Not all support is supportive.

In this episode, we dig into how professional development like mentorship, coaching, and training can be misused as a tool for control, especially for Black professionals. What’s often framed as “growth” or “investment” can quickly turn into compliance culture, performance surveillance, and performative care.

We explore:

• The blurry line between support and supervision
• How race and power shape who gets real mentorship vs. forced coaching
• The emotional toll of “development” plans that feel more like disciplinary action
• Strategies for setting boundaries around help that isn’t really helpful

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

Please be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review.

Black Leaders’ Mental Health in the Workplace: What’s Really Happening?

It’s not just burnout.

It’s isolation, gaslighting, chronic underestimation, and being the only one expected to “represent” while staying composed.

In this episode, we move beyond surface-level wellness advice to name what’s actually impacting the mental health of Black professionals, especially those in leadership roles inside hostile or indifferent institutions.

We explore:

• The psychological cost of constant visibility and representation
• How harm gets mislabeled as “stress” or “overwork”
• The emotional impact of racism disguised as feedback or leadership strategy
• What it means to advocate for your care in spaces that pathologize your pain
• And why real support has to go beyond access to an Employee Assistance Program

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

Please subscribe, share, and leave a review.

For many Black professionals, HR isn’t protection, it’s surveillance.

In this episode, we’re naming the truth that too often gets whispered behind closed doors: Human Resources departments are not neutral. From weaponized PIPs to dismissive responses to harm, Black leaders are navigating systems designed to protect the institution, not the individual.

We break down:

• The difference between HR and real accountability
• How race shapes the narrative around “performance”
• The subtle signs you’re being set up, and what to do next
• How so-called inclusive benefits are often just PR, not policy
• What it looks like to build safety and strategy outside the system

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

Be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review.

Sometimes it’s not you, it’s the system.

In this episode, we’re calling out the deep dysfunction inside nonprofits, institutions, and “progressive” spaces that claim they want change but quietly resist it at every turn. From the myth of meritocracy to the hollow rituals of “inclusion,” we’re asking: What happens when the mission sounds right, but the culture stays wrong?

We dig into:

• How to spot when your org is resistant to change, no matter what it says publicly
• Why white leadership often escapes accountability while clinging to the optics of DEI
• The emotional toll of advocating internally, especially when you're met with “we’re a family” energy instead of real standards
• What it could look like to professionalize nonprofit leadership with real accountability: transparency, ethical hiring, and oversight

Key Takeaway: Black leaders don’t owe loyalty to broken systems. You have every right to ask hard questions, and to walk away when the answer is silence.

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

Please be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review.

We’re told to make it in systems that were never built for us. But what happens after the resignation, the burnout, the pivot, or the layoff?

In this episode, we’re talking about what comes next, life beyond the 9–5. Whether you’re consulting, on sabbatical, freelancing, starting your own thing, or still figuring it out, this conversation holds space for the truth: leaving isn’t the end of the story, it's the beginning of a different way of working and living.

We explore:

• The myths about success and safety we’re forced to unlearn after leaving institutional roles
• The difference between freedom and flailing, and how to build support structures that actually sustain us
• The hidden truths about entrepreneurship, consulting, and life outside the W-2 that don’t make it to the highlight reel
• What it means to not recreate the very grind we escaped

Key Takeaway: Liberation is not a one-time act, it’s a lifelong practice. Black leadership must be sustainable, whether you’re inside or outside the system.

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

Be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review.

“You don’t belong here.” Nobody says it out loud, but Black professionals feel it all the time.

In this episode, we’re flipping the script on impostor syndrome. Too often, we’re told our self-doubt is a personal failing, that we just need to be more confident or stop being so sensitive. But what if those feelings aren’t internal at all? What if they’re responses to systemic exclusion, coded invalidation, and racialized bias?

This conversation builds on key themes from Season 1 (Episodes 4 & 6) and recent Season 3 episodes about code-switching and new leadership models. Now, we’re going deeper into how Black professionals are pathologized instead of supported, and what it means to reclaim our narratives.

We explore:

• The difference between internal doubt and external invalidation
• How impostor syndrome language masks racism and structural exclusion
• Real-life moments when self-doubt felt logical, not pathological
• How organizations can stop gaslighting Black professionals and start dismantling harmful dynamics

Have you ever second-guessed yourself, only to realize you were reacting to a system designed to exclude you? Share your story with us or tag #Not4Prophets.

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Download your Free copy of How to Keep Great People: for mission-driven organizations that want to create longevity and loyalty among teams https://www.howtokeepgreatpeople.com/

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

The DEI wave that surged in 2020 is crashing, and once again, Black professionals are the first to pay the price. From layoffs and sidelining to performative accountability and shrinking budgets, many are left wondering: What now?

In this episode, we’re talking about the DEI backlash and what it means for those who've built careers, movements, and entire identities around the pursuit of equity in the workplace.

We ask:

• How has this DEI unraveling shown up personally and professionally?
• What happens when the rug is pulled out from under your leadership?
• What does meaningful equity work look like now, especially outside of formal DEI titles?
• And most importantly: What new power centers can we create, lead, and own?

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Download your Free copy of How to Keep Great People: for mission-driven organizations that want to create longevity and loyalty among teams https://www.howtokeepgreatpeople.com/

Want to schedule a 1-1 consultation with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/

At some point in leadership, especially for Black leaders, the work starts to feel absurd. The goals no longer make sense. The requests become contradictory. The funding evaporates. The outcomes are unclear or ever-shifting. And yet, somehow, you're still expected to show up with grace, clarity, and measurable impact. This episode explores what it feels like to be asked to do the impossible with the bare minimum, and the emotional, psychological, and spiritual toll it takes.

This conversation is here to remind you: you’re not imagining it. It is absurd. And Black leaders deserve to work in environments where their time, labor, and vision are respected, not exploited.

RESOURCES

Are you a woman leader who is depleted, exhausted and looking for a way out? Check out Trenia's 5-part limited series podcast The Burnout Rescue Plan. Click here to listen.

Want to chat with David? Visit https://strivequity.com/