AUA: Promotion Problems - Managing Former Bosses

Summary

At Work with The Ready: "AUA: Promotion Problems - Managing Former Bosses"

Hosts: Rodney Evans & Sam Spurlin
Date: October 13, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin answer a listener’s challenging question:
"I just got promoted to lead my team, but there's baggage. I now manage my former boss and supervisor, who were reassigned due to performance. I'm under a lot of pressure to turn the team around fast and need advice."

Rodney and Sam explore the emotional, relational, and practical dynamics of stepping into leadership over former superiors, and offer actionable strategies for navigating awkwardness, shame, and necessary team changes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Acknowledge the Awkwardness (00:48–02:26)

• Rodney underscores the importance of not ignoring the "weirdness" of suddenly managing your former boss or supervisor.
  • “Assume that everybody is cringing right now and sort of like, white knuckling through this moment.” (01:00)
• Suggests a candid approach with the team, openly acknowledging past roles and the inherent discomfort:
  • “I'm not going to pretend that it's not weird. I'm going to do my absolute best. I would ask you to ask me what you need from me… and let's just like, roll from here and see how it goes.” (01:30)
• Warns against forced trust-building exercises (“trust falls”), advocating honesty instead.

2. Individual Conversations & Seeking Advice (02:26–03:47)

• Sam recommends 1-on-1 conversations with both the former boss and supervisor to understand their perspectives:
  • “I would be looking to have some conversations, one on one… to really, like, ask for advice and try to actually understand how they saw the situation that they were trying to navigate.” (02:30)
• Both highlight the shame these former leaders may feel, emphasizing the importance of authentic engagement.
• Rodney cautions against inauthentically soliciting advice just to appease former leaders:
  • “I have gotten into trouble in my own career basically asking people for advice to get them on my side, even though I thought I knew better… don't do that, because people know and they get really mad at you and then they try to destroy you, which is what happened to me.” (03:35)
  • “Ask about things where you're really ready to hear their answer and possibly execute on it… it's worse to do that inauthentically than to not do it at all.” (03:58)

3. Be Open to Decisive Changes (04:26–05:53)

• Sam points out that, despite best intentions, managing out former leaders may become necessary if things don’t work:
  • “If the result of the tough situation is that… these folks need to be managed out of this team, I think that's a very likely possibility… good intentions do not perfect organizations make.” (04:37)
• Rodney advocates for prompt action if it’s clear the new team dynamic isn’t working:
  • “The worst mistakes that I've made around parting ways with people is waiting too long. Fast and decisive is kinder, actually, than letting something fester that's not working.” (05:18)
  • “If it isn't working and you know it isn't working, let them go. Otherwise this dynamic will poison the team.” (05:29)

4. Don't Over-Engineer the Solution—Allow Time and Space (05:53–06:57)

• Rodney notes the human tendency to rush into mending awkward team dynamics, but cautions against it:
  • “While out of side of my mouth, I'm saying don't let it persist, be decisive if you know that it's borked. On the other hand, I would also say don't rush to fix it. Give it some space, give it some oxygen.” (05:54)
• Suggests allowing team members to adapt and organically find new footing:
  • “Give these adults some time to get adjusted to the new reality and get over whatever, you know, ego smackdown they've just taken and see if it can sort of, like, all smooth out.” (06:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rodney Evans (01:00):
  “Everybody in this situation is having, like, a real ego ping right now as a result.”

• Rodney Evans (01:34):
  “I don't think you have to… get everybody into a room and, like, do trust falls. But part of why these things go so sideways is our refusal to just say, well, this is fucking awkward.”

• Sam Spurlin (02:30):
  “I would be looking to have some conversations, one on one, with these former bosses… to really, like, ask for advice and try to actually understand how they saw the situation.”

• Rodney Evans (03:35):
  “I've gotten into trouble in my own career basically asking people for advice to get them on my side, even though I thought I knew better… don't do that.”

• Rodney Evans (05:18):
  “The worst mistakes that I've made around parting ways with people is waiting too long. Fast and decisive is kinder, actually, than letting something fester that's not working.”

• Rodney Evans (06:30):
  “Give these adults some time to get adjusted to the new reality and get over whatever, you know, ego smackdown they've just taken and see if it can sort of, like, all smooth out.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:48: Acknowledging the awkwardness openly
• 02:26: Value of 1-on-1 conversations and authentic advice-seeking
• 03:35: Dangers of inauthentic engagement
• 04:26: Discussing when and how to part ways if necessary
• 05:54: The importance of not over-engineering solutions, letting the team settle
• 06:30: The team’s ability to adapt with time and space

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Episode Takeaways

• Be upfront about weird team dynamics—normalize the discomfort.
• Treat former superiors with humility and listen authentically.
• Don’t tolerate toxic dynamics to fester; act decisively if things don’t work.
• Avoid over-managing; sometimes, giving people space is the best medicine.

Practical, compassionate, and blunt as ever, Rodney and Sam deliver solid guidance for anyone thrust into the delicate role of leading former leaders under scrutiny.

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[End of summary]

Transcript

[A]

Hey, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

Welcome back to At Work with the Ready. I'm Rodney Evans, and that guy over there is Sam Sperlin.

[B]

Hello, Rodney Evans.

[A]

Every other week we are tackling one tough, thought provoking question from you, our beloved listeners, and sharing a few ideas that might help. So let's dive in. Sam, what do you have for us this week?

[B]

All right, this week's question is maybe our favorite question that we have received in a while, and it goes a little something like this. I just got promoted to lead my team, but there's a lot of baggage. I now manage my former boss and former supervisor who were reassigned due to performance. I'm under a lot of pressure to turn the team around fast and need some advice. Holy moly, Rodney, what are you thinking about this one?

[A]

I mean, first of all, good on you for just rolling with this. This is a very difficult situation to be put in for anyone, and I have a lot of empathy for former boss and former supervisor, and I have a lot of empathy for you. Everybody in this situation is having, like, a real ego ping right now as a result. You know, for better or worse, depending on where you landed in this triangle, my first best advice is, I don't know what your relationship is like with these people, but to whatever extent feels safe enough to try for you, acknowledge the weirdness of this situation. Just, like, assume that everybody is cringing right now and sort of like, white knuckling through this moment to just be like, how ox is this going to be? And however you can when you have this team together. This is what I would say if it was my team and I was pulling them together and my former boss and supervisor were there, I'd be like, hey, we've got a lot of history. We used to play different roles here. Roles have changed for a variety of reasons. That happens in companies all the time. And. And I'm not gonna pretend that it's not weird. I'm gonna do my absolute best. I would ask you to ask me what you need from me for you to do the same, and let's just like, roll from here and see how it goes. Yeah, I don't think you have to, you know, you don't have to get everybody into a room and, like, do trust falls. But I also think that part of why these things go so sideways is our refusal to just say, well, this is fucking awkward. And I think just doing that lets a lot of air out of the tire.

[B]

Totally. And I think as part of that, I would be looking to. Again, not knowing the personalities in play here. I'm not sure how. How realistic this feels, but I would be looking to have some conversations, one on one, with these former bosses, former supervisor, to really, like, ask for advice and try to actually understand, like, how they saw the situation that they were trying to navigate. And obviously it did not. Whatever they were doing did not end in the outcomes that they were looking for. But there's information to be gleaned to be uncovered there that will serve you well if they're willing to kind of show up and have that conversation with you.

[A]

Yeah, I think that's right. I also just think this is a situation where the prevailing feeling for these people could be shame. And shame is really hard to deal with in a team. It's like, it can be pretty paralyzing when somebody is just embarrassed at what has happened to them and it feels like some sort of public referendum on their job. That being said, these people got promoted to at least supervisory positions for a reason. So to your point, Sam, like, presumably they have some talents. They have made contributions in the past. That's how they got there. The one thing I would caution against is, like, ask for their advice, but be really authentic about it. I have gotten into trouble in my own career basically asking people for advice to get them on my side, even though I thought I knew better than them and I didn't really want to hear it, and I didn't think all that much of their opinions don't do that, because people know and they get really mad at you and then they try to destroy you, which is what happened to me. So I would just say plus one to Sam and also just, like, ask about things where you're really ready to hear their answer and possibly, like, execute on it or at least really take it under consideration, because it's worse to do that inauthentically than to not do it at all.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah, I think. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. And I guess the last thing here, I mean, this is a tough situation. And if the result of the tough situation is that perhaps, like, these folks need to be managed out of this team, I think that's a very likely possibility. Like good intentions. And, well, this is even assuming good intentions. Like, who knows how people are actually going to show up to this? But, you know, good intentions do not perfect organizations make. So I think there's a reality where it would be better for everybody, including the two former bosses, to find something else, to find the next thing where they can actually contribute in a way that is in line with their skills, abilities, interests, and better for everyone.

[A]

Yeah, Sam, I agree. I would tell you that the worst mistakes that I've made around parting ways with people is waiting too long. So I think that this is a situation where, like, fast and decisive is kinder, actually than letting something fester that's not working. That's not to say don't give them a chance and don't give it a shot, but, like, if it isn't working and you know it isn't working, let them go. Let them go, because otherwise this dynamic will poison the team and you will not be able to get anything done. Which leads me to a point, Sam, that you had made, which is just like this idea that a lot of times when there's awkwardness or a rupture in a team like this, we really want to rush to mend it. It feels really uncomfortable to us, like, in our pack, in our tribe, to just, like, let things be. But humans have an amazing way of sorting it out and of sort of, like, figuring out how the flock is going to reconfigure. And so while out of side of my mouth, I'm saying don't let it persist, be decisive if you know that it's borked. On the other hand, I would also say don't rush to fix it. Like, give it some space, give it some oxygen. See if everybody can find their way without you over engineering it or being overly grippy about it. Like, give these adults some time to get adjusted to the new reality and get over whatever, you know, ego smackdown they've just taken and see if it can sort of, like, all smooth out.

[B]

Yeah, I love that. All right, that's it for this mini. If you've got a question of your own, hit us [e-mail] and we will.

[A]

See you back next week for a full episode of At Work with the Ready. Thanks for being here.