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As we usher in January, a month often filled with resolutions, urgency, and fresh expectations, I find myself reflecting on a key distinction: starting the year with goals versus starting with strategy. For Black women, the pressure to work harder, carry more, and continuously prove our worth can feel overwhelming. Yet, this year, I offer a different approach.
This January is about positioning, not performing. It’s about not just surviving, but thriving. It’s about protecting your peace while relentlessly pursuing your purpose. It’s about creating a year where your brilliance is recognized, your boundaries are respected, and your career growth doesn’t come at the cost of your well-being.
Last year, my motto was about protecting my peace. This year, I’m building on that foundation. Stay tuned for more as I unveil my focus for 2026.
Positioning, Power, and the Leadership We Deserve
In Glass Ceilings, Fragile Ground, I discuss the dual burden that leaders from historically excluded communities often face: the need to perform at the highest level while managing perception, untrue assumptions, and invisible emotional labor. These challenges highlight why positioning is so crucial.
When navigating systems not designed with your success in mind, talent alone is not enough. You must be intentional about where you invest your energy, what you tolerate, and how you advocate for yourself. Positioning means building a career where your excellence is nurtured, your voice is amplified, and your leadership doesn’t come at the cost of isolation or exhaustion.
The Three Principles of Positioning Yourself for the Year You Deserve
- Standards: Define Your Non-Negotiables
Your non-negotiables are the boundaries that protect your dignity, wellness, and leadership integrity. These are not demands; they are the standards grounded in self-respect that ensure you can show up fully and authentically.
Ask yourself:
- What do I need to feel respected and supported at work?
- What does safety in professional spaces look like for me?
- What behaviors or conditions can I no longer accept, even if they are normalized?
Examples of non-negotiables include:
- Respectful communication
- Clear expectations and accountability
- Protected time outside of work
- Fair recognition and equitable access to opportunities
- A workplace culture that honors boundaries
These standards are not just personal preferences—they are the bedrock of self-preservation and authentic leadership.
- Strategy: Decide What You Are No Longer Available For
As Black women, we are often celebrated for our dependability, but this praise can quickly turn into a trap. Being the “reliable one” means you’re often overworked, under-resourced, and expected to fix the mistakes of others.
This year, you have permission to be unavailable for:
- Last-minute urgency caused by poor planning
- Emotional labor that goes unacknowledged
- Over-explaining your decisions
- Shrinking yourself to protect others’ comfort
- Being the fixer while others take the credit
- Performing resilience as a measure of your worth
If something costs your peace, it is simply too expensive.
- Support: Build Your Personal Board of Directors
Leadership is not meant to be done alone, yet for many Black women, isolation is woven into the experience. This year, commit to building a Personal Board of Directors—a support network that ensures you are never navigating your career in solitude.
Your board should include:
- A mentor who supports your growth
- A sponsor who advocates for you behind closed doors
- A peer who offers honest feedback and encouragement
- A coach or therapist who helps preserve your clarity and mental well-being
High performance is not sustainable without high support. You need a team that protects your growth and helps you thrive at every level.
Building Your Positioning Plan
A strong year does not begin with more work; it begins with intentional action. Here’s a simple plan for January to help you position yourself for success:
- Write down your top 3 priorities for your career and for your well-being.
- Choose one action step from each list that you will begin implementing this month.
- Decide what you will say “no” to in order to align with what truly matters to you.
- Commit to tracking your wins weekly, so your growth is documented and celebrated.
Positioning is a daily practice of choosing alignment over urgency.
For Organizations: Supporting Black Women Beyond Celebration
Organizations benefit greatly from the leadership, innovation, and cultural intelligence that Black women bring to the table. However, too often, Black women’s labor is expected without being adequately supported.
If your organization is truly committed to equity, January is the time to audit your systems and ask:
- Are Black women being sponsored, protected, and promoted?
- Are they receiving stretch opportunities or just extra labor?
- Are they being compensated fairly for the value they provide?
- Are they carrying emotional labor that should be shared across the organization?
- Do your leaders have the tools to recognize bias and interrupt it in real time?
Support is not symbolic; it must be operational. It should show up in how opportunities are allocated, how contributions are recognized, and how your organization responds when harm occurs.
January Reflection
As you step into this year, I invite you to reflect on the following questions:
- What standards are non-negotiable for you in 2026?
- Where have you been overgiving to prove your worth?
- What do you need to release because it no longer aligns with who you are becoming?
- What is one boundary that would change everything if you honored it consistently?
- What support systems do you need to thrive at the next level?
Leadership is more than ambition. It requires intention, standards, and strategy.
For Individuals:
- Write your top three non-negotiables and choose one boundary to practice consistently this month.
- Take one strategic step that aligns with your positioning.
- Schedule a development conversation with your manager or mentor.
- Document your wins weekly to acknowledge your growth.
- Ask for clarity before saying yes to any new request.
- Stop volunteering for unpaid labor.
- Speak up in one room where you usually stay quiet.
For Organizations:
- Before the end of January, audit how Black women are being supported.
- Identify where they are being relied on but not resourced, or praised but not promoted.
- Commit to one shift that will reduce inequity and increase protection—and implement it within the next 30 days.
Your leadership matters. Your boundaries matter. Your well-being matters.
When Black women are positioned to thrive, organizations and communities transform.
Learn More About Illyasha Peete:
Website: Catalyze and Cultivate Consulting
LinkedIn: Illyasha Peete, MBA
