Dr. Garland Vance

AdVance Leadership

AdVance Leadership helps high capacity influencers live and lead with greater purpose, productivity, and peace. 

We work with leaders, teams, and organizations to understand the effects of busyness on their lives and systematically drive it out so that they can accomplish their highest priorities.

We guide people to discover their life purpose and arrange their lives so that they carry out their purpose every day.

We help teams discover the unique characteristics and strengths of each individual and work out of their greatest contributions. 

We guide organizations to discover their highest priorities and to create the habits necessary to intentionally and systematically make progress on those priorities every single day.

Founder & CEO

Names by 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘴 as one "of the seven books everyone on your team should read."

Everyone is busy. And it’s killing us all.

Hurry is the new normal. When someone asks us how we’re doing, we tell them that we’re “good… but busy.” We want to achieve our dreams and live a significant life, so we cram our calendars with nonstop activities.

Instead of feeling fulfilled, we’re distracted, exhausted, and overwhelmed. We have too much to do and not enough time.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Garland Vance knows how you feel. In Gettin’ (un)Busy, he shares how he nearly burned out while leading a nonprofit, having a family, and working on his doctorate in leadership and spiritual formation. He discovered a powerful, proven, and research-driven system that will help you shed stress, accomplish your dreams, and love life. You will learn:

•	the inhibiting beliefs that keep you trapped in busyness 
•	why time management isn’t the solution
•	how to attain your biggest goals 
•	the unwanted commitments that keep you from your priorities 
•	how to take control of your life so that you don’t burn out
•	and much more….

If you’re ready to do less, get more done, and enjoy life, it’s time to get (un)busy!

Author, Gettin' (un)Busy

As an event planner, you have a ton of pressure. The last thing you want to worry about is whether you'll have an engaging presenter. You want a speaker who will keep your audience entertained while simultaneously learn and grow.

I'm an award-winning speaker and have been presenting to groups since I was a teenager (that was a few decades ago).

Here are the topics I speak on:
- Unleash Your Leadership - The 7 Traits that Solve 95% of Your Leadership Challenges
- The 4 Drivers of Retention and Engagement: Clarity, Community, Culture, and Leadership Development
- The 4 Building Blocks to Create a Leadership Culture in Your Business
- Gettin' (un)Busy  - 5 Steps to Kill Busyness and Live with Purpose, Productivity and Peace

Want to see if I'm the right fit for your event? Email me at garland@advanceleadership.live

Keynote Speaker

Are you drowning because you have too much to do and not enough time? Do you feel like your burning out?

The problem is busyness -- an overcommitment to too many good commitments. Almost everyone talks about how busy we are. And, to be honest, it makes us feel significant.

But busyness stops you from accomplishing your biggest dreams. You stay so overwhelmed that you can't make progress on your highest priorities.

It took me years to get (un)busy, but you can do it in 30 days...and it only takes a few minutes each day.

30-Day Gettin' (un)Busy Course 

Unleash Your Leaders

One of the hardest challenges leaders face is figuring out how to develop MORE leaders and BETTER leaders. You're so busy leading the business that it seems impossible to grow other leaders. 

But the longer you wait to develop those leaders, the more problems you have to deal with yourself. 

In the Unleash Your Leaders Team Coaching Program, your current and potential leaders receive video training and group coaching on the 7 traits that solve 95% of leadership challenges:
1.Character 
2.Competence
3.Capacity
4.Clarity 
5.Community 
6.Culture 
7.Consistency 

This leadership training gives your team practical tools to help them 
- Build trust with their direct reports
- Delegate effectively 
- Create clarity that spreads throughout the company
- Make the hard decisions that leaders need to make
- Free up time and energy to get more done in less time
- Develop the competencies they need for their role
- Create a healthy culture that produces engaged employees

If you're interested in learning more, schedule your Strategy Call today: 
https://calendly.com/d/dry-mf7-cy9

Team Coach

As a leader, have you ever felt like you're constantly taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back? If so, you're experiencing 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝. I help high-capacity leaders increase their effectiveness and achieve leadership excellence.

HOW I DO IT: During this 10-week one-on-one coaching program, you will:
❗️Implement the 7 traits that will solve ~95% of your leadership challenges
❗️Develop deeper levels of trust with your team than you ever imagined
❗️Create the clarity that your organization needs so that everyone understands where you're going, how you're going to get there, and what their part is in the process
❗️Increase your reservoirs of time, energy, and attention so that you accomplish more in less time

Executive Coach

Swoz Leadership

Creating solutions and content to help leaders create great organizations that generate raving fans.

VP of Strategy

Senior Consultant

Helping catalyze organizations cation all transformation by creating customized solutions for leadership development and customer service.

Consultant

Grace Fellowship

- Responsible to create and implement the leadership development pipeline in both small groups and in conjunction with all ministries to enable the church to carry out its mission.
- Overseeing the assimilation process and team to demonstrate excellent hospitality and to help visitors take the path to become engaged members.

Leadership Development Pastor

West Rome Baptist Church

Part-time contract staff while finishing my doctoral work. I helped research & develop a strategy for leadership development in both staff and volunteers. 
- Led a small team of staff to develop and launch a leadership pipeline for their volunteers.
- Partnered with the Pastor during a Spiritual Gifts sermon series to create a system to help people discover their spiritual gifts and get them plugged into a ministry opportunity that lined up with their interests & passions.
- Trained full-time staff in a Christian-based model of personal and organizational time management. 
- Assisted the staff in communicating vision and celebrating wins.
- Preached on multiple occasions.

Pastor of Staff & Leadership Development (contract)

WinShape College Program

Established and stewarded the mission, vision, and core values for a college-aged Christian program aimed at developing disciples, creating community, and launching leaders.

Led a staff of 9 people (3 full-time; 6 part-time) to design and execute the strategic training and programming to develop Christian leaders. 

Mobilized participants to lead discipleship groups based on curriculum and resources that I developed.

Facilitated training for hundreds of participants that enabled them to discover and articulate their life purpose.

Director

FranklinCovey

Guided customers to identify the best resources to meet their time management needs.

Sales Associate

New Life Community Church

Led a youth ministry for a young church plant utilizing a team of volunteer workers.

Youth Pastor

Biltmore

Arranged group visits for visitors to America's largest privately owned home.

Group Sales Associate

I help Executives retain employees and increase engagement by developing their company's leaders in 6 months or less. | Author of Gettin' (un)Busy | Collector of Cool Hats

Book a free strategy call to explore how to develop leaders who solve 95% of your company’s challenges and accelerate growth.
https://calendly.com/garlandvance/strategy

Who We Help

We work with growing companies in service, manufacturing, and banking sectors that have 500+ employees. Our ideal clients prioritize leadership development as a strategic investment and understand that strong leadership is the key to their company’s success. We typically partner with Heads of Talent Development, HR leaders, and CEOs who are committed to developing leaders at every level of their organization.

Problem We Solve

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies often face leadership gaps that lead to team misalignment, high turnover, and stalled business growth. Developing in-house leadership programs can be time-consuming and overwhelming, especially when leaders are unprepared to tackle 95% of the challenges their companies face. We alleviate that burden by delivering a proven, comprehensive leadership development solution that addresses these challenges head-on.

Client Results

Increased Employee Morale and Engagement: Companies report higher morale, improved retention, and stronger team dynamics as leaders develop confidence and competence.

Accelerated Leadership Promotions: Talent pipelines are filled with capable leaders, leading to quicker promotions and better succession planning.

Boosted Productivity: Leaders who go through our program are better equipped to drive results, manage teams effectively, and improve overall organizational performance.

Strengthened Company Culture: By focusing on leadership traits such as Character, Competence, and Community, leaders create a more cohesive, productive culture across all levels of the organization.

Our Proprietary Framework

Our Unleashed Leadership framework focuses on seven critical leadership traits: Character, Competence, Capacity, Clarity, Community, Culture, and Consistency. We provide award-winning in-person leadership training, followed by virtual sessions to reinforce learning and help leaders apply their new skills. Our programs are highly customizable, allowing you to develop a strategy that builds leaders at every level.

If you’re ready to solve your company’s leadership challenges and build a more confident, capable team, we invite you to schedule a free strategy call. During this call, we’ll assess your current leadership development needs and explore how our framework can accelerate your company’s growth.

Book your free strategy call today:
https://calendly.com/garlandvance/strategy

I help middle-to-senior managers get unleashed from the seven issues that cause every leadership challenge. | CEO, Top 20 Leadership Development Company | Collector of Cool Hats

Toxic cultures have 1 thing in common:

They dehumanize people:
-they see people as objects rather than as humans.
-they consistently use shame and blame as "motivation."
-they leverage positional power to threaten people and instill fear.

No one deserves to work in a toxic culture.

If you don’t intentionally create a great culture...
you're unintentionally shaping a bad one.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.
I’m at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center with 31 leaders from Rollins, Inc. I’ve spent the last year guiding them through a leadership development program.  

Today, we’re headed to The Walt Disney Company Magic Kingdom.
But this isn’t a vacation.
It’s a leadership lab.

These men and women will study what makes Disney’s customer experience world-class.
They’ll discover simple lessons they can use every day.
They’ll compete.
They’ll laugh.
They’ll grow.

Sometimes I stop and think, “I get to do this for a living?”
I love helping leaders unleash their potential.
What a gift.

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Humility is the #1 trait I look for in leaders I work with.

Humility is the willingness to admit that:
- you don't know everything
- you need other people
- you make mistakes

If you try to lead others without humility, 
you become a dictator 
or a narcissist.

I am a Thanksgiving curmudgeon.

There. I said it. It’s less than 1 week til Thanksgiving, and I have always dreaded that day.

Not because of the meal or the family time. I love those things.

I dreaded Thanksgiving because of the *cleanup.*

Our kitchen always looked like a food tornado hit it. Pots bubbling on every burner. Bowls stacked up like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Every kitchen tool dirty. And by the time the Dallas Cowboys took the field, I was already in a foul mood.

A few years ago, Dorothy and I finally had enough.

We asked, “How do we make Thanksgiving more enjoyable?”

The answer surprised us.

We delegated it.

We found a restaurant that would prepare the entire meal. Turkey. Dressing. Green beans. Sweet potatoes. Even the pecan pie. We kept two dishes we actually enjoy making, and we handed off the rest.

It was the best Thanksgiving we ever had.

And it taught me something important about leadership:

There are moments when the smartest move is to get something off your plate.

In today’s newsletter, we share three signs it’s time to delegate (and a simple process to help you delegate more quickly. 

https://lnkd.in/eTEHsgjr

Low energy destroys your leadership. 

Leadership is a high-output sport.

And most leaders show up with half a tank.

When energy runs low:
- It hurts your mental engagement
- It affects your decision making
- It leaves your team feeling like you don’t care.

The result?

Apathy replaces urgency.
Disconnection replaces trust.

You don’t fix this with more sleep (though that helps).
You fix it with Life-Giving Habits.

These are the routines that recharge you:
- A bike ride before work
- Reading something that inspires you
- Time in nature

It’s different for everyone.

But if you don’t intentionally replenish, 
leadership will eventually deplete you.

Dear Leaders,

your own development isn’t selfish—it’s foundational. 
If you're burned out, your team will follow.

Invest in your leadership. Read. Reflect. Talk to a coach or mentor. 
You can’t afford not to.

Dear Leader,

You don’t need better employees.

They need a better leader.

Three ways to become the leader your team (and company) wants:

1. Build a leadership community.
You weren’t meant to do this alone. Find mentors. Develop other leaders. 

Surround yourself with people who challenge and support you.

2. Set the right culture.
Your team’s behavior is a reflection of what you tolerate. 
If you tolerate low standards, you’ll get them. 

Define the culture you want—and re-enforce it.

3. Be relentlessly consistent.
Your words and actions should align every single day. 
If you constantly shift expectations, your team will stop listening. 

Consistency builds credibility.

Become the leader your team wants to follow.

I worked with a client recently whose department was struggling. 

Missed deadlines. 
Miscommunication. 

The manager blamed his team.
The team blamed the boss...and each other. 

After a few conversations with the manager, he decided to look in the mirror.

Instead of pointing fingers, 
he asked,  
“What am I doing that's causing these problems?"

He apologized to his team.
Asked them how he could improve.
Implemented some of their suggestions. 

Within a week, every member of the team 
took responsibility for how they contributed to the problems.

Even better, each person identified 
specific ways they would help the team. 

At AdVance Leadership, we call this 125% Responsibility. 
Leaders take responsibility for everything in their scope of control
AND
for the results of their team. 

If your team is struggling, look in the mirror.

A senior executive I coached had a reputation for being 
“the smartest person in the room.” 

His team admired his brilliance… 
but they didn’t feel heard. 

Over time, innovation slowed. 
People stopped offering ideas. 
Turnover quietly increased.

He got frustrated and confused.

During one of our coaching sessions, I asked,

“When was the last time you you asked someone to challenge you??”

The next team meeting, 
he tried something different. 

Instead of leading with a solution, he led with a question:

“What do you think we should do?”

The room lit up.

Ideas flowed. 
The team leaned in. 
And for the first time in a long time, they felt seen and valued.

Arrogance in leaders is like cancer.

My mom died of cancer 13 years ago.

It ate up her organs,
and caused pain for everyone she influenced.

Arrogance in leaders is the same.

It destroys leaders from the inside
and damages every person a leader influences. 

Arrogance starts with small signs:
- brushing off feedback,
- focusing on personal wins,
- silencing others.

If this is left unchecked, 
it erodes trust and weakens team performance.

Here’s how to take practical steps that build humility 
and strengthen your leadership:

1. Ask for feedback
Arrogant leaders avoid critique. Healthy leaders seek it out.
Ask your team regularly: “What’s one thing I could do better?”
Make it safe for people to answer honestly—without fear of backlash.

2. Be prepared to change your mind
Arrogance clings to being right.
But strong leaders let go of ideas when new insights emerge.
Changing your mind isn’t weakness—it’s wisdom.

3. Encourage disagreement
If no one on your team ever pushes back, you might not be as approachable as you think.
Disagreement, when invited and respected, is one of the most powerful tools for better decision-making.

Arrogance isolates leaders.
Humility invites your team to the table.

Stop being a nice leader. 

I grew up in the south, 
where everyone is nice

but few people are kind. 

They’ll say you look handsome
while a piece of broccoli is stuck in your teeth. 

Nice leadership isn’t always kind. 
And it’s definitely not always effective.

Being “nice” often looks like this:
– Letting missed deadlines slide
– Avoiding awkward conversations
– Hoping people will fix themselves without guidance

The result?

A culture where accountability disappears—
and so does performance.

Want to lead more effectively? Replace “nice” with clarity + courage.

- Be clear about expectations
- Be consistent with follow-through
- Be courageous enough to have hard conversations when needed

Most companies are like a crazy billionaire 

(not naming names, of course)

Here's why...

Imagine a billionaire resolving to end world hunger.

He takes his fortune to a mountain peak 
and tosses his money down the slopes.

He hopes that hungry people who live at the 
base will catch the cash and buy food.

The best word to describe this tycoon 

would be “crazy.”

Yet, this is the exact strategy that most executives use 
to develop their company’s leaders.

Companies spend approximately $366 Billion per year 
on leadership development.

But only 5% of companies have a strategy and 
plan for developing leaders.

In other words, 

they – like the crazy billionaire –
throw money at random leadership programs, 
hoping it will help the company develop better leaders.

An amazing first day with Strategic Coach in Chicago. 

Grateful for the opportunity to work with other entrepreneurs like Campbell Gerrish, Brad Adey, Shelita Burns - Hall, CPA CTC, Petar Mandic, and so many others. 

Can’t wait to grow our lives and businesses with these great folks.

A client I worked with inherited a struggling department—
-low morale, 
-missed targets, 
-constant finger-pointing.

Instead of blaming the previous leader, she did something bold.

She gathered her team and said,

“I may not have created these problems, 
but I take full ownership of fixing them.”

The next things that happened: 
• Meetings got clearer.
• Tensions dropped.
• Trust grew.

Why? She took responsibility
for problems she didn’t create.

More is better- this is what leaders believe. 

- More words in a speech.
- More slides in a presentation.
- More strategies in a plan.

It's a lie. 

In reality, complexity diminishes clarity. 

Overloaded messages overwhelm your team. 
They walk away confused, not committed.

The better approach? Simplify to amplify.

That’s one of the reasons my newest book is only 120 pages. 

Dorothy and I could’ve written a much bigger book. We have 25 years worth of more ideas and stories.

But it wouldn’t have made it better, only more confusing.  

Besides that, we saw Amazon research that found that most people only read the first 120 pages of a nonfiction book. So, why waste all that time writing something that people won’t read. 

Whether you’re writing a book or leading people, create clarity.

Dear Leader,

Don't believe this dangerous myth:

”Leadership means control”

True leaders don’t control—they take ownership.

Here’s how control and ownership shape leadership differently.

- Control means micromanaging. | Ownership means guiding.
- Control blames others. | Ownership finds solutions.
- Control limits trust. | Ownership builds it.

The more you control, the less your team grows. 
The more you own, the stronger your leadership becomes.

Take ownership—not control—and watch your team thrive.

The best leaders know confidence 
isn’t about dominating the room. 

It’s about elevating others.

Arrogant leaders:
- Ignore feedback
- Dismiss team ideas
- Focus on self over team

Confident leaders:
- Listen to feedback
- Depend on others
- Focus on the team over self. 

Nobody should have to work for an arrogant leaders.

I dream of a world filled with confident leaders.

Every leader needs 2 kinds of character:

1) Moral character.
-Do what’s right and ethical.
-This type of character expected of every human.

2) Leadership character.
-Take ownership for your team’s results.
-Engage in the difficult decisions, conversations, and actions.
-This type of character is rare.

In 2013, I was faced with severe health challenges. 

I experienced constant 
-exhaustion,
-migraines, and
-even heart palpitations.

I hit a wall. 
I was overwhelmed and constantly busy.
Despite all my accomplishments, I realized I wasn’t functioning at my best.

The problem wasn’t time management.

It was busyness addiction.

Sound familiar?

That moment made me rethink everything. I found five steps to kill busyness before it hurts you.

1. Decided to prioritize my health and well-being.
2. Deconstructed the habits that led to overcommitting.
3. Designed my life to focus on balance, including relationships and rest.
4. Developed new routines to stay unbusy. 
5. Drew others into a slower way of living. 

Busyness doesn’t guarantee success.  

 It’s time to choose. 
What would change if you led from rest—not rush?

Engineering with People Intelligence | Microsoft, Yahoo, SAP, Carnegie Mellon | The Engineering Career Coach

I transformed from a curious software engineer to a strategic leader, guiding massive teams at Microsoft, Yahoo, Walmart Labs, and startups. Along this journey, I generated over $2.3 billion in revenue. But it wasn't always smooth sailing.

My quest began with questions about management, innovation, and leadership, leading me to an unexpected discovery - emotional intelligence. It sparked a new realization; traditional corporate management training teaches frameworks, not leadership. That's why I created Taha's Method, a unique approach focused on leading yourself before others and applying management frameworks rooted in human principles.

And boy, did it work!

In 6 years, I led from 0 to 250+ team members. To date, I have coached over 600+ professionals, including those at Google, Netflix, Oracle, Microsoft, Meta, Intuit, Yahoo, and startups, helping them to secure management as well as IC roles (Principal+).

But why stop there?

In January 2022, I walked away from a 7-figure career to dedicate myself to enabling ambitious software engineers to reach their full potential. I developed a personalized 6-month 1:1 coaching program - and the impact has been phenomenal. (Check out the reviews from my clients below.)

Every day, I share insights on LinkedIn about effective leadership, emotional intelligence challenges, and career advancements. In doing so, I've created a vibrant community of learners and leaders.

For me, great leadership can make the world a better place. And I believe that everyone has the capacity to become a great leader.

So, are you ready to unlock your potential? 

Join me, and let's change the world one leader at a time.

Taha Hussain

At Microsoft, I saw three kinds of senior engineers. 

The first were the Masters.

They were the best technicians I had. 

Flawless code. 
Deep systems knowledge. 
The kind of engineer you begged to review your work.

But most of them were stuck at L64 for a decade.

They stayed in the code. 
Their reach stopped at their fingertips.

They blamed managers for not making them bigger than they were willing to become.

The second were the Heroes.

They ran toward outages. 
Took the hits. 
Brought everything back online.

And the team leaned on them. Too much.

The mess returned, and the Hero was there again in the middle of it.

They absorbed complexity. 
They multiplied reliability. 
They did not multiply successors.

The third were rare. The Challengers.

In calibration discussions, it took 30 seconds. 
Everyone said, "The best."

They did not step in. They stepped back.
They handed the outage to the junior.
They let the mid-level bleed through a design review.

They held the line until people changed shape.

They did not multiply output. 
They multiplied people.

Masters make code.
Heroes make systems.
Challengers make people.

And people outlast everything.

Want to grow into the kind of engineer people call “the best” in 30 seconds?

Enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it from my experience shaping engineers at Microsoft, SAP and startups into true Challengers.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

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Engineering Career Coach | Microsoft, Yahoo, SAP, Carnegie Mellon | Engineering with People Intelligence

Most “underperformers” on your team are not found.
They are built.
By you.

You quietly decide someone is “not ready.”
So you give them smaller problems.
With less context.
And softer feedback.

They move slower.
Take fewer risks.
Stay in the shallow end.

Then you point at the gap and call it proof.

Psychologists have a name for this: The Golem Effect
 
Low expectations that quietly become reality.

On engineering teams, it shows up in four places:

1. Climate: Who gets your patience and full attention?
2. Input: Who gets the real “why,” not just the Jira ticket?
3. Output: Who gets the scary migrations and visible projects?
4. Feedback: Who gets specific, stretching one, not “Nice work”?

If the same person keeps landing on the “less” side of those questions, you are not just measuring performance.

You are designing it.

Leaders love to say, “I wish they would step up.”

Often, they are already standing as tall as the room you built for them.

I learned this the hard way with an engineer on my team at Yahoo.

I ran the Golem script.

I did not like how the story ended.

I wrote the full story here in today's newsletter, including what I changed after.

Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gNcKgBcy

If you manage people, someone is living inside the room you built for them. Make sure you can live with how small or how wide that room is.

The most dangerous person to work for is a first-time manager.

Not because they don’t know what they’re doing,

But because no one punishes them when they get it wrong.

For six months, every misstep gets wrapped in gift paper labeled “growth.”

And you?

You’re the ribbon they pull apart.

Every new EM goes through the same phase:

• Break the silence
• Practice discomfort
• Prove you're a leader: "give tough feedback"

So they go looking for something to fix.
Even when there's nothing to fix.

In September, three new clients came to me.

Each on a PIP, all under first-time managers.

The feedback reads like a template.

Facts. Expectations. No warmth. No context.

Here’s the part no one wants to say out loud:

New managers are afraid.

Afraid of being wrong.
Of sounding junior.
Of being exposed as someone who never belonged in the chair.

So they overcompensate.

And you become the proof they’re looking for.

If you're working under a new manager: tread lightly.

Don't confuse their fear with your failure.
Don’t make their practice your identity.

Most don’t mean harm. 
But they are learning on live subjects. 

Treat them like a cop on the highway:

Hands at ten and two.
No sudden moves.
Let them pass.

Then get back to driving your career.

You can't choose every manager you work for.

But you can choose how you grow under them.

Need help taking control of your growth?

Enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it from my experience growing engineers at Microsoft, SAP, and startups through messy, imperfect management environments.

Start now: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

Your career deserves steadier hands, especially your own.

graphical user interface, text, application

The best engineer on the team is like salt.
You don’t notice them.
Until they’re gone.

No big goodbye.
No incident.
No drama.

Just... friction.

PRs bounce around.
Standup feels heavier.
The sprint goal slips, but no one names it.

Someone blames shifting priorities.
Someone else says it’s dependencies.

No one mentions the name that’s missing.

Because no one realized they were the one holding it all together.

They weren’t loud in meetings.
Didn’t “drive the vision.”
Never showed up with a 5-point plan and a Notion doc.

They just made everything... smoother.

Caught the edge case.
Spotted the bug early.
Asked the quiet question that saved two weeks of rework.

And when you thanked them?

They just nodded. Maybe dropped a 👌. That’s it.

They didn’t need credit.
But they deserved something.

And now?

Now the team is full of smart people, doing smart things—
but it doesn’t feel smart.

It feels scattered.
Tense.
A little bitter.

And someone says,

"I don’t know... it just felt easier before."

Yeah.

Because salt doesn’t call attention to itself.
It just makes everything else taste right.

Until it’s gone.

And then, all you taste is the missing.

If you’ve ever felt like the missing ingredient no one names, I built this for you

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

Taplio

Most engineers chase titles.

Senior. Staff. Principal. Lead.

But here’s the truth:

Your title isn’t your ceiling.
Your communication is.
Your visibility is.
Your leverage is.

I’ve seen Staff Engineers nobody trusts.
And Seniors with Director-level influence.

If your work is invisible, your value is too.

So speak clearly.
Document generously.
Mentor someone.
Present your work.
Post your lessons.

Quiet excellence is noble.

But it rarely gets promoted.

Need help making your work visible without feeling loud?

Enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it from my experience growing engineers at Microsoft, SAP and Walmart into people the org could not overlook.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

Managers obsess over grooming people for promotion.

They forget to groom themselves for replacement.

If your team falls apart when you step away, you did not build strength. You built a bottleneck.

Great managers are not trying to be the hero.

They are trying to be removable.

They train decisions into their people.
They design systems that run without hand-holding.
They make themselves less necessary every quarter.

That is how you earn real scope.

First, your team runs without you.

Then the org trusts you with more than your team.

If you want to build that kind of team, that is exactly what Top Tech Leader is for.

Practical systems, real scripts, and a clear operating model for managers who want ownership, not chaos.

Join here: https://lnkd.in/gHSYuJrv

An Engineering Director hired me to prep him for an M2 role at Meta. He didn’t get it. Not even M1.

On paper, he was perfect.

• Scaled systems
• Managed managers
• Hit every target
• Told every story by the book

So what went wrong?

It wasn’t his answers.
It wasn’t his architecture.
It wasn’t his delivery.

A leadership blind spot, hidden inside his success.

Startups reward it.
Big tech exposes it.

And it revealed itself with one question.

I wrote about it in the article:

"Why Meta rejected Jeff."

(Tap the image below to read it 👇)

One question exposed the blind spot that decides promotions. The Zoom call started on time. Jeff appeared, fiddling with his headphones. He had a poli

Open article: Why Meta Rejected Jeff by Taha Hussain • 4 min read

Senior engineers think it’s about the code.

Staff engineers know it’s about something else.

I’ve seen the same story 100 times:

A sharp Senior does everything right — clean commits, crisp design docs, predictable delivery — and still gets passed over.

Meanwhile, someone with half the technical depth overtakes them into a Staff role.

It’s not politics.
It’s not favoritism.
It’s five invisible skills no one talks out loud.

I wrote about them here:

5 Skills That Separate Staff From Senior

(Click the image below to read it 👇)

I’ve watched this play out too many times. A Senior engineer does everything right. They know the systems cold. Their code reviews are precise. Their 

5 Skills That Separate Staff From Senior

Every engineer hates politics.

Until they watch a weaker idea win
just because the right person said it.

Until their carefully-prepared presentation dies quietly
because they didn't loop someone in.

Until the obvious solution gets tossed
because it makes someone uncomfortable.

At first, you think it's just unfair.

Then you realize:

Fairness was never the game.
Influence was.

Influence isn't about charm or manipulation.
It's knowing:

→ When to speak up, and when to wait.
→ Which egos need room, and how to give it gracefully.
→ How to present your solution as an upgrade, not a threat.

You can pretend politics don't exist.
You can hope your quiet contributions get noticed.

Or you can choose to see the invisible currents clearly.

You don’t need to play games.
You need to stop assuming merit wins on its own.

Engineers can learn influence without faking, manipulating, or selling out. 

Here’s how: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

You say you’re open to feedback.

But you’re not.

You’re open to praise wrapped in suggestions.
You’re open to feedback that doesn’t hurt.
You’re open to what confirms what you already believe.

The moment it threatens your self-image?

You shut down.
You start nitpicking how it was said.
You label it “rude” or “harsh” or “not actionable.”

Here’s what’s really happening:

You’re not protecting your growth.
You’re protecting your guilt.

Because if the feedback is even half true?

You’d have to face all the moments you coasted.
All the things you said you’d do and didn’t.
All the ways you played small when you knew better.

That’s not feedback rejection.
That’s ego triage.

You’re not built soft.
You’re just rusty.

Let the feedback hit.
Let it bruise.
Let it point to something real.

Then fix it.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.
Like a professional.

No shame.
No tantrum.
Just reps.

If you want to turn bruises into breakthroughs, this is where you begin.

Enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it to help engineers grow without defensiveness and improve without drama.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

Sales Navigator

If you're an engineering leader, here's a hard truth:

Your job is to manage up and craft down.

Executives don’t care about clean architecture.

Engineers don’t care about stakeholder politics.

So your influence lives in the middle:

• Translating chaos into clarity.
• Turning vision into interfaces.
• Turning ego into velocity.

Bad managers hide in ambiguity.
Great ones compress it.

The more clearly you think, the less your team has to.

Need help?

I help engineering leaders cut through ambiguity and lead with clarity.

Learn how inside the Top Tech Leader program ↓
https://lnkd.in/gHSYuJrv

Promotions teach you how to climb.
Layoffs teach you how to survive.

One rewards loyalty.
The other rewards leverage.

If you’re only optimizing for titles, you’re fragile.
If you’re building skills, networks, and reputation, you’re durable.

One path depends on your company.
The other depends on you.

Need help building a career that survives any company?

Enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it from years of growing engineers at Microsoft, SAP and startups into durable, high-trust professionals.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

You're not afraid of "posting."

You're afraid of what someone might think if you do.

That old coworker.
Your manager.
Your college roommate who hasn't said a word to you in 6 years.

Fear has a tax.
You pay it daily: in silence, invisibility, and missed opportunities.

Meanwhile?

Someone less talented than you is hitting "publish."
And slowly, they're building:

Audience

Income

Leverage

All because they got over one person’s imagined opinion.

Don’t let ghosts cost you real success.

In a toxic org, being great makes you a target.

• You get more asks
• You become the buffer
• You absorb the chaos

Eventually you get burned out while someone else gets promoted.

Don’t try to “fix the culture.”

That’s code for “die slowly.”

Instead:

• Set hard boundaries
• Leave a trail of impact in writing
• Document everything

You’re not stuck.

You’re in the wrong game.

If you don’t learn the system, the system will decide for you.

If you know you’re capable of more but tired of toxic games, I built the Top Tech Leader for you. Learn more ↓ 

https://lnkd.in/gHSYuJrv

If your best friend got engaged after three dates, you'd panic.

At work, we do something just as wild:

We hire people for eight hours a day, five days a week, for years... after three to five interviews.

Forty five minutes at a time.
Polished questions. Polished answers.
A carefully edited trailer.

You almost never see the full movie.

How they think when nobody is grading them.
How they behave when a release goes sideways.
How they treat people who cannot help their career.

That is what you want to know before you “put a ring on it” with an offer.

Now flip it.

You are the one they are betting on after a 45 minute trailer and a PDF.

Writing is how you let them watch the full movie in advance.

In today’s episode of The Conscious Leader, I am sharing a 101 minute hands-on masterclass on how to write about your work on LinkedIn so hiring managers can “watch you” over time and start reaching out before you ever apply.

Click the image to watch it 👇

A practical way to earn trust online so recruiters reach out before you apply. Imagine your best friend calls you one afternoon and says, very calmly,

How to Build a Reputation That Gets You Hired (Without Applying)

Engineers say they hate DSA.

“It’s irrelevant.”
“It’s academic.”
“No one uses red-black trees at work.”

Bullsh*t.

You do not hate DSA.
You hate what it makes you feel.

Slow.
Stupid.
Exposed.

It drags you into problems where you cannot hide behind frameworks.

Where your fancy IDE does not save you.
Where the question does not care about your title, your tech stack, or your years of experience.

And suddenly you are alone with the voice.

“You are not good enough.”
“You have been faking it.”
“Everyone else figured this out years ago.”

So you avoid it.
Or mock it.
Or treat it like a ritual for insecure overachievers.

Engineers blame DSA because blaming themselves is too painful.

Because admitting you feel behind is heavier than any algorithm.

Because if you say it out loud, you have to do something about it.

You’re scared.

Scared that you’ve plateaued.
Scared that you’ll try and still fail.
Scared that your edge is gone.

Here is the reality:

You do not sharpen a knife on bread.
You sharpen it against steel.

Most of your day is soft.
Setters. Getters. API glue.
Tickets that keep you busy but never really test you.

DSA is not for the job.
It is for the edge.
For the part of you that still wants to be dangerous.

You do not have to love it.
You have to stop hiding from it.

Because that shame you keep dodging?
That is where the growth lives.

The edge is in you.

But only if you are willing to bleed a little.

If you're ready to stop hiding and start facing challenges, enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it from years of training engineers at Microsoft, SAP, and startups into the kind of talent others can’t ignore.

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

Your résumé will not save you when the layoffs hit.
It will sit in a folder with a hundred others.
What actually travels ahead of you?

A reputation.

Résumés get skimmed.
Reputations get shared.

You build one by:

• Publishing what you know
• Showing up consistently
• Teaching others
• Solving problems in public
• Being easy to recommend

A résumé only speaks when you apply.
A reputation speaks when you are not in the room.

You are one layoff away from being forgotten.
Or one post away from being unforgettable.

Build the reputation now.
Before you need it.

This Sunday, my newsletter breaks down a simple writing system that makes recruiters and hiring managers come to you.

It is the same recipe I teach clients who pay me twelve thousand dollars to land roles.

Subscribe here to get it directly in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/g3J25k5w

What junior devs think seniors do:

• Know everything
• Architect from scratch
• Make every call

What seniors actually do:

• Say “I don’t know” faster
• Cut scope without guilt
• Guide tradeoffs under pressure
• Keep the team unblocked

It’s not a rank.
It’s a posture.

And most of it has nothing to do with how fast you code.

Need help improving your senior posture?

Enroll in the Top Engineer Method.

I built it from my experience growing engineers at Microsoft, SAP and startups into trusted decision-makers.

Start now: https://lnkd.in/gMGfmVas

Your career may be suffering because your manager can’t see beyond their own ceiling.

• They’ve never promoted someone to Staff
• They don’t know what Principal looks like
• They can’t sponsor at the next level

You’ve outgrown them.

And no amount of “working harder” fixes that.

At some point, your only move is sideways.

Most engineers think they’re being rejected for a lack of skill.

But they’re not.

They’re being rejected for lack of signal.

The resume doesn’t say,
“This person knows their stuff.”

It says,
“This person did a few things once.”

No arc.
No weight.
No impact.

It reads like a work log, not a reputation.

And so even great engineers get ghosted.
Not because they’re underqualified.
But because no one can tell what they’re qualified for.

In today's newsletter, I break down exactly how we fix that.

"How to fill your calendar with interviews."

We’ll rebuild your resume from the ground up using systems thinking so it works like a funnel, not a flyer.

This is the same process I’ve used with over 200 clients.

Start here:
https://lnkd.in/gVnA7cad

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The Battle

Dr. Garland Vance

Taha Hussain

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taplio

The Battle

Dr. Garland Vance

Taha Hussain

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dr. Garland Vance's LinkedIn Performance

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