Navigating Your Leadership Journey: Tailored Tips for Black Men in Mid-Level Roles
By Dominic George · September 27th 2025

Happy Saturday! Word Count: 1639…12.37 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.

How Black Men Transform Their Leadership Voice Into Impact

Your Voice Is Your Power: Here’s How To Use IT

Every Black man in leadership knows the tension of having a voice and deciding when, where, and how to use it. You sit in boardrooms where you are outnumbered. You are invited to strategy sessions where the decisions are already made. You watch as your words are filtered through a lens of skepticism until someone else repeats them and suddenly the room nods in agreement. If you have been there, then you understand why this conversation is urgent.

Your leadership voice is not simply about speaking up in meetings. It is about knowing that your presence, your perspective, and your principles are power. It is about realizing that your voice is not only a reflection of who you are, but also the channel through which you shape culture, influence outcomes, and claim your rightful space at the table.

In The Authentic Edge: Leading Without Losing Yourself, I write about how voice is a critical piece of leading without losing yourself. For too long, Black men have been taught to temper, to shrink, or to silence parts of themselves in order to “fit” into leadership spaces. The unspoken rules suggest that speaking too boldly might make you appear threatening. Holding back too much might cause you to seem disengaged. It is a careful balance that drains energy and creates self-doubt. But here is the truth: your voice is not meant to be managed into silence. It is meant to be cultivated into clarity, conviction, and courage.

The Cost of Silence

Silence has its place. Strategic listening is an art, and knowing when to speak is as valuable as what you say. But chronic silence comes with a cost. When you repeatedly mute your insights, you train the room to overlook your contributions. When you choose not to challenge flawed ideas, you reinforce the false belief that you agree. And when you silence yourself out of fear of how you will be perceived, you teach yourself to distrust your own instincts. Silence may protect you temporarily, but it erodes influence over time.

The Misuse of Voice: On the other hand, using your voice without intention is equally dangerous. Filling space with words that lack clarity or confidence weakens credibility. Using your voice only when you are frustrated risks you being labeled as emotional or reactive. And speaking solely to prove you belong often makes your contributions feel performative rather than purposeful. Your leadership voice must be disciplined. It should be rooted in authenticity, aligned with values, and directed toward impact.

Voice as a Strategic Asset

When you begin to see your voice as an asset rather than a liability, you shift the game. Your voice is not just about communication; it is about power. It shapes how others perceive your leadership, how your team interprets your direction, and how organizations remember your contributions. Every time you use your voice with clarity and courage, you expand the room’s capacity to respect and respond to you.

In practical terms, this means preparing for the moments that matter most. Before walking into a meeting, ask yourself: what are the two points that must be heard today, even if nothing else is? When you are at the table, do not wait to be invited into the conversation. Position your voice early and decisively. And when conflict arises, use your voice not to dominate, but to redirect the energy toward solutions. This is how your voice becomes not just a sound in the room, but a force that shapes outcomes.

Overcoming the Fear of Using Your Voice

Fear of using your voice is not imaginary. It is grounded in centuries of systems that punished Black men for being too outspoken, too bold, or too visible. It is reinforced in corporate cultures that still question the legitimacy of our authority. But fear cannot be the filter for how you lead. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the refusal to be silent in its presence. Your fear is a signal that your voice matters, not that it should be hidden.

To overcome fear, start with small acts of intentional voice. Speak up in the meetings where you would normally pass. Ask the challenging question that others avoid. Share your unique perspective even if it goes against the grain. Every time you practice, you strengthen the muscle of your leadership voice. Eventually, using it becomes second nature.

Additional Tip for Black Men: Anchor your voice in values.

Solution Shift: Rather than adjusting your tone to avoid discomfort, shift by consistently aligning your words with your core values. This builds trust and authenticity over time.

When Your Voice Matches Your Values

Voice and Authenticity: Your leadership voice is most powerful when it is authentic. Authenticity is not about saying everything you feel; it is about aligning what you say with who you are. When your voice is consistent with your values, people know they can trust your words. Authenticity also means your voice does not shift simply to accommodate the comfort of others. You do not need to sound like your peers to be respected. You do not need to adopt language that strips away your identity to be heard. Your authentic voice, shaped by your lived experience, is what makes you irreplaceable.

The Ripple Effect of Your Voice

Never underestimate how your voice impacts others. When you speak with courage, younger leaders watching you gain permission to do the same. When you use your voice to advocate for equity, policies shift and opportunities expand. When you silence yourself, others learn that survival requires suppression. Your voice is not only about you. It is about the generations who will follow. It is about the cultures you will either transform or allow to remain unchanged.

Practical Tools to Strengthen Your Leadership Voice

1. Clarity Before Speaking
   Know the point you want to make in one sentence. If you cannot state it clearly to yourself, you will not communicate it effectively to others.

2. Strategic Timing
   Choose moments where your words can influence the direction of the conversation, not just fill space.

3. Confident Delivery
   Speak with a tone that communicates certainty even when you are still persuading others to consider your view.

4. Consistent Alignment
   Anchor your words to your values. Over time, this consistency will build trust and influence.

Additional Tip for Black Men: Use your voice to elevate others. 

Solution Shift: Instead of focusing only on your visibility, shift by amplifying the contributions of others while adding your own insight. This demonstrates confident leadership and creates lasting influence.

Closing Thoughts:

In summary, the bottom line is this: your leadership voice is your power. If you silence it, you forfeit that power. If you misuse it, you weaken it. But if you cultivate and use it with clarity, courage, and authenticity, you unlock your ability to lead without losing yourself. Black men in leadership do not have the luxury of shrinking. Every space we enter needs our full presence and our authentic voice. Your voice is not a liability to be managed. It is a force to be mastered. Use it well.

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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The content, concepts, and original expressions in this newsletter are the exclusive intellectual property of Dominic George and Vision Leadership for LIFE, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission. This newsletter is intended for personal development and leadership growth. Respect the work. Honor the source.

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