Hello and Welcome to Empowered Leadership Exchange!
This newsletter is dedicated to equipping leaders and aspiring leaders of color with the tools and insights to lead with confidence and authenticity. This month, we’re tackling a topic weighing on many leaders right now: mid-career dread.

Feeling Stuck in the Middle?

With economic uncertainty, RTO mandates, layoffs, and growing responsibilities, many mid-career leaders are quietly burning out. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, but the path ahead feels blurry, and motivation is really low.

Here are three ways to regain clarity, connection, and career momentum:

1. Name the Season You’re In

Why it matters: You can’t lead yourself (or others) well if you’re not clear about where you are emotionally and professionally. Mid-career isn’t a one-size-fits-all stage. For some, it’s expansion. For others, it’s reevaluation.

Try this: Use the Career Season Check-In:

Are you in a season of growth (ready for more)?
Stability (holding things steady)?
Change (ready to pivot or explore)? This simple reflection can clarify what kind of support or strategy you need next.

2. Don’t Wait for Motivation! Design for It!

Why it matters: Most professionals wait for clarity or inspiration before they take action. But real progress happens when we design routines that rebuild confidence and momentum.

How to do it: Try the 3-2-1 Rule:

Talk to 3 people outside your company this month.
Reflect on 2 wins from your past year.
Take 1 small risk (pitch an idea, apply for a role, reach out to a mentor).

3. Your Career Deserves Strategy Too

Why it matters: You build strategy for your team. You set goals for your org. But when’s the last time you created a plan for your own leadership growth?!

Try this: Block one hour next week to write a personal vision statement. Where do you want to be in 3 years? What kind of leader do you want to become?

🎥 Missed the Webinar? Watch the Replay

Free Training Replay: How Senior Leaders Can Empower Middle Managers
🗓️ Recorded April 3rd

Whether you’re leading middle managers or you are one, this 40-minute session shares:

The biggest struggles mid-level leaders face
How to avoid “quiet quitting” at the leadership level
How mentorship, autonomy, and praise drive retention & performance

💡 Watch the replay + download the free M.A.P. Framework here → Recording + Framework

Resource of the Month

📚 "Unapologetically Ambitious" by Shellye Archambeau – An honest and empowering read on navigating leadership as a woman of color and building a career by design, not default.

Monthly Action Item

Ask yourself:
👉 “If I could rebuild my career from where I stand today, what would I keep and what would I change?”

Write your answers down. There’s insight in your honesty.

Want help moving from stuck to strategic?

📩 Connect with me on LinkedIn to explore coaching or join our next Leadership Group Coaching Cohort.

If this was helpful, feel free to share it with a co-worker or friend who might be feeling the same.

Mid-Career Dread is Real