What is the emotional cost of Black excellence?
How do we lead without self-sacrifice?
And what would it mean to succeed on our own terms, not the ones we inherited or were expected to uphold?
In this powerful and deeply personal session, Workplace Wellbeing Strategist and Coach Natasha Williams invites Black women to reflect on the invisible pressures, cultural expectations, and emotional toll that often come with being a Black woman in leadership.
Drawing from her current research project, The Cost of Black Excellence™, an ongoing independent study exploring how Black professionals navigate success in high-pressure careers, Natasha shares compelling early findings that expose the reality many of us know too well: workplace toxicity isn't just uncomfortable, it's driving talented Black professionals to leave their careers and damaging their health.
Through storytelling, real data, and honest reflection, she challenges traditional narratives of excellence and offers a liberating reframe: one that centres truth, rest, legacy, and genuine self-worth. With qualifications including a Masters degree and Level 7 Somatic Trauma-Informed Coaching & Leadership Certification, Natasha brings both academic rigour and deep cultural understanding to conversations about workplace transformation and Black women's leadership.
What to expect
- Early insights from The Cost of Black Excellence™ survey
- Honest discussion about the emotional and cultural labour many Black women carry in professional spaces
- Practical tools to navigate high-performance cultures without sacrificing your wellbeing
- A 45-minute interactive discussion to share stories, ask questions, and explore collective solutions
- Sessions are not recorded, so attend live to be part of this critical dialogue
Who should attend
This session is for Black women of African and Caribbean heritage navigating:
- High-pressure roles, leadership responsibilities, and workplace visibility
- Burnout, bias, or the constant pressure to “hold it all together”
- A desire to redefine success in ways that honour their full humanity and create space for others
Join Jaiye Elias, Lead of the Network for Black Women Leaders, with guest speaker Natasha Williams as we explore what it truly means to thrive, not just survive, in professional spaces.