Stop Hiring Saviors. Build Architect Team

RECORDED IN 2025Did you know that in 2025, more than 350,000 Black professionals were forced out of the workforce? That number is not abstract. It shows up late at night on LinkedIn, in open to work banners, and in the quiet panic of applying to everything that moves. In this episode of Build Our Own Rooms, Tiana Symmonds pulls up a chair at the drafting table to name what is really happening for so many high-achieving Black women navigating layoffs, instability, and professional grief. When everything feels urgent, it is easy to look for a savior. A recruiter. A headhunter. Someone to make the chaos disappear. But what you are really searching for is not rescue. It is clarity. Tiana shares the story of Patricia, a strategic leader who stayed up late trying to learn Python, R, and SQL to prove she was technical enough. Tiana calls it plainly. This is not a strategy. It is self-erasure. It is selling an Aston Martin at Nissan Sentra prices.This episode is a call to stop waiting to be picked and start designing. Architects do not beg for permission. They design their value first, then choose the rooms that can hold it. The kettle is on. The blueprint is ready. Let’s get to work.In This Episode[00:00] Welcome and introduction[00:28] Stop looking for a savior[01:13] The reality of job loss and desperation[02:40] Diagnosing the "spray and pray" job search[04:08] Patricia’s story: panic to clarity[05:23] Patricia’s success and the power of clarity[08:00] Key takeaways: be the architect[09:31] Wins audit and community invitation[10:14] Closing and call for questionsNotable Quotes[04:44] “You are a strategic leader, trying to audition for a technical role. Why? You are trying to sell an Aston Martin for the price of a Nissan Sentra.”[08:11] “Stop waiting to be chosen. The passenger waits. The architect designs.”[08:28] “Architects design their value first, then find the rooms that need it.”[08:52] “Patricia thought her value was in coding or her value was in leadership.”[08:52] “Audit your wins... You are selling yourself short because you are measuring the wrong thing.”[09:15] “Your ancestors didn’t work this hard for you to beg for a seat at a table.”Resources and LinksPodcastBuild Our Own RoomsTiana SymmondsWebsite - https://www.asktiana.online/LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/tosymmondsThe Architect’s Drafting Table - https://thearchitectsdraftingtable.substack.com/ MentionedThe Wins Audit worksheet: https://tinyurl.com/TheWinsAudit Stop paying for career success with your health. Download the "Turn Your Job Into a Client" Blueprint here: https://jobtoclient.com/ ©2025 AskTiana Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction, alteration, translation, publication, or distribution, in any form, printed or electronic, is permitted without the express prior written consent of AskTiana Solutions, LLC.©2023 Positive Intelligence, LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction, alteration, translation, publication, or distribution, in any form, printed or electronic, is permitted without the express prior written consent of Positive Intelligence, LLC.POSITIVE INTELLIGENCE®, PQ®, CERTIFIED PQ COACH™, PQ COACH™, and P+ logo™ are trademarks of Positive Intelligence, LLC.DISCLAIMERS: The coach identified herein is an independent member of the PQ Coach program, and not an employee, agent, or representative of Positive Intelligence, LLC. The coaching program offered herein is independently owned and operated by the coach and is not affiliated with or endorsed or sponsored by Positive Intelligence, LLC. PROGRAM CONTENT AND MATERIAL DO NOT CONSTITUTE MEDICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL CARE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT OF ANY MEDICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION.PROGRAM CONTENT AND MATERIAL DO NOT CONSTITUTE MEDICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL CARE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT OF ANY MEDICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION.