You’re being taxed twice. How will you reel it in?

I shared this with my Black women leaders and others in my private online community SLAYNET on Monday, and I think its worth sharing broadly here.

In Tuesday’s #NSCRockstarLeadership Tip, we talked about competitive neuroplasticity, in other words, the way you train your brain to be more distracted when you attempt to “multitask.” Neuroscience has nicknamed this phenomenon the brain tax.

How might this impact Black women leaders? We are taught by parents, mentors and others that we have to be at least twice as good to get into the room in business. So, we over rotate and come blazing in at more than twice as good. This is what is called the Black tax.

As a result, Black women leaders and other BIPOC leaders find themselves overworking their brains and their bodies to remain in the high-performing realm. Most often, that leaves us overworked and typically not compensated for all the extras. So let’s be certain that the math is “mathing.”

You are now not only “in the room” you are “at the table.” It’s time to switch gears.

You are doing the most— and at this point, you are leveling both taxes on yourself.

If you are indeed excellent, a high-performer, then chances are your 80% is better than your average peer’s 100%. So peel back on that 150-200% you’re giving. Give your well-heeled, highly polished and excellent self the space you need for a bit more sanity and focus in your leadership journey.

This is the less hectic and focused mode you deserve.

(And in that quiet time, find out what your market value is, and smile when you lay your head down at night. )

Join SLAYNET. We keep it 100. http://bit.ly/SLAYNET.