from LinkedIn
At LD, 76% of our leadership coaching clients are women of color. Of those women, 85% are black.
While black women leaders are not a monolith, one thing I hear repeatedly (and have experienced myself) is the interesting dichotomy of an innate tendency to put everything, every project, every initiative, every team member ahead of ourselves AND a drowning overwhelm from putting everything, every project, every initiative, every team member ahead of ourselves.
Black women, and African American women in particular, come from a lineage of women who have HAD to self-sacrifice (which is why it's innate). Our work now is to get free.
Myers-Galloway Counseling's recent blog highlights how "Black Superwoman Syndrome" can sometimes manifest and extend into the workplace.
2 Questions for black women leaders out there:
What would it look like to care for yourself FIRST tomorrow?
--Start small. One thing.
What would it look like to not make your colleagues’ feelings more important than yours?
--You can acknowledge what they feel and still honor your own.