00:00:00 Sana: There are many professionals, listeners, they quietly experience a particular moment that they really talk about. Uh, so let me try describing it for you listeners. You graduate, you get hired. And on paper, everything is looking great. You did well in school. You are capable, motivated, hard working. But a few months into the job, something strange happens. You're busy all day, yet it feels like you are not gaining momentum. Projects are moving forward, but recognition doesn't. People around you seem to advance faster and honestly, there is. You can't seem to find any. Any explanation for that. So today's conversation is about that invisible gap, the gap between being capable and being trusted inside an organization. Because the truth is, most companies don't just evaluate what you produce, they evaluate how you operate. Your judgment, reliability, communication, and your ability to navigate the system around you. And strangely enough, and that is that is I mean, none of that is really thoughtlessness. So today we are talking about why talented professionals stole what managers are actually evaluating behind closed doors, and how someone can build trust and career momentum from day one.

00:01:49 Sana: So welcome everyone to this blend. This is going to be such an interesting episode. And I'm your host, Sana listeners. And joining me today is someone who has spent fifteen years inside some of the world's most demanding organizations, including IBM, fourteen hundred companies and fast growth startups, hiring people, building teams, and sitting inside the performance reviews that determine who moves forward and who doesn't. And after seeing the same patterns, repeat again and again. My guest built a real work ready framework, which is a structured training program actually designed around how organizations actually evaluate professionals. So today we are going to unpack what most people discover far too late. So listeners, let's welcome our guest, Laura Mazetti. So Laura, welcome to this plan. And I'm really, really up for this conversation. This is such, such a good one. I mean, um, yeah, thank you so much for bringing this up.

00:02:58 Laura Massetti : Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. And I love the forum that you've created and your podcast. So I'm excited to contribute to the conversation.

00:03:09 Speaker 4: Thank you so much. Thank you so.

00:03:10 Sana: Much. And this is, I think, yeah, I mean, surprisingly, um, when we look at the, um, school way of, uh, getting taught or being in that environment or let's say, you know, you, you consider graduation? Um, most of it's most of it. Restrict get gets restricted to theory or maybe practical to some point. I mean, depending on. I'm just trying to give a brief idea about, what I have experienced or observed, but I don't think the real world scenarios, especially the workplace scenarios, they aren't often actively pursued in the in the conventional education system until and unless, you know, you get to actually network or maybe, um, you know, fortunately get mentored by someone who has already been there. Mary. Right into those, you know, into the workplace experiences. So yeah, I mean, this is such a, such a kind of a hidden operating gap in there.

00:04:21 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would agree.

00:04:22 Laura Massetti : I, um, I was one of those people that in, in college, in my MBA in school. In general, I tried to do everything right. I was one of those annoying people that that worked that, you know, just tried everything to get ahead and, um, learn as much as possible and experience as much as possible. And I know I'm not alone in that. There's so many motivated people, um, that are trying to improve themselves in the school setting. And, um, me personally, I'm so thankful of everything that I've learned in, in all of my schooling that I've had, but I think that entering the workplace is a completely different experience. And being young, entering a work environment, it's a shock. It is. It's very different from what you think it's going to be. And suddenly you've you've spent years learning and growing yourself academically and you're put into a work situation and it's, uh, it's hard to navigate. It's really hard to navigate. It is, it is.

00:05:37 Sana: And, and, and in all of that, we kind of feel like, um, you know, this is not how it should be. This is some kind of injustice. You get into that, loop, uh, you get into that rabbit hole of trying to understand, is this how it works? Is this. I mean, uh, there should be changes and all that, but I think sometimes we have to understand how the structure or the system operates in order to understand those loopholes. Also, even even if they are there or they are not there irrespective of that.

00:06:14 Laura Massetti : Yeah, I would, I would agree with that. And I think that a lot of people get very lucky because they're in the right moment at the right time of having a great mentor. Having a great manager, having a confidant or a parent that's been through a similar experience that can give you real life coaching of how to handle situations, how to show up well to work. Um, give you really honest feedback that might be hard to hear, but the reality is that there is no formal system around that. And there's not a formal system in school. There's not a formal system of when you get into work. Um, organizations, they have onboarding and training programs. They have soft skills training, which is great, but there's no formal system on really how to operate. And because of that, that really has driven what I've created here, um, around, you know, having that be a scalable, repeatable model that people can learn and follow to have access to what took me years to learn.

00:07:30 Sana: And that's really, really great. Laura, I really appreciate because I think this is, uh, a very crucial time that we are seeing right now. It's not just about the workplaces, but the kind of, uh, the, the looming danger of, uh, you know, the economic conditions, um, the AI driven fear and everything. And, uh, yeah, the kind of the job market trends that we are seeing currently right now, I think it's very high time that, uh, this gap is understood. And, you know, people can actually support each other, um, sort of looking for options out there or maybe, you know, um, getting to learn something at the cost of losing their jobs or.

00:08:22 Laura Massetti : Right.

00:08:24 Sana: You know, looking for companies or organizations that can actually align with what they want.

00:08:29 Laura Massetti : Yeah. Yeah. No, that's a, that's a really good point, I think. Um, AI has, you know, has created so much great opportunity, but has made people really nervous on how they function within the organization and if their job will be lost. And I know a lot of people have different opinions on that and spoken on that. Um, but for me, my, my theory is more around you can't control those outside elements right now. We can't control what AI will be. We can't control what company decisions are, can be made, but we can control how we contribute to the workplace, right? We can contribute on how we show up. So that's really the, the premise of the, the framework that I built. And, um, the really the organization I built is create the repeatable components that whether you're in a job you love, a job you hate your next role. If you follow this framework, you'll be able to, um, focus on being the best version professionally of yourself that you can be.

00:09:45 Sana: Absolutely, absolutely.

00:09:46 Laura Massetti : Yeah.

00:09:47 Sana: And before understanding that framework, uh, Laura, I want to ask you, because you have been sitting inside the hiring discussions, the performance reviews, um, what, what were the patterns you kept seeing that made you realize that, you know, um, the, the operating gap was real and exactly what, what exactly is this operating gap?

00:10:11 Laura Massetti : Yeah. Um, it's, it's really interesting. Um, as you mentioned, I've been in, um, plenty of performance reviews on both sides. right? I've been the one being assessed and I've been the one doing the assessing. And what I find specifically for early professionals is there are extremely motivated to come in and contribute to the workplace. And a lot of them are working hard. They are working quickly. Um, but they are missing some of the basics on what professionalism looks like, how to properly follow through on tasks in a way that managers need them. Uh, you know, a big part of being a contributing employee is how to make the lives of your managers and the company easier. And I think that, um, at the beginning of your career, that's a big way on how you show your contributions in a really meaningful way. So I find that a lot of really strong early professionals are acting great independently. And as part of that, they're not making their progress or their impact visible. And what I mean is I find so many great, um, especially technically great individuals that as a manager, I give a project, I send it over and a week later they give it back to me and it's fantastic or it's not, and it's missing something that just at the beginning, um, wasn't properly understood or clarified. And, um, there's a huge opportunity where early professionals can be very visible in terms of the work that they're doing, the contributions that they're doing in order to really help promote their impact that they're making on the Any organization. So, um, really what it is, is it's not that they're not wonderful. It's not that they're not contributors. It's, that's not being made visible in the way that managers can understand them as professionals.

00:12:34 Speaker 5: HMM mm.

00:12:37 Sana: It's actually, you know, um, interesting because, um, what, what you are describing, Laura, is almost like this. Um.

00:12:48 Speaker 6: Let me get the word.

00:12:49 Sana: It's like a silent, um, curriculum inside organization. Yeah.

00:12:54 Speaker 5: Mhm.

00:12:54 Sana: Uh, you know, because this is exactly what I also assumed in the beginning, because this is exactly what worked for me in my, uh, in my school days that, you know, you work hard, you just, you know, you deliver your results. Um, and people will appreciate you'll get the limelight. That's it. Um, it's, it's the performance is just, you know, these two things, but then behind the scenes, things like, you know, how predictable, um, someone is, how how they are communicating the problems. Uh, you know, because there was a, there was a particular situation and this was my first job. Um, when I, I tried to share a very legit problem with my immediate manager and all I got to hear from is, is what are you saying is, uh, some kind of foreign language to me doesn't make any sense. And I, yeah, I was completely like, I, I froze, I couldn't say anything after that, uh, that and that and plus multiple situations that made me realize that, you know, this is going to be a different ballgame altogether. This is not going to work how I assumed.

00:14:06 Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah.

00:14:08 Sana: And whether, you know, they, they create clarity or confusion around them. And I think, yeah, it makes sense that capable people, they can unknowingly stroll.

00:14:18 Speaker 7: Mhm.

00:14:19 Laura Massetti : Yeah. And you say something really important that, um, you know, a lot of this is in in our control, as I mentioned. However, we do also have managers and leaders that aren't the best. Right? They they don't provide us with clear feedback. Right? Um, and that makes it really frustrating in terms of how you can do better, but with, um, with what we work on within my program is really focusing on how to get that out of them. Because without that clarification on their feedback, the projects that you need to deliver on, you'll always miss because you can never make people happy that actually don't know what they want or what they expect out of you. So, um, I love that you called that out, because I think that's a really big problem as far as managers not knowing how to communicate well to their employees.

00:15:25 Speaker 8: Oh, and Laura, um.

00:15:27 Sana: Let's, let's now get to what managers actually evaluate here. Uh, uh, I mean, when, when managers are because most professionals believe that promotions and career growth, they are, they are primarily, uh, evaluated or based on the output and the results. But you argue that managers are actually evaluating how someone operates now when they are deciding who advances, who doesn't like what, what are they really paying attention to? Laura. And there.

00:16:01 Laura Massetti : So there's three main things that they're paying attention to within that invisible operating layer is what I like to call it. So firstly, it's it's how people show up. How do you show up professionally in the workplace? How do you conduct yourself? How do you, um, position yourself? How do you come across? Um. The second one is how they communicate. And there's a lot that goes into that. That's not just speaking, that's not just written, but that's overall, how do you have a professional sense of how to communicate? And the third, and I think the most critical one is if and how they could be relied on. Because at the end of the day, um, you, these are the fundamental pieces of it, but how to be relied on is huge. They need to know that they have trust. Not that you'll just say that what you're going to do, but what you do has great output. So those are, those are the, the three things that, um, that really are contributing within that operating layer. And the framework that I've built around that is focused on six different components. So this is called the real work ready performance model. And it's the six operating capabilities that early professionals and all professionals. But, um, you know, most important, because early professionals aren't always aware of these things can focus on in order to have that operating layer become more visible in how they work. So there's six parts. So one is the organizational awareness. So understanding how decisions are made and how culture within an organization actually works. The second one is execution and follow through. So that means doing what you said when you said that you were going to do it and doing it. Well. The third one is communication and clarity. Being proactive, specific, timely updates, and not just waiting to be asked things from your manager or anyone or your cross cross-functional teams.

00:18:27 Speaker 5: Mhm.

00:18:28 Laura Massetti : The fourth one is judgment and prioritization. So knowing what matters most without being told. The fifth one is ownership and reliability, taking full responsibility for outcomes and not just tasks. And a lot of this is taking ownership for things that maybe you don't do well. So this one's really interesting. And the sixth one, and I think the hardest one to get right because there's so many nuances to it is professional presence and credibility. So that means how do you carry yourself? Um, when it's hard, uncertain things are uncomfortable, all of that. So, um, these are the six areas that are constantly evaluated within performance reviews, meetings, hallway discussions, um, and are really fundamental to how you get control of that invisible operating layer.

00:19:24 Speaker 5: Um.

00:19:26 Speaker 8: And, um.

00:19:28 Sana: I mean, it makes a lot of sense, uh, because, but, but he, you know, many, many, uh, people will, will have this question that, you know, um, because let's say my entire career is depending on my manager deciding, you know, what's, what's my next career advancement in there, whether I'm getting promoted or whether I'm getting an raise, whether, um, I'm just going to go stagnant in there. There can be a lot of personal biases as well. And, um, how, how, how as, as a, as a professional who is, you know, first time probably most probably encountering that kind of situation, how we can make sense of that, how we can navigate through those situations, you know, because we may tend to react very differently, which can actually, unfortunately work against us only.

00:20:31 Speaker 5: Mhm.

00:20:32 Laura Massetti : Yeah, that's, that's a really good point. I, um, I've been in situations where I've certainly felt like my, my leader didn't like me or I was doing something wrong or there was, I don't know the way to describe it, but you just felt like it was going to be very difficult working with them for whatever reason. Um, and I've certainly, I've, I've, I've been there. Um, but I think again, it goes back to what do we have control over and what we have control over is being very intentionally aware of what potentially might be their, their triggers and how do they work best. Right? And at the end of the day, they have a job to get done, right? And it's really understanding what job they have to get done and how you can make that easier for them. Forget the emotional piece of it. Forget the they might not like something about you at the end of the day. You have to focus on the results that you're driving for them. And you know the results that they have to deliver to their higher ups. Because at the end of the day, we're just at work, right? Um, and we all have a job to get done. So I think focusing on the operational components of how you can make their job easier, um, would be really great. And I think the other part is lean into or seek out mentorships where you can, and that could be within your organization or outside of it, because the worst thing is feeling like you're alone in a negative relationship with your, your team, right? Um, and I think that the more avenues that you have that if something doesn't go right, you have people that believe in you. And it's, it's incredibly powerful.

00:22:47 Speaker 5: It is, it is actually.

00:22:49 Sana: It is actually, and, um, I have, uh, I have gotten, and I've learned. Uh, the best, some of you know, from some of, uh, the mentors, the mentors within my organizations. I mean, those were the best learning conversations that I could have. I mean, I made mistakes, but at least they were there to help me navigating through those mistakes and understanding that, yes, it's it's, uh, logically correct what you're thinking, but then let's understand what, you know, practical the situation is, you know, you have to adapt, you have to, you know, for example, when it comes to ownership, if you know, you have, uh, a task or a commitment in terms of your goal, then what exactly should you do? How exactly you can actually not demonstrate? I would say rather, but how can actually, how you can actually, uh, how do you understand the meaning of ownership in there? What are you doing to make sure that, you know, irrespective of the blockers you are able to, uh, achieve or maybe over achieve that goal, uh, because that can actually help you in advancing your career as well. It's an important part of your, um, your, uh, career trajectory within that organization or within that team.

00:24:14 Speaker 5: So yeah.

00:24:16 Laura Massetti : Yeah, I think the hardest part that people have with that is knowing who to ask or feeling comfortable to develop that relationship with someone and, and kind of asking for help. So how did, how did you approach that?

00:24:32 Speaker 5: Oh, I mean.

00:24:33 Sana: Uh, because, um, this was my third, uh, third company. And before that, um, the ones that I worked with, I had, I've had some very interesting experiences in there. I mean, there was one, uh, startup where actually worked and, uh, there was some very ethical issues related to, um, the, the co leadership in there in terms of, you know, how they're hiring people in there and, um, within a very short span of time, the managers kept on changing. And, um, you know, I'll be very honest, like I actually shared the full thing with them, you know, this is how it's working. And that particular person, I mean, she was my reporting manager. So on day one only I started, you know, having very and she was also very actively listening to me. And then within the next two days, um, I got to hear, uh, I got to hear from my, uh, you know, uh, he was a CEO that, you know, uh, you shouldn't have, uh, shared everything about the organization like this. This is completely unprofessional. Um, so that is something, I mean, yeah, it really kind of, uh, looked injustice to me, but then something that I learned is, uh, how, uh, mindful you have to be in terms of communicating. It's not just only the managers or your peers, but, you know, with your colleagues or maybe somebody who's driving for the first time, What kind of impression? Because let's say, you know, I am I'm, um, three, four months into that company and probably, you know, I'm, uh, asked by my manager to, um, uh, be a buddy for the new joining there. And I go like full ballistic in terms of, okay, this is the good, this is the bad. You have to do this. You have to do that it completely. I'm representing, representing the entire culture of my team or maybe my organization, my company in there. So I think that's, it's very important to understand that you have to be very mindful and balanced in terms of how you communicate. And it's not just the professional communication, but in terms of how you are actually carrying yourself. And, uh, you know, having those even informal communications.

00:26:57 Speaker 5: Yeah, that's.

00:26:57 Laura Massetti : A, that's a really good point. And I think, um, what you mentioned, there is something that you you learn from trial and error. You learn from experience and, and oftentimes, um, you screw up, but, uh, you know, and it's hard balance that you had there, right? Because you felt like something was not just and not, not right. And, you know, I would never say don't do the right thing, right. You absolutely always should do the right thing. But there's also a way of how do you communicate to whom and what in what manner and when. So, um, yeah, that's a really important judgment call that we need to make. And, you know, going back to that judgment focus of those capabilities, that's, that's really where that lands, um, within that framework of, you know, how do you make the best decisions on how to prioritize what comes across and when. So yeah, that's that's really important lesson for sure.

00:28:06 Sana: And after.

00:28:07 Speaker 8: That, I.

00:28:08 Sana: Also kind of made sure. And once again, this is something that my mentor told that if you want to, uh, learn something, take the ownership. Look for people, go to them, sit with them, ask them if they are giving time well and good. If they're not giving time, go to the next person. But it is you who has to, who has.

00:28:27 Speaker 5: To.

00:28:28 Sana: You know, not manage, but you has to. It is you who has to, you know, plan everything because yeah. Um, we are not going to not everyone is going to support you initially when you are you're joining the company. Not everyone is going to come to you and teach you everything. You have to actually go to people. You have to understand, okay, give me time. Tell me, what exactly is this? Let me understand. You know, like the ramping up part in there.

00:28:54 Speaker 5: Yeah.

00:28:55 Laura Massetti : Yeah, you you have to take ownership of, of your career. No one's gonna no one's going to do it for you. I remember when I first came out of my MBA. I still didn't really know what I wanted to do. Um, with with my life. Um, but I knew that we had a really strong alumni network. So I would go through that list of people that I thought were interesting. And gosh, LinkedIn wasn't even huge at, I don't even know if we had LinkedIn. I'm not sure. But we had a, I think we just, I think I emailed them, um, and I would invite them for a coffee and I would take them out for a coffee. And it was so strange because I could, I was living in New York, I could hardly afford a cup of coffee for myself, and I would offer to take them out for a cup of coffee and I would dress up in my suit. Um, which was ridiculous. They probably just looked at me like I was crazy. But you know, those people now, they're my LinkedIn connections. They are people that if I needed something, I could just, you know, ask them. But yeah, uh, trying hard in that sense and leaning into and being uncomfortable to ask for help is really important.

00:30:22 Speaker 5: Yeah. It is. It is superb.

00:30:26 Sana: Um, so, uh, Laura, before we wrap up, um.

00:30:31 Speaker 5: I think one.

00:30:32 Sana: Very valid, uh, kind of a different perspective that, you know, someone might raise here is this, that if organizations, uh, if organizations require professionals to figure out these unwritten rules, doesn't that mean that the system itself is broken? I mean, should companies, shouldn't companies be better at teaching how work actually operates. Instead of expecting people to learn through trial and error like I did.

00:31:03 Laura Massetti : I know, I know, it's hard because, I mean, I think everything has its purpose, right? I think that school has its purpose in teaching us a theory, making you think differently, being prepared for skills. I think that companies are so focused on everything that you need to do to do that job. Well, that you're right. There is just that gap. And I don't know whose responsibility it is, but that's why I went after it, because no one no one was taking responsibility for it. So that's what my business and my company does. But, um, I think that companies need to incorporate this, especially with early professionals. Um, but having worked with, with small companies especially, they just don't have the, resources to do it. Um, so yeah, I think that it's absolutely a gap, but, um, I think there's kind of this missing layer in between that needs to take responsibility for it because companies don't have, they have to worry about teaching the job, right? Teaching their principles. Um, and yeah, so, uh, it's definitely a gap. Um, I'm here to solve for it. And I hope that, you know, what I'm doing creates visibility that both schools and companies and you know me in between make it a priority because I think it makes all the difference for having success for your employees, but most importantly for businesses, the contributions that these employees have for your business, right? Because without people that you know, are, you know, are great employees and, and great professionals. You have nothing. So I, I certainly hope that it becomes a priority for, for, you know, both businesses and professionals alike.

00:33:11 Sana: Yeah. That's true. I think that's a very, uh, balanced approach to this because, um, uh, I, it will be kind of very, uh, far fetched to think about that in the entire system is going to change. Uh, so it's better to be prepared and, uh, uh, forearmed, uh, and, uh, let's prepare ourselves so that, you know, we don't have to always learn by trial and error. And, uh, of course, Laura, I'm very sure our listeners, they're going to be very, very curious now to explore the, the framework that you have built. So what's, what's the best way to get hold of that and how they can connect with you as well.

00:33:57 Laura Massetti : Yeah, absolutely. So, um, I'm very active on LinkedIn, so feel free to follow me on LinkedIn. I have a good presence there. Um, visiting my website, real work dot com. You could sign up for our email list and you'll find out when education sessions, a bunch of webinars and free assets are available to you. Um, yeah, those are, those are the two ways, um, that you can reach out to me. And, um, I'm excited to speak with anyone who's interested in understanding more.

00:34:30 Sana: That's really amazing. And listeners, what I will be doing. Yeah, I always do it for you. I'll have all the links mentioned in the show notes, so find them attached along with this episode on whichever platform you are tuning to your Biz Blend podcast right now. And I think listening to this and having this conversation listeners, I think, um, one thing that becomes very, very clear is um, many professionals, we, we, we aren't failing because we lack intelligence or work ethic. Uh, we stall because the workplace runs on operating rules that are rarely explained. I mean, how trust is built, how managers evaluate reliability, how communication shapes credibility, how consistent execution creates momentum. And when those rules remain invisible, even very capable people can spend years working hard without understanding why the progress is slow. So maybe the, the, maybe the, the, the real shift is learning to see work through a different lens, a different perspective, a different context, not just what I did produce today, but also did I create clarity? Did I strengthen trust? Did I make the system around me work better because in most organizations, that's what people quietly remember. And Laura, thank you so, so much. I really, really highly appreciate what you are doing because, um, this is going to help a lot of, uh, not only early stage professionals out there, but, you know, people who may be transitioning from, you know, different industries or different kind of working styles or companies. So thank you so much.

00:36:21 Laura Massetti : Thank you so much for having me. It was great.

00:36:24 Sana: And, uh, listeners, thank you so much for tuning in. If today's conversation made you rethink how work actually operates, this is why exactly this plant exists. So keep listening, keep tuning to us and do follow our show not just for inspiration, but for the insight that might genuinely change how you navigate your professional life. Until next time, this is your host signing off. Thank you.