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Steel Roses Podcast
Steel Roses is a podcast created for women by women. Social pressures for women are constant. Professionals, stay at home moms, working moms, we are here to tell you that you are not alone! This podcasts primary focus is providing real honest content shedding light on the daily struggles of women while also elevating women's voices.
All women are experiencing similar pressures and hurdles, and yet, no one is talking out in the open. If these topics continue to only exist as whispered conversations then we further permeate a culture of judgement and shame.
Join Jenny weekly as she discusses topics that effect women in a relatable, honest way.
Steel Roses Podcast
Celebrating 100 Episodes, Navigating Leadership Challenges, and Inspirational Journeys
Ever wondered how you can judge someone's character? Discover why the way people treat those they dislike or don’t need reveals their true nature, as I share a personal experience of navigating selective civility. Join us as we celebrate a momentous milestone—the 100th episode of the Steel Roses podcast! Reflecting on our journey from a small family audience to reaching 20 countries and 244 cities, this episode is a heartfelt thank you to every dedicated listener. We also unveil our exciting transition from the summer to fall series, featuring inspiring women discussing crucial topics like postpartum depression, women's healthcare, and fitness journeys. And if you’ve ever struggled with imposter syndrome, you won’t want to miss the encouraging feedback we received from one of our inspirational guests.
Curious about what 18 years in various managerial roles can teach you about leadership? I share my personal journey through different leadership styles, the lessons learned, and the importance of maintaining a balanced perspective on work. From being set up for failure to having your efforts dismissed, we tackle the tough challenges of the workplace and provide practical insights on identifying and handling negativity. Embark on a reflective and motivational journey as we explore how to leave any job with your head held high and move on to greater opportunities. Celebrate our podcast milestone with me, and stay tuned for the fantastic episodes coming in our fall series!
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Hi everybody, this is Steel Roses podcast. This podcast was created for women, by women, to elevate women's voices. I'm very excited to be airing this episode because this episode marks the 100th podcast installment episode for Steel Roses, so I am thrilled to just have this opportunity. I'm thrilled to just have I'm thrilled to have this opportunity. I'm thrilled to be able to bring topics out into the open that are not discussed that often or at all. I am thrilled to be able to maybe provide insight on things that you're going through and to let you know that you're not alone, because that really was the goal for the podcast. So, 100th episode, big deal.
Speaker 1:Steel Roses has grown exponentially since the start. When it first launched. The only people who were listening in the very beginning, I believe, was our family, and it has swelled from there to have listeners across, listeners in um, across the across the globe. Really, we have 20 countries listening and 244 cities like I. I could not be prouder of the audience range and the amount of people listening. Um shout out to obviously everyone in the united states that that listens and supports the show canada, germany, the philippines, united kingdom, greece, denmark, japan, algeria, malta, netherlands, sweden, south africa, costa rica, indonesia, indian, belg, india, belgium, brazil, australia and mexico. Thank you all so much for just listening and engaging and leaving reviews and just being a source of really inspiration for me. So I I just am very appreciative.
Speaker 1:Now, on that happy note, I do have a couple thought starters today, but I just want to touch on a couple things that are going to be shifting. So this is the last installment for the summer series. September 8th is Sunday and that marks the beginning of the fall series. If you're already following on social media, you already know, you know I've been promoting some of the episodes and some of the folks that, some of the people that are on for September. So we have a really, really great lineup and, honestly, these women are powerhouses of you know, just enlightenment and they're bringing this energy that you really can't miss. So I encourage you all, make sure that you have your, that you're subscribed, share the episodes across. There are some powerful episodes regarding postpartum depression, postpartum trauma. I really want to make sure everybody hears those. That's an October episode.
Speaker 1:We have a lot of personal growth. We have a dermatologist coming on with us. We have women's healthcare focuses, women's fitness journeys, women who have broken out of captivity and have started lives, the lives of their dreams. I mean, really, it just runs the gamut. So the guests are fire for the fall and really for this winter spring, because that's already started as well. So really just amazing things to come, started as well. So really just amazing things to come. And again, I just greatly appreciate all of you for listening and being with me on this journey. It's really been a journey for me and a labor of love.
Speaker 1:A lot of key learnings came with launching this podcast. Being inspired to take different paths in our lives, I think is really crucial to us growing as individuals and really making our mark and feeling like we are doing what we're meant to be doing on this earth. And, to be perfectly honest, I have my moments. I have my imposter syndrome, moments where I question like how much longer should I be doing this? And inevitably somebody always kind of comes around and tells me like you have to keep going, you need to keep talking. I had a guest on the podcast that gave me the most amazing compliment and she told me that this is in our offline discussions Because I often chat with the guests like post recordings. And she told me you know, she has a long history in broadcasting and she paid me the nicest compliment and told me that I have a talent for the interview process, that I'm able to make people feel comfortable and open up, and, you know, the conversations are always engaging and really truthful and honest and raw and real, and that's really what this is and that really was one of those moments where it motivated me to keep going. So it's always wonderful to hear when people are listening and pay, you know, a compliment to the topics or subject matter or the guests, because that really helps for me to know that I'm still on the right track.
Speaker 1:Now on to our thought starters for the evening. So thought starter number one is you can't judge people only by how they treat you. The true test of character is how they treat those they don't like or need. Even if someone is kind to you, proceed with caution if they're consistently unkind to others. Selective civility is a sign of deep-seated hostility. Now, I personally have experienced this, but from the side of the hostility. Hostility was being directed towards me, but not any of these other folks and I distinctly, you know remember treading lightly, you know, trying to figure out how to navigate the situation and tried I tried very hard to kind of touch point with other people that were also engaging with this individual to say like hey, like you know, this is kind of going on like it's not right or it's not good, like they're really not good people, like they're portraying themselves one way, but look at how they're treating me like this, you know. And um, everyone tried to make me like I was the crazy one and basically put it back to me and said, well, what did you do? Like you must have done something. And you know, it took a really long time and it took a lot of emotional discovery on my side to realize, to wrap my head around the fact that I had tried everything to appease this particular person and I tried my hardest and damnedest to mend whatever the situation was and the reality of it was I am not crazy and just no one else saw it because this person was so sickeningly nice to other people but to me was just horrid. And it took a long time for people to kind of have that oh aha, light bulb moment, because facades slip and you can pretend all you want, you know, here and there, but at the end of the day, if you're pretending to be something that you're not and you're. Eventually your true colors are going to show and in this instance it took many years and it took a lot of humility on my side to just let it go. But you know, it's interesting to see people finally waking up.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I wanted to highlight here too, is you also have to be careful. You know so in this situation. It's like if someone's being nice to you but you see them being really crappy to other people or nasty to other people that they don't like, then it speaks to their character. I don't like everybody, but I have an appreciation for each person having their own individual path and journey that they have to follow. We're all on our own journeys. I don't judge any of you. You can do whatever you want. That's your life. Do what you need to do that fits your purpose, but I'm also going to do what I need to do. So just because our paths don't align doesn't mean that we can't be civil to each other. Just because you don't agree with somebody 100% doesn't mean that you can't be in the same space and share a conversation with this person. It's okay to have disagreements, like I think I've said this on an episode recently like totally cool for that to happen.
Speaker 1:Now, the flip side of this, too, is you also have to be wary of people who love to just trash talk, love to gossip. I mean, we all like it a little bit. We all like to gossip a little bit, no-transcript, telling you negative, nasty things or personal things about someone else, but then also still smiling in that person's face. That's a problem. So you might think in the moment oh, I'm on the inside. No, they wouldn't do that to me. You really don't know that, you really don't.
Speaker 1:So it's incredibly important to be selective about your inner circle and your people. I am incredibly selective, as is my husband. Like we really we don't mess around with that. Like we're selective about who we share our home, our children, with our, because we have a lot of peace in our lives and we want to maintain that. And you know likewise for you, for anyone listening, if you want to maintain a peaceful existence and an unconflicted existence, look at your surroundings and look at the kind of caliber, the caliber of the people that you're hanging out with. If these people are problematic and causing fights and having a lot of drama and just constantly having issues, and there's constantly something happening and it's always a problem, and this and that. Do you really want that to be your vibe? Do you want that to be your energy? Let me tell you, at 40, I don't want any of that. I'm all good, I'm all set. But even in your 30s, do you really want that? Is that really how you want to live out your life? Really? Think about that one, because, yes, some light gossip is fun and yes, it's fun to like have a little bit of you know, here and there, like kind of things or whatever. I like being petty as much as the next person as well, sarcastic, but still there's.
Speaker 1:I think that there's a fine line here that we need to really, as women, encourage, you know, the idea and the concept that, like you all can do whatever you want, like you don't have to really walk a particular path. No one should be judging anybody. So that's one thought starter. I'm sure that as I say these things, many of you can think of somebody in your life that really somebody in your life that does this or acts in this particular way, and it should really make you pause and it should make you really think about what you're doing there with that relationship. Now on to the next one.
Speaker 1:Um, insecure people pretend to know things that they don't. They dismiss expertise from others. Secure people admit what they don't know and they defer to expertise in others. Proactive people take the initiative to learn what they don't know and they acquire expertise from others. Now, this might apply a little bit more to professional settings. This is for all my working moms out there, working ladies out there. You should be able to, depending on your age range and how long you've been in your industry.
Speaker 1:There are characteristics of people that you're able to pick up on, to know, like if this person is going to be a collaborative colleague or if they're going to be somebody that dismisses you, makes you feel bad, gaslights you, dismisses your ideas, tears your ideas apart even when there's nothing wrong with them, makes you second guess yourself, makes you question your expertise. They will basically drive you insane and they will make you feel like you don't know what you're doing, even when you do. There are a dime a dozen of these people. They are a dime a dozen. They come in men and they come in women. They are a dime a dozen.
Speaker 1:It's important to recognize these people out of the gate. Usually, you can see, you can see it, you can sense it in the beginning when you start a job. But usually you see it after a couple of months, because then you get to see behavior. Because in the beginning of a job, when you just start, it's like the honeymoon period. No one's going to be on bad behavior in the honeymoon period, but once you've been in your role for X amount of time, you will be able to start seeing through lines. So it's important to recognize that for a couple of reasons.
Speaker 1:Number one you don't want to diminish your power and how you think of yourself. I have to. I will admit like I have my moments where I get upset about things and I usually will talk to my husband about it and he kind of reignites me and is like what are you talking about? You're awesome Like you, you know. Just get back, get your head back in the game. I usually will throw myself in and just dig deep and just try to show up as best as I can.
Speaker 1:No one can take from you your expertise. Best as I can, no one can take from you your expertise. Nobody, no one can take your knowledge from you. They can pretend and they could try to make you feel like you're not valued and they can try to make you feel like an idiot. But really it's up to me and you, the individual, to really say no, like I do know what I'm doing and I am actually better at this than what you may think or what you want me to be.
Speaker 1:I'm going to show you that part right there that I just described is, um, we'll call this the ego, and I don't mean ego like egocentric, I mean the ego part of you is the part of you that steps up and says I'm going to control this situation to make sure that I can get the outcome that I want. So the ego part of you at your profession will step up and say you know what? I am actually amazing at this and maybe, if I'm not amazing at this, I can learn how to be amazing at this. I'm teachable. That's a huge asset for people to be teachable and to be willing to learn, because there's a lot of people that will only do things one certain particular way and then they don't have a lot of growth and they pretend that they do and they know a lot of nice buzzwords, but they really aren't showing growth. So it's important to really recognize. It's the insecure ones that will pretend like they know it all and crap on everybody else all the while they're scrambling to just keep their head above water. If you were working with someone like that, you know, god bless, you hang in there, but maybe you'll start looking, you know? Um, ideally you want to be with somebody that's going to help elevate you, who's going to help support you, who's going to help make it so that, like your, your name is being mentioned in rooms with opportunities and vice versa.
Speaker 1:Lead by example. You know as much as like I remember. I remember in my very, very early days of my career, I'd go manager after manager, which are my 18 years of experience so there's a lot of managers in there and I remember. After each experience, especially the bad ones, I would walk away with it just thinking to myself you know what? This is pretty awful. I survived it, though. So that's one thing. And each time, not only did I survive, but I succeeded and I surpassed where I was. Every single time, every single time, I always succeeded and I always surpassed. And then, each time, I would also walk away with the knowledge of you know what, when I become a manager, when I become a manager. This was a great learning example for what not to do and how to not treat people and how to not treat my team. There's so many examples over the span of my 18 year career where I was put into positions where I was set up for failure, if you can believe it, which sounds nuts, as I say it.
Speaker 1:But there were times where I would be working like crazy, trying to accomplish a particular task and then meanwhile, you know, manager Joe Schmo is sitting there and I come around with my work that I think I'm knocking out of the park and they're like, oh, actually, you know what? We don't really need this, we're all set and they don't ever use it. Let me tell you how deflating that is when you're a junior person trying to like gain momentum and someone's like, oh, thanks for all that work you did, we're not actually going to use that. Good Lord, good Lord. So there's there's a lot out there. There's a lot. I'm sure a lot of you are going through it and experiencing it. There's a lot of unfortunate situations where people are really just treated like a number.
Speaker 1:That kind of brings into like not a thought starter quote, but just in general, the other thing that we have to remember about our jobs and our professions is this is not. We should not be living to work. We should be working to live. And while it's okay to enjoy your profession, this is not all of you. Is that, if you're an accountant, is that all you are? Is an accountant Like? No, if you're a marketer, is that all you are?
Speaker 1:You may love marketing, I love marketing. I think it's awesome, like I think it's so interesting how marketing works and how things work and the narratives change. It's incredibly interesting to me. But it doesn't mean that that's all I am and that's all I want and that's all that makes up, jenny, because it's not. So. There's a lot here to think about in terms of, like, how you're approaching your career path, how you're dealing with people who are negative in the workspace and really just maintaining your composure, because, at the end of the day, you want to be able to walk away from a job with your head held high and you don't want anyone to be trying to drag you down. So it's really a matter of identifying the person, making sure you're like I see you, I know what you're doing and then preparing yourself accordingly, because you will have to deal with it, but hopefully for not for too long, because then you know you can move on to bigger and better things. So that's really the end goal there.
Speaker 1:I hope you enjoyed this last installment of the summer series and this hundredth episode. I'm very, very proud of this and it is a huge accomplishment. And again I just I greatly appreciate all of you and I really hope that you tune in for the fall series. It's, it's amazing, it's an amazing group of women that are coming on here. So stay tuned for that. Thank you all again so much, and I'll catch you on the next one. Take care.
