Navigating Your Leadership Journey: Tailored Tips for Black Men in Mid-Level Roles
By Dominic George · May 3rd 2025

Happy Saturday! Word Count: 1453…11.11 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.

Seen But Not Heard: The Visibility Trap Black Men in Leadership Must Break

Let’s talk about the struggle beneath the suit: As a Black man in leadership, the fight for visibility is real. You know what it’s like to work twice as hard just to be noticed, and even then, your voice still doesn’t seem to carry the weight it should. You’re praised for your calm, but overlooked in decisions. You’re invited to the meeting, but not really welcomed into the conversation. You’re in the room, but somehow still not in the plan.

Why?

Because in too many rooms, visibility is the ceiling for Black men, not just the beginning.

It’s the illusion of progress. The corporate pat on the back that says, “You’re here now. That should be enough.”

But it isn’t. And you know that. Because being seen is not the same as being heard. So, let’s name the tension: Visibility without voice is just another form of invisibility.

You don’t want to be a symbol. You want to be a strategist. You weren’t hired to decorate the org chart. You were called to disrupt it.

From Visibility to Voice: A Leadership Shift. There comes a moment in every Black leader’s journey when you realize: proximity to power isn’t power. Having a seat at the table means little if you have to keep folding yourself to stay there.

That moment?

That’s the invitation to start leading from a different place. To move from:

1. Being seen → to being heard.

2. Being included → to being influential.

3. Being tolerated → to being transformational.

Breaking out of the visibility trap doesn’t happen by accident, and it won’t happen if you keep leading with someone else’s blueprint. The systems we navigate weren’t built for our full expression, and yet, we keep trying to earn power by playing the game the way it was rigged.

To lead with real influence, to move from tolerated to transformational, you have to change your approach. That means choosing depth over decoration, strategy over symbolism, and legacy over likes. It requires a new internal architecture. A reset of how you see yourself and how you move.

To get there, you have to make three critical shifts. 

These aren’t surface-level tweaks. These are identity-level pivots. And they start with three critical shifts. These aren’t gimmicks. They’re not hacks. They’re deep, strategic pivots for Black men who are done playing small.

Let’s get into it. 

Additional Tip for Black Men: Stop playing to fit, start designing to lead. If the room wasn’t build for you, stop shrinking to stay in it. You weren’t sent to conform, you were build to transform.

So my advice: Shift from adapting to the table to architecting your own structure. Begin building your leadership platform outside the current system: lead an internal initiative, mentor with intention, or establish your own decision-making framework that others begin to adopt.

Visibility Is Not The Goal. Influence Is.

Don’t just demand a seat, design the table: Too often, we think leadership means earning a place at someone else’s table. But what if the table was never designed with your leadership in mind?

Truth is: Many rooms are structured to extract from you, not empower you.

Real power begins when you stop waiting for permission and start defining the environment you need to thrive.

Ask yourself: What kind of table would I build, if I wasn’t trying to survive someone else’s?

Start shaping rooms that reflect you values, not just your resumé. Shift from fitting in, to architecting your own influence.

Next, turn visibility into value. You can’t influence what you have defined. Visibility gets you in the room. But value keeps your voice in the conversation.

That means getting clear on the unique lens you bring, not just because you’re Black, but because you lead through lived experience, cultural fluency, and strategic depth most overlook.

Show up with substance. Speak to what they don’t see yet. Let your presence be the bridge to perspectives that have been missing.

And never forget: the most strategic leaders are the ones who make others rethink the rules. So, shift from being noticed to being needed.

Lastly, build quiet power. Not all leadership is loud. Some of the most dangerous assumptions placed on us are that we must be performative to be powerful.

Don’t fall for it.

Quiet power is the ability to move people, shift culture, and impact outcomes without needing constant validation. It’s intentional. Strategic. Rooted.

When you’re no longer fighting to prove your presence, you can finally lead from peach, not panic. So, speak when it matters. Move when it counts. Let you work echo. And shift from presence management to power embodiment.

Additional Tip for Black Men: Let your power speak without needing to shout. Not every moment requires volume. Leadership isn’t about performing strength; it’s about sustaining it. Quiet power is the most underestimated force in the room.

Here’s the Shift:

Shift from managing perception to embodying presence. Choose one high-stakes situation this week to enter with stillness, clarity, and intentional brevity. Watch how people lean in when you speak less but say more.

Closing Thoughts:

In summary, here’s what the world won’t tell you: They’ll celebrate you being visible, as long as you don’t challenge anything. As long as you make people feel “comfortable.” But comfort doesn’t change systems. And visibility alone doesn’t rewrite the rules.

That’s your real work now:

To stop hustling for recognition, and start building a reputation rooted in authenticity, excellence, and impact.

To stop aiming for symbolic success, and start architecting spaces where you’re not just present, you’re powerful.

To stop managing how you’re perceived, and start owning how you lead.

Because visibility fades. But voice? Voice echoes. And real influence leaves a legacy.

Subscribe to the Vision Leadership for LIFE newsletter now for early access, if you want the insider blueprint before it drops, exclusive insights, and first access when pre-orders go live.

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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