Navigating the Excellence Tax

How to protect your wellbeing, progress your career and decide what needs to change at work


Thursday, 22 October 2026
04:00 PM BST

You've worked hard to build your career don't lose it to burnout.

You may be performing well, meeting expectations and continuing to progress, while privately feeling exhausted, overlooked or under pressure to prove yourself again and again.

 This free webinar is for Black professionals who want to understand the pressures they are experiencing at work and make more deliberate decisions about what happens next.  

Drawing on the Cost of Black Excellence™ research, I will explain what I am seeing across the experiences of more than 1,100 Black-identifying professionals and what those findings mean for your career, health and working life.

What we'll discuss:

What the Excellence Tax looks like at work

The hidden pressures behind continual proving, over-performance, identity management and carrying more than your role requires.

Why high performance does not always mean you are thriving

How people continue delivering while experiencing exhaustion, poor sleep, stress and growing dissatisfaction.

The warning signs to pay attention to

VHow to recognise when professional commitment has started to become an unsustainable working pattern.

Why progression sometimes feels harder than performance

The difference between being valued for what you produce and being supported to progress.

How workplace conditions affect your confidence and decision-making

Why prolonged pressure can change how you see yourself, your career, and your options.

How to decide what needs to change
We will look at four responses: stay, challenge, reposition or leave.
How to protect your career without sacrificing your wellbeing
Practical questions to help you think about boundaries, support, visibility, progression and your next move.

By the end of the webinar, you will have a clearer understanding of what you are experiencing and a framework for thinking about what to do next.