What Michael Jackson Can Teach Us About Competence and Consent NOT to Overwork

Ok, let’s call a thing a thing. Right now, it feels like the internet belongs to Michael Jackson.

Between the excitement around the biopic Michael, the dance reenactments flooding social media, and longtime fans revisiting the music, people are once again talking about what made Michael Jackson unforgettable: the level of excellence he brought to his craft. The precision. The discipline. The ability to make difficult things look effortless.

And honestly? A lot of BIPOC professionals do the same thing at work. (Yes, it’s true. Stay with me.)

People see the polished presentation, the calm under pressure, the ability to “handle it.” What they don’t see is the constant labor underneath it—the over-preparing, the emotional management, the code-switching, the pressure to stay composed and productive no matter what is happening around you.

When you become known as “the reliable one,” something subtle starts to happen. Your competence stops being appreciated and starts being expected.

You become the person people pile things onto because “you’ll figure it out.” The one trusted with the difficult client, the last-minute assignment, the extra project, or the emotional cleanup nobody else wants to handle. And because many BIPOC professionals have spent years proving they belong in spaces that were not always built with them in mind, saying “no” can feel risky.

As a boundary coach, I see this often with clients who are praised constantly at work but privately exhausted. Many high performers do not realize when excellence has quietly turned into overextension. Somewhere along the way, being dependable became tied to being available all the time.

But being good at your job should not require carrying everything.

There is a difference between being respected and being over-relied upon. There is a difference between collaboration and silent over-functioning. And just because you can handle more does not mean you should have to.

One of the reasons people continue to admire Michael Jackson’s artistry is because they recognize the dedication behind it. The mastery mattered. The craft mattered. But even cultural icons remind us that constantly performing without rest comes with a cost.

BIPOC professionals deserve workplaces where their talent is valued without requiring self-abandonment in exchange.

Because just because you make it look easy does not mean it is not heavy.