Walking a tightrope without a safety net: A systems and psychodynamic exploration into the experiences of Black women in senior leadership roles in the UK

This study employed a systems psychodynamic approach to explore the experiences of Black women in senior leadership roles within UK organisations. A constructivist phenomenological enquiry was undertaken, using a psychoanalytically informed method, Free Association Narrative Interview (FANI) - which involved semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of six Black women of African and African-Caribbean heritage across various sectors in the UK. The data was analysed using Grounded Theory, with a systems psychodynamic lens applied to augment the findings. The study revealed that Black women in senior leadership often struggle to fully take up authority, and their experiences can be metaphorically described as “walking a tightrope with no safety net.” Five key themes emerged: systemic racism enacted through microaggressions; playing it safe; a projected sense of inadequacy; masking emotions; negative stereotype threats. Drawing from these findings, the study proposes three theoretical ideas for organisations to explore in order to better understand the complex dynamics shaping these challenges. It concludes with a set of recommendations for interventions aimed at creating environments in which Black women in senior leadership roles feel seen, safe, and authorised to lead with confidence and authenticity. The three theoretical ideas proposed in this study to explain the difficulties faced by Black women in senior leadership are: 1. Black women in senior leadership roles find it difficult to take up authority because of systemic racism enacted in overt and covert microaggressions. They experience the system as too dangerous, prompting the use of coping strategies to survive in role; 2. Through unconscious group processes Black women may identify with negative projections of failure and incompetence from the dominant groups, resulting in a sense of inadequacy in role and failure to perform in authentic ways and take up authority; 3. Black women often draw upon internalised personal defences. These defences influence how they take up leadership roles. If personal defences fail, they will resort to quitting to protect themselves.