Director of Finance. VP of Sales. Team Lead. Executive Director.
All of these titles come with degrees. Certifications. And lots of opportunities for you to be pat on your back.
But, if your success was only about collecting titles, why do you still feel stuck?
Here’s the truth most won’t say out loud. Many melanated women have mastered the art of achievement. But we haven’t been taught how to build aligned strategy. We know how to survive, grind, and climb a ladder. But not how to sustain.
Title overload and strategy drought
In corporate America, leadership development for us melanated women often sounds like: “Just keep performing.”
Every promotion comes with higher expectations, but rarely with support. New roles, same burnout. More responsibility, less clarity. You don’t need to keep climbing the ladder if the roof is unstable. You need a blueprint.
Why strategy > striving
Strategy gives you permission to stop over-performing. It centers your values, energy, and vision. Instead of reacting to every new demand, you start designing your leadership around what matters.
Need an example? I got you!
- No more 8pm Slack replies just to prove you’re dedicated.
- No more internalizing guilt for resting.
- No more tolerating environments that applaud your labor but ignore your humanity.
Aligned leadership starts with clarity
We build sustainable leadership when we stop performing and start planning. When we identify:
- What lights us up…
- What drains us…
- What we’re actually responsible…
When a client is “asked” to “act like a leader” …
Yes, that’s exactly what happened when a former client – let’s call her Tasha – became a senior project manager. She was running entire departments and at times teams, yet was “asked” to “act like a leader” ….
Honestly, she didn’t need a new title. Tasha needed boundaries, a strategy, and self-trust. So, we did just that.
We worked on her clarity framework, taught her how to delegate, and redefined her leadership voice. In three months, she led a major organizational shift and turned down a toxic “promotion” in favor of launching her own consulting specialty.
You don’t need to be promoted. You need to be positioned.