Tanya Uyigue applied for a promotion she was qualified for and didn't get it. She asked why. Nobody ever told her.
That silence became the starting point for her book, What Your Team Won't Tell You. It's written for the employees who can't safely give their managers honest feedback, and for the managers who were never trained to see what their people are seeing.
Brandon and Tanya talk about what happens when a high performer keeps taking on more work while the goalposts keep moving. They get into the "safe bet" employee managers tend to promote, and what a senior leader really means when they say someone lacks "polish." Tanya also shares the moment she found out she'd been an absentee manager, from her own employee, as a joke, in front of her boss.
You'll walk away with the questions to ask every new hire, and what to do if you recognize yourself in a few of these chapters.
About our guest
Tanya Uyigue is a career and workplace strategist, coach, and speaker based in Chicago. She's spent more than 20 years working across corporate and nonprofit settings, and she trained as a professional coach through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). Her content on workplace dynamics and management reaches a large audience on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, where people regularly share their own manager stories with her. Her new book, What Your Team Won't Tell You: The 7 Management Fails to Avoid, is out now from Berrett-Koehler.
TIMESTAMPS
- 00:00 Intro
- 02:50 Why Tanya stopped being careful with her words
- 04:05 How she was passed over for a promotion with no feedback
- 07:10 What happened when a colleague she helped hire became her boss
- 08:15 Why she sat on her viral video for a month
- 11:00 Who the book is really written for
- 13:20 What "I played myself while they played me" means
- 15:00 What a "safe bet" employee is and why managers promote them
- 18:05 What leaders really mean when they say someone lacks "polish"
- 21:15 How Tanya found out she was an absentee manager
- 24:30 Why "never let your staff know what's going on" backfires
- 26:20 What to do when the problem is two levels above you
- 28:00 How to start strong with a new hire
- 29:55 What to do if you see yourself in the book
- 32:15 Why being direct is still the hardest part
- 34:20 Where to find Tanya and the book
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
Host: Brandon Laws
In Brandon's own words: "The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders."
About Xenium HR
Xenium HR is on a mission to transform workplaces by providing expert outsourced HR and payroll services for small and medium-sized businesses. With a people-first approach, Xenium helps organizations create thriving work environments where employees feel valued and supported. From navigating compliance to enhancing workplace culture, Xenium offers tailored solutions that empower growth and simplify HR. Whether managing employee relations, payroll processing, or implementing impactful training programs, Xenium is the trusted partner businesses rely on to elevate their workplace experience. Discover how Xenium can transform your workplace:
Learn more
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