget

What I learned that day is that courage isn’t just about doing the bold thing. Courage is about alignment. It’s about making sure your decisions match the leader you want to be, not just the role you’re in.

Compliance might give you temporary peace, but courage builds lasting trust.

In my work through Vision Leadership for LIFE, I see this tension show up every day for the leaders I coach. They ask me:

How do I know when to push and when to pull back?
What if speaking up costs me my seat at the table?
How do I lead authentically when the culture doesn’t make room for it?

And my answer is always this:
You can’t build the future you want by betraying who you are in the present.

That doesn’t mean you throw caution to the wind. Strategy matters. Timing matters. Emotional intelligence matters. But your voice matters too and using it is not optional if you intend to lead with impact.

What Courage Looks Like in Practice

Courage doesn’t always mean taking the loudest stand in the room. Sometimes, it’s a quiet conversation after a meeting where you say, “I don’t agree with where this is headed. Can we talk about alternatives?”

Sometimes, courage is asking a question that shifts the entire trajectory of a decision:
“How does this align with our stated values?”
“Who might be left out if we move forward this way?”
“What will this look like five years from now if we choose this path?”

Courage might look like being transparent with your team:

“I know the direction we’re moving feels uncomfortable. Here’s why I’ve chosen this path and here’s how I plan to advocate for us along the way.”

Courage might look like advocating for yourself in spaces that don’t always see your full worth:

“I’ve taken on additional responsibilities over the last six months. Here’s the impact I’ve created, and here’s what I’d like to discuss in terms of compensation and title.”

Courage is not a one-time act. It’s a habit. It’s built decision by decision, meeting by meeting, conversation by conversation.

The Cost of Silence

When we choose compliance over courage, we think we’re keeping the peace. But we’re really creating a culture of silence. People start to believe their voice doesn’t matter. Innovation slows down. Trust erodes. And soon, you’ve built an environment where everyone is waiting for permission to lead.

I often say to the leaders I coach: the people on your team are watching how you handle the moments that matter. They’re learning what leadership looks like from you. What are you teaching them when it comes to courage?

What I’d Do Differently and What I Wouldn’t Change

Looking back, there are things I’d do differently. I would have prepared more allies ahead of that meeting. I would have framed my perspective with more data, so it wasn’t just my conviction against a tide of opinions. And I would have followed up with clearer action steps after the decision was made.

But one thing I wouldn’t change is the choice itself. I would still choose courage. Because that decision reshaped how I saw myself as a leader. It reminded me that my power isn’t in my title or my compliance. It’s in my willingness to be aligned with my values, even when it’s uncomfortable.

How You Can Build Courage Into Your Leadership

If you’re reading this and you’ve been in that tension between courage and compliance, here are a few practices that can help:

1. Reflect before you react.
Pause and ask yourself: Does this decision align with who I am and who I want to become as a leader? If not, what would it look like to advocate for a different path?

2. Build allies early.
Courage is easier when you know you’re not alone. Cultivate relationships with people who share your values and can back you up in critical moments.

3. Frame your perspective with impact.
When you speak up, connect your stance to outcomes that matter to the organization, not just your personal values. Courage becomes compelling when it’s tied to results.

4. Practice courageous conversations in small ways.
You don’t have to wait for a high-stakes moment. Start by giving feedback that feels uncomfortable but necessary. Ask questions in meetings even when you’re unsure how they’ll land. Build the muscle so you’re ready when it counts.

5. Remember your long game.
Leadership is not just about the next promotion or the next project. It’s about the legacy you’re building. What story do you want people to tell about your leadership years from now?

Additional Tip for Black Men: Practice small acts of courage regularly.

Solution Shift: Begin in low stakes settings by giving honest feedback or asking difficult questions so that when high stakes moments arrive you already have the confidence and skill to lead boldly without losing yourself.

Closing Thoughts:

In summary, Black men experience pivotal moments in their leadership journey, where they get to choose between the safety of compliance and the risk of courage. Black men in leadership often face unique pressures to conform, yet true impact comes from aligning decisions with core values rather than playing it safe. Through reflection and practical steps, Black men can challenge their leadership to build a legacy of authenticity by speaking up, even when it feels uncomfortable.

In my book The Authentic Edge: Leading Without Losing Yourself, I talk often about this tension. Black men in leadership, especially, are navigating layers of identity and expectation that make these decisions feel heavier. But the principle applies to every leader: the moments that define your leadership are rarely the easy ones. They’re the moments that demand courage when compliance feels safer.

And here’s the truth: those moments are coming. They may be in the next meeting you attend, the next project you’re asked to lead, or the next hard conversation you need to have.

When that time comes, I hope you remember this story. I hope you remember that your leadership is not defined by how well you fit in, but by how bravely you stand up for what matters. And I hope you remember that courage, though costly, is what builds the kind of influence that lasts far beyond the title you hold today.

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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