Power, Perception & Performance: Navigating the Workplace as a Black Woman (Part 1)

Performance doesn’t always translate to protection—and in many cases, it can shift perception in ways that are difficult to name but deeply felt.

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, I sit down with Dwayna Haley, creator of the “WHOAskedthePRGirl?!” series, to unpack the patterns that shape workplace experiences for high-performing Black women. Grounded in her ongoing series Power & Projection, this episode focuses on identifying the dynamics that often go unspoken but consistently show up.

This is an educational conversation centered on systems, patterns, and lived experience—not individual conflict.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What it means to be perceived as “the threat” in professional environments
• Hypervisibility and the difference between attention and surveillance
• Tone policing and why clarity is often misinterpreted
• The pressure to overperform—and the impact it has on perception
• How workplace dynamics shape confidence, communication, and opportunity

By naming these patterns, this conversation creates space for clarity, validation, and more intentional navigation.

Part 1 focuses on understanding the experience. Part 2 will explore how these patterns evolve—and how to move through them with strategy and awareness.

Season 2 continues to center conversations that connect identity, leadership, and systems—so we can engage with greater clarity and confidence.