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Leaders in the Middle: Finding Balance in a Flattened World
“Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.” — Max McKeown Hi Everyone, The past 18 months have been a whirlwind. Not just because AI has exploded into every corner of the workplace, but because the entire technology sector has been reshaping itself at the same time. We’ve all seen the headlines-companies flattening orgs, removing layers, and rethinking what leadership even looks like. And with that shift has come a wave of neg

Tanner Soller
2 days ago4 min read


Becoming a Builder (Even If You’re Not One by Nature)
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe We’re living through a shift everyone can feel. A real, daily change in how work gets done. AI didn’t quietly sneak into our workflows; people adopted it at a speed I’m still marveling at. In every conversation I have — across teams, industries, and roles — I see how quickly folks have woven AI into their day‑to‑day tasks. But what’s even more interesting is how differently people think about it. Some tr

Tanner Soller
Aug 214 min read


The Kind Leader's Dilemma: Why empathy needs a backbone
"I just wanna be liked, just want to be funny.... looks like the jokes on me" - John Mayer Earlier this week, I was speaking with an excellent project leader who shared a familiar struggle: his team was missing targets, deadlines were slipping silently, and momentum had stalled. When I pressed him on why he wasn’t pushing harder, he said something honest, a form of which I come across often: “I could push harder, but I want to work well with the folks I’m working with. If I p

Tanner Soller
Jul 235 min read


Active Listening (The Fight You Have to Keep Fighting)
“To listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well.” — John Marshall Active listening gets talked about like it’s some tidy little skill you can “apply” when needed. Anyone who’s led teams knows that’s nonsense. Active listening isn’t a technique, it’s a fight. A daily one. Some days an hourly one. I’ve spent years watching people on video calls pretend to listen while their eyes flick across three monitors. I’ve watched leaders nod along while you can practi

Tanner Soller
Jul 164 min read


Unlocking a New Skill: Recording to Connect
“Clarity comes from action, not thought.” I’ve been working on a new skill lately. It’s not revolutionary for the world, but it’s been quietly transformative for me. And because so much of my writing centers on being a human leader in an AI‑heavy era, I wanted to share it with you. I’ve started using recording as a way to connect, not just communicate. It’s helped me stay human, stay present, and still move faster. It’s also helped me preserve my voice while sharpening my mes

Tanner Soller
Jul 103 min read


The Two‑Minute Update: How to Become the Clearest Voice in the Room
No matter your role—analyst, manager, director, executive—at some point you will be the person everyone turns to for an update. A project stalls, a customer escalates, a deadline shifts, a new risk emerges… and bam! all eyes are on you. What’s wild is that giving updates is one of the most common things we do in our work lives, yet one of the least practiced. I’ve sat through hundreds of update meetings, some sharp, some forgettable, some painfully confusing. The difference b

Tanner Soller
Jul 24 min read
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