Instructor snapshot: Tania Epremian
Tania Epremian: "People at the top get very little honest feedback. Who is going to sit a C-level executive down and say, 'That tone didn't resonate. Have you considered this approach?'"
When executives from organizations like CN Rail and Royal LePage meet with Tania Epremian, they expect strategic advice. But what they get instead is a question they’ve never been asked: “Who are you?
That question is at the heart of Epremian’s work.
What inspired you to start teaching in addition to your professional work?
Tania Epremian: I genuinely wanted to have direct impact with individuals. There’s direct impact to a certain degree in a corporate office, but there’s also a lot of politics and red tape. I wanted to try working one-on-one with people or working with organizations as a facilitator to achieve a new level of impact. I wanted people to walk away and see their careers moving forward, or their lives getting better, and feel like they’re achieving goals they never imagined were possible.
What leadership challenges do you help executive learners tackle?
TE: From what I have seen, many people in leadership roles show up to fulfill a title. They have the CEO persona, but they are not showing up as themselves.
Their biggest issue tends to be a lack of self-awareness. If you lack self-awareness, you have a self-leadership issue. And if you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead a single other person — and you definitely cannot lead an organization.
Leaders need to know their leadership style, who they are in their role, and be clear on what they expect from others. Leaders don’t lack strategy or knowledge. They lack clarity on how to show up as a leader and what that means.
Can you share your approach to working with executives?
TE: I’ve asked clients who are chief executives, ‘Who are you? What are your values? What do you stand for? Do you recognize how you speak and how you manage?’
They look at me like, ‘What is this?’
People at the top get very little honest feedback. Who is going to sit a C-level executive down and say, ‘That tone didn’t resonate. Have you considered this approach?’ Very few people.
Leaders hire me and say, ‘I know I struggle in certain areas, and I want to work on them.’ So I help them identify where the gaps are. I’m very direct, and I help them take action. Then I return to review what worked and what didn’t. That’s how change actually happens, and I’m proud to be the person they trust to help them make the change.