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15: Tosha Siebert, Grit City Women Member and Assistant Director of Tacoma Water
98 Plays3 years ago
Brought to you by Grit City Women - A female forward organization that nurtures a creative approach to empowering female entrepreneurs, small business owners, and leaders in Tacoma. Join host Krystle Edwards and Tosha Siebert as they discuss:
1. Power of female mentors
2. Leveraging experience during interviews 3. Leading in a male dominated industry 4. Importance of seeking clarity in challenges
Learn more about Tosha:
1. Power of female mentors
2. Leveraging experience during interviews 3. Leading in a male dominated industry 4. Importance of seeking clarity in challenges
Learn more about Tosha:
Recommended
Transcript
Meet Tasha Sievert and Grit City Women
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Gritty is the New Pretty, a podcast by Grit City Women. Grit City Women is empowered by Melissa Newell, Edward Jones Financial Advisor, and Columbia Bank. On episode 15, we are featuring Tasha Sievert, Grit City Women member and Assistant Division Manager of Tacoma Water. Welcome, Tasha. Hello. Thank you for having me. Thank you for joining us.
00:00:29
Speaker
Do you want to start off and just tell the backstory on how you and I met? So Tasha is a Grit City Women member and we originally met while you were doing, you were doing a. Internship. Yep. Internship for the city manager's office. Of Tacoma.
00:00:50
Speaker
And we were doing, I was participating in Mayor Woodard's Bloomberg, Harvard Bloomberg, oh gosh, I can't even remember how to say it, initiative, which really focused around policing and their relationship with communities of color. And so Tasha was sitting in on one of our sessions and I just heard her talk and I was like, I gotta know her.
00:01:16
Speaker
She probably thought I was a creeper because I was creeping on her. I felt the same way. Yeah. I went up to her and I introduced myself and asked her if she'd be kind enough to be my friend. We've been friends ever since and now you're a Grit City Women member and it's been such a fun relationship.
Tasha's Career Journey and Challenges
00:01:38
Speaker
I'm finally glad that you're on the podcast because you did do an event, a Grit City Women event,
00:01:45
Speaker
I wasn't there in person. And so I'm really glad to be able to have this conversation with you and expand upon some of the changes that you've had in your life and share it with great city women that weren't able to attend that event. So that's the backstory. Now, Tasha, why don't you go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself? Oh, man. Well,
00:02:09
Speaker
I am, and well, I'll just say, career wise, I've been working in the electrical utility industry for a little over 16 years now. But I never ever even thought about being in the electrical industry before the opportunity, you know, kind of came knocking on my door. And then
00:02:33
Speaker
Um, actually when right before we met was kind of a time where I was getting really frustrated with, um, you know, just wanting to advance in my career and not being able to, and not really having any mentors or anybody to, um, you know, help and encourage and keep me kind of going. And so I had applied for a job, um, in the city manager's office. I didn't get it. Um, but out of that.
00:03:00
Speaker
They saw the potential in me and gave me the opportunity to do an internship with the city manager's office. And then when I got into doing that, I actually met several very strong, you know, women leaders, including the city manager. And it just kind of shifted everything for me. I had never really been around such strong women, strong personalities, you know, just can command a room and it just
00:03:28
Speaker
You know, just kind of lit a passion in me to, you know, reevaluate what I wanted to do and kind of push forward. And so it kind of led me to applying for, you know, starting to look outside of the city of Tacoma for work and opportunities.
Life in Tacoma and Breaking Barriers
00:03:41
Speaker
And then I ended up getting a job at Seattle City Light.
00:03:45
Speaker
managing five different work groups still in the male-dominated industry. So, you know, that was a very unique challenge starting that right at the beginning of a pen. Actually, I started on the 18th and I think the governor issued the stay-at-home order like the 23rd or something.
00:04:00
Speaker
So it was a crazy time to be starting a new company, but ultimately did that for about 10 months. And then I got the opportunity to switch and manage three different work groups. So that was also a new learning experience for me, new challenges, all that good stuff.
00:04:18
Speaker
Um, for the most part, um, I was, oh, I probably should talk about just real quick about me personally. I spent most of my life in Tacoma, Washington. I'm not in Tacoma anymore. I'm out in Snoqualmie, but I know a lot about the Tacoma area and I have three boys.
00:04:38
Speaker
Yeah, the only girl in the house, so it's like I'm a button for punishment. Only girl in the house at home, and most of the time the only girl in the room at work. But yeah, so that's pretty much about me. I don't want to go on too much. I guess if you have any questions as we go along, I can answer them, but I think that's
00:04:57
Speaker
Let's go back a little bit to the beginning. What did you do in the electrical field? Can you tell us more about your initial start? Absolutely. Right before I got in there, I was driving the school bus and I had my CDO.
00:05:15
Speaker
And so I went down to the city of Tacoma office back when you had to actually go in and apply in person and fill out paper applications. And I was looking for a job where I could use my CDL. And I was looking for a garbage truck driver job at the time because I knew they needed CDLs. But the HR lady actually told me, we're not hiring for that, but have you seen this
00:05:39
Speaker
Posting for this electrical trainee and I have my first thought was I don't know anything about electricity and you know She was basically told you don't have to know anything This is that's what the program is about to bring you in teach you what you need to know so that you can take the civil service exam to get into one of the
00:05:56
Speaker
electrical apprenticeships. Very grateful for that opportunity because it led me in. That was the first year that the city did, they had started the electrical trainee program. So there were 17 of us and we basically went through a seven month program where we rotated on different crews, line crews, substation crews, meter crews. And we basically just learned all about the different trades. They taught us basic electricity, math,
00:06:26
Speaker
even sent us to the gym because you had, there's a physical component of the apprenticeship test. So yeah, it was a pretty interesting seven months. I mean, it was a competition too. There was only 14 spots and 17 people to choose from. So, you know, I definitely worked really, really hard to make sure I stood out in the group. I definitely wanted to be one to, you know, get into one of those apprenticeships. So worked really hard and ended up getting into there, but that's, that's pretty much how I started coming in as a trainee.
Confidence and Gender in Job Applications
00:06:55
Speaker
You touched on something that I want to talk about briefly and it's when you were looking at the application for the trainee program and you said to the woman, I don't know anything about electrical work.
00:07:11
Speaker
And I think that's really important to talk about because I read a study that it talked about the differences between men and women when applying for positions. And that oftentimes men, even though they may not have experience or may not have all the qualifications, they have the confidence to shoot for the moon, basically. And when they go into the interview, their confidence and
00:07:41
Speaker
kind of wins them that position. While women sometimes disproportionately knock themselves out of the game right off the bat by saying exactly what you had said and not even applying.
00:07:56
Speaker
And so I think that's incredible that that woman gave you that opportunity because you might not have ever applied for that. Not that you weren't qualified because you totally are. You're a badass. But it's like that's the mentality. Yep, it really is.
00:08:11
Speaker
is I'm like, oh, I don't know anything about that. I'll never get that job that, you know, who am I? I'm just nobody. So I definitely encourage women out there. If you're interested in a position and you don't think you're qualified, just go for it anyways, or maybe reach out to other people in the industry, you know, have them take a look at your resume, like do whatever you can, because you still might be a good candidate for that position. Qualifications aren't always technical either. Some qualifications, they're looking for different types of people to make a well-rounded team. So
00:08:41
Speaker
Thank you for bringing that up and thank you for sharing that.
00:08:45
Speaker
I was going to say, just to add to that too, one thing is, you know, when you're talking about the qualifications and talking about men and, you know, they see, you know, they're like, oh, I have 50% of the qualifications, I'm going for it. So just as a reminder, you know, if you see that you don't quite meet all of them, you have to kind of look outside the box too, because, you know, they might ask if you have, if you've ever had experience doing this specifically.
00:09:12
Speaker
And you can draw on parallels and say, you know, well, I haven't done that specifically. What I have done is this.
00:09:19
Speaker
And I see it as very comparable to exactly what you're looking for. And so I've really started to hone in on that and finding those parallels that I can draw. If I don't specifically have what that criteria is, I can say, well, but what I do have is this.
Facing Hostility in a Male-Dominated Industry
00:09:37
Speaker
So keep that in mind as well. Absolutely. So an example of that could be, you know,
00:09:44
Speaker
Managing a team or directing certain people to do things and maybe you haven't been in a managerial position in your current employment, but maybe you coach a softball team or maybe you do something volunteer work in the community that you're a leader in.
00:10:01
Speaker
Those are great situations to draw those parallels. That's such a good point because I've honed in on that as well. I think that if you want to get somewhere and maybe your current employer, you just don't have those opportunities to work on those skills inside your job. If you have the capacity, maybe there's internships or maybe there's volunteer work that you can do to get that additional experience. I agree.
00:10:29
Speaker
It sounds like the work that you did was in a primarily male dominated environment, which I think that's something that we connected on. It's slightly industrial type, you know, work. And so I want to talk about, was it alignment you were? No, I was a meter technician. Meter technician. Okay. So what was that experience like for you and what kind of barriers did you face, if any?
00:10:57
Speaker
Yeah, so I think I would say the biggest part of that experience was actually as the trainee right before I got in, because as I mentioned, I was rotating on different crews. And so we weren't very welcomed there, because that was the first year that the City Light, that Tacoma Power, excuse me, had started that program.
00:11:18
Speaker
And a lot of people felt like we were taking jobs from others, right? We were going to, because out of that, a certain amount of those positions were guaranteed to get into those apprenticeships as long as they could pass the test, right? And so a lot of people were very, very upset, very resistant to us. You know, they were just flat out jerks for the most part. And so definitely on certain crews,
00:11:46
Speaker
dealt with a lot of people being disrespectful, saying things that you're like, I don't know where they accept this at, but you're sitting there and you don't want to rock the boat. You don't want to say anything. You don't want to be that person. So you just internalize it, keep it in. And then you just work harder. And that's what it did for me. I just worked harder and proved to them that I deserve to be there. I wasn't somebody who was just handed anything. It was a competition.
00:12:15
Speaker
treated it as such, I really wanted that opportunity. And then when getting into my first apprenticeship, because I did too, the first one as the meter technician,
Mentorship and Women in Leadership
00:12:26
Speaker
that one was very challenging for me because part of that trainee program, they decreased the qualification to allow the trainees to get in there. And what I mean by that is prior to the trainees, you had to have two years of an electrical background.
00:12:44
Speaker
electronics, electrical theory type background to even get into the meter apprenticeship because it's pretty rigorous with the theory.
00:12:52
Speaker
And so as part of being able to bring in the trainees to apply for that, they got rid of that criteria, which I would never advocate for anyone doing ever. If it's a legit requirement for the job, we can't just get rid of the requirement because it does everybody a disservice. So when I came into the meter apprenticeship, there was a lot of heartache because a lot of people were like, you know, you don't even have the background that you're supposed to have. And here you are walking in here.
00:13:21
Speaker
And then the other part of that was not having that two years of electrical background really create an additional struggle. And I could honestly see why that two years was necessary because without that, it's foreign language and it's your life, it's electricity, it's voltages that can kill you. And so not having that
00:13:44
Speaker
did actually do a disservice to myself and a couple other people who came through the program. I mean granted we made it through, but there was a clear divide between the level of knowledge and understanding from us that were brought in through that program and the others.
00:14:00
Speaker
And then also because people feel like you don't deserve to be there, you know, these are the people who are teaching you in that apprenticeship as well. And so because they're so upset with you and they don't think you deserve to be there, it also kind of comes full circle around on you as well because now you've got people who are in
00:14:18
Speaker
control of your grading and your teaching and you know, they have to they're responsible for whether you make it through or not. So there was a lot of challenges in that whole process. But for the sake of time, I'll kind of leave it there. But yeah, it was it was a very trying time in my career. I'll tell you that. Right, right. So then I want to touch back on also you talked about
00:14:42
Speaker
when you were doing the internship with the city of Tacoma, your exposure to being around strong women. And that is something that I think I also had that, once I had that exposure to someone, it was a game changer for me. For my experience,
00:15:02
Speaker
I had gone to Washington DC and I met this woman who was definitely much higher level than I was, but she was awesome. We clicked immediately. The way she encouraged me was just so different than the way I was encouraged by my male mentors and my male bosses and stuff.
00:15:28
Speaker
It was just so different and she became a big mentor of mine. And then also additionally, when I was doing the stuff with the city, working with all those women, I was like, holy moly.
00:15:43
Speaker
these women are profession, they're legit professionals, like they, the way they talk, the way they handle like difficult conversations, like I was blown away. And I'm hoping to have some of the those women on the podcast at some point, but I'm kind of of the same, you know,
00:16:01
Speaker
revelation as you is when I was doing that work with the city and when I met you, that was a game changer for me. I had never been in a room with so many strong women ever in my entire life or career. And I think that goes to show how important like networking is and engaging with other women in those types of communities.
00:16:25
Speaker
You know, I don't know. Can you speak a little bit more to what that experience did for you? Absolutely. So I think the, one of the biggest thing is there wasn't obviously is male dominated, right? So there wasn't a lot of women and, um, you know,
00:16:40
Speaker
For me, I always got the bad rap. If I told you to do something, it couldn't just be me asking you to do something. It had to be getting questioned all the time. Whatever I was saying, just really pushing back on me just because.
00:17:01
Speaker
whenever I, you know, I started developing a real thick skin, you know, I could give it just as much as I could take it. And then, you know, I started you had to get real assertive real fast, especially when you're running a crew and, you know, they try to run over you. And that's the reality. And so I would get this bad rap of just, you know,
00:17:22
Speaker
guys could do the same thing, but as soon as I did it, I was acting like the B word or whatever words they could find clever ways to describe me. And then even when I got into a supervisor role, people would say I was aggressive and it was just hard to work with me. And
00:17:44
Speaker
if for me it was just like no like these are the same things that you're that the guys do and you don't have a problem but if I call you out and I call you out in a nice very articulated but very strong way it becomes a problem and people didn't like that um so then it causes you to kind of look at yourself and say well wait what am I doing um you know am I do I need to tone it down
00:18:07
Speaker
Is it really something I'm doing, but then I came to the city manager's office and they were doing the exact same thing I was doing. They were commanding a room you'd have people that would get in the room and, you know, really, you know, my pushback, things like that, especially you know the city manager, and she had no problem.
00:18:26
Speaker
Commanding a room and saying no, that's that's not you know, that's not what we're going to do or You know Calling it out and saying, you know, this is what this is what I want. This is what's going to happen and so it really just kind of Encouraged me to see you know that it's not just because they might feel intimidated or they might feel that you're aggressive you have to be that way otherwise they kind of walk over you and take advantage and then the other part of that was
00:18:53
Speaker
when the biggest part for me was the encouragement and I now I've always say you have to surround yourself with positive encouraging people and so not only was it very strong women that were in leadership roles but it was the positive encouragement when you tell yourself you know oh I don't meet the all the criteria for this job or whatever you might be talking yourself out of
00:19:23
Speaker
having those positive influences of people that are in positions that you may be Looking to be in or just leadership roles, whatever it may be when you've got the positive Support mentorship role models. It goes such a long way because we can definitely talk ourselves out of something Really fast honestly, and then you know It takes someone to kind of swoop in there and kind of slap you around a bit and say no
00:19:52
Speaker
one of the things that even my husband, and I've learned a lot from him because he's very strong personality.
00:20:02
Speaker
knows what he wants and having him in my life has changed a lot for me as well because he is the one that will tell me, you got to recognize that they didn't give anything to you. You earned it because I'll be the one that will, you know, kind of cower and say, you know, I'm so grateful that they gave me this opportunity that they saw this and I'm so grateful for them.
Encouraging Women in Leadership Roles
00:20:26
Speaker
And he's like, you know, just in the same thing that I was getting from the city manager's office,
00:20:31
Speaker
is just saying like you earn this. It's not something someone gave you. You worked hard to get to where you are or you worked hard to put on this persona of who you are and so you deserve it. It's not about what someone's given to you and what someone's willing to let you have and so it really is important to surround yourself with positive mentors
00:20:53
Speaker
and strong people that you can lean on and get their energy and kind of channel it into yourself. Absolutely. That's such great advice. And I think that's something where, I mean, that's the reason Grid City Women was founded. You know, I, I gone through that process, some very similar experience to you. Um, I didn't apply for, I wasn't going to apply for a supervisory position because I was questioned so much.
00:21:19
Speaker
with every decision, everything, you know, that it was a struggle every day to prove myself. And over time, I had to learn to navigate that. So once I figured out how to navigate the conversation and how to approach it,
00:21:41
Speaker
I did have to be a little different than my male counterparts. I had to act differently. I had to say things differently. I had to build relationships. And once I got to a certain point, one of my bosses who was a mentor sat me down in his office and said, I think you need to be a supervisor. We need more women leaders.
00:22:02
Speaker
And I was like, yeah, whatever. I'm not doing that. And then one day I was like, you know what, I, I was always someone that's working and I still am, um, on extra projects to make things better. And so, um, I realized that in order to have a bigger impact and a more positive impact in my workplace, I did need to get that promotion. So I decided that I was going to put all my fears aside.
00:22:32
Speaker
for the greater good of myself and also of my workplace and my fellow co-workers and so I took that leap and then I mean two years later I took another leap and I got promoted again so it's interesting how
00:22:50
Speaker
I needed that extra encouragement so I always tell people like make sure you tell people like that they're doing a good job. Make sure you tell them that you think they would make a good supervisor one day. Make sure that you keep telling them that because everyone has their own baggage and their own barriers and sometimes they just literally need to be told that they're good enough.
00:23:14
Speaker
Like that's the bottom line and I think especially for women because so often we've been told at least in our generation and the generations before us that we can't do it because we're a woman or we're not as good because we're a woman or we only got the job because we're a woman or we only got the promotion because we're a woman and they needed to fill the spots, you know.
00:23:37
Speaker
And so, I mean, I can honestly say like, I know I deserve to be where I am, whether or not everyone thinks that I don't know, but I don't care because that's not my problem. That's their problem. That's a you problem, not a me problem. You know, if you want to.
00:23:52
Speaker
That's not, you know, and so it's been interesting and, you know, I love having this conversation because I don't think it's had enough when it comes to working in these kinds of environments and navigating it. And I also read a study
00:24:08
Speaker
It was done, I saw the article, I'm not going to even try to pretend that I remember the details, but it was, I believe it was on Refinery29. It's kind of a woman's run platform and it's all about women and working and all this kind of stuff, but I found an article on there.
00:24:25
Speaker
that talks about some of the barriers Hispanic women and women of color face in the workforce. And a lot of it was the biggest thing they wish they had had help with was navigating office politics. And I found that to be so true to me because I didn't even know office politics existed because of my like where I was, I was just working, you know, I was working, working, working, working. And then as you move up,
00:24:55
Speaker
things into leadership positions, things become more
00:24:59
Speaker
more checks and balances, more about change management, more about how you interact with others around you, how you enforce policies, how you change policies and hold accountability with others, right? It becomes a lot more complex and you have to be able to have difficult conversations. You have to be able to, like you mentioned, understand you deserve to be in the room as well and make sure you present yourself that way.
00:25:29
Speaker
But they said in that study that that was the hardest thing. And I think that male mentors don't understand that part when it comes to mentoring women. Like, you know, I had some great male mentors that, you know, changed my life, but not being able to see how I'm feeling and like,
00:25:51
Speaker
you know, I remember telling some of them about some of the things that I perceived to be like issues, right? I'm like, this isn't, this is weird. This is right. And they're just like, Oh, you know, that's just how it is. And I'm like, No, that's not just how it is. Like, there's something more, right? And it's
00:26:08
Speaker
I think that's so important for women, whether it's in your workplace or a group like Grit City Women where you can connect with other women that have gone through those spaces to be able to bounce off
00:26:23
Speaker
scenarios off of them and just get some insight and get some feedback on how to navigate the office politics. And that's something that I'm going to make. One of my visions at my workplace is to help women navigate that. And of course, I'll help anyone all the time, but specifically women because I've been through it and I'm doing it right now. Yep. Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:51
Speaker
So I'm totally into that and I think it's really important. I'd like to just add to the office politics too, because as I was mentioning, you know, we get a bad rap for doing the same thing that the men do. They just receive it well from other men for whatever reason. But like even my experience at Seattle City Light,
00:27:14
Speaker
I'm a big person that loves to get feedback. So I'm always asking, you know, how am I doing? Is there, you know, anything I could be doing better? You know, I always want to get better and be better. And the thing that they're hitting me with these days is kind of like, well, you know, you come off as
00:27:32
Speaker
You know aggressively or impatient and the funny part is is the impatient part kind of gets to me because i'm one that is about follow up and follow through so if you tell me in two weeks that you're going to you know.
00:27:46
Speaker
Give me something, provide me with something. I'm going to put a reminder in my calendar and in two weeks, I'll probably give you a little grace, you know, maybe a few more days after that, but I'm going to follow up and it's not received very well with people. So it's even little simple things like that that I share, um, you know, with others and just say, you know,
00:28:05
Speaker
Don't you know you got to stay true to yourself and not fall into all of the politics But they're real and they will drive you crazy. I really will drive you crazy and so that's why I really have to go back to mentors and
00:28:22
Speaker
you know just people that you can talk to and bounce things off of like am i crazy because this just happened and i feel this way you know is that am i crazy because i remember you and i used to do that when we first met right right after because we hit it off so well it was like
00:28:39
Speaker
We went to eat somewhere. We were talking for hours and we were just going back and forth like, am I crazy because this happened?
The Role of Coaching and Mentoring in Growth
00:28:48
Speaker
So you really need to find someone who can relate and understand because like you said, the male counterparts don't get me wrong. I had a lot of helpful males in my life. I'm so grateful for them. They will do anything for me and vice versa.
00:29:04
Speaker
Um, but you really need to have someone who can really understand what you're going through. And that's why I think you and I clicked so well, because being in the male dominated industry, they will make you think you're crazy. Yes. Yeah. I mean, literally, and you know, I started seeing a coach, a personal development coach or a professional development coach years ago. And that has been a game changer for me.
00:29:32
Speaker
And I still see one and I plan to see one as long as I'm working, you know? And having that advice and that insight was, it was just, it was so valuable. I can't even explain it. And so I definitely encourage women to look up coaches if you're looking to level up your life. Like we, Grid City women, I've started doing one-on-one coaching because I want to be able to,
00:30:00
Speaker
give women the opportunity that I've been given. I mean, I don't say I've been given it because, you know, I paid for it and I put in the work and I showed up and I was like, I'm sticking with this. And at first it seemed weird to pay for that. I was like, this is weird. You know, like, I don't need this. But there was a point and I guess this is important to talk about. There was a point where I was like, everything's going fine. And then like a month later, everything's going fine.
00:30:30
Speaker
And then a month later, everything's going fine. And it was boring. It was boring. I was bored. And I looked at my life and I thought, I wasn't as high up, obviously I am now in my workplace, but I looked at my life and I thought, this can't be all that is there for me.
00:30:53
Speaker
I know I am, I have so much more potential. You know, I had started Liz rocks. Like I was doing so much in the community and I was like, I want to go from here to here. I want to be up here and I want to be successful in my career and in my life. And so I went in to see my coach and I had actually seen her years ago, um, for other stuff. But she was like, I told you the first time we met that
00:31:23
Speaker
you're not going to be happy with where you are. And I was like, whatever. I was such a jerk. I was like, whatever. No, I'm fine. This is great. And I was self-limiting. I was having self-limiting feelings and thoughts and baggage I was working through.
00:31:43
Speaker
And so yeah, I went into her office years later and I was like, okay, like what's going on? And game changer. So definitely ladies, if you're listening, well you are, if you're listening to this, get a coach, right?
Leadership Advice and Community Support
00:32:01
Speaker
Connect with other women doing other things.
00:32:04
Speaker
You can come to any of our events to meet me or Tasha, like we're pretty cool. There's some great members and other ladies that join us. And I guess there's one more thing that I want to say too and clarify is, you know, we talk about being questioned at work and having to be having to have a conversation about how we're perceived or the issues we're having commanding like a male team.
00:32:41
Speaker
I was facing the similar thing and I was getting eye rolls. I was getting like, Oh God. Like every time I said something and you know, I'm used to getting that, but I was like, it changed for me when I had women under me because I was like a mama bear big time. I was like, hold up. You know, like it's one thing if you're going to do it to me, but if you're doing, if you have the audacity to do that to me, you're doing it to my crew.
00:33:11
Speaker
And they're not going to be successful. And then if they're not successful, we're not successful as a team. So yeah, I have to add to that too. I got very, very comfortable with asking people. Um, so this is how I interpreted that, or this is how I took that. Was that your intention? Because that's exactly what happens. They say stuff. Sometimes people don't know.
00:33:34
Speaker
Granted, some are just passive aggressive and some are just, you know, that's just the way they are. But I find that whenever you call them out on it, it either, you know, either they realize, oh, shoot, that's not what my intent was. Or they realize she ain't playing. So don't even try it. Because I literally have asked that question to many people like, oh, I'm sorry. What was your intention behind that? You know, just help me understand.
00:34:02
Speaker
Because especially as a manager, you really have to be careful. You can't go off on people. But they will definitely try every bit of your patience. And so I literally have gotten very comfortable with just that simple phrase of this. So this is how I kind of took that. Was that your intention? And most of the time, you don't have to worry about it anymore. They're either aware of it or they, like I said, they realize that you're not the one to play with.
00:34:33
Speaker
Yeah. And that, that is such a great point. I'm glad you brought that up is, you know, there's, there's also a culture that might not have anything to do with you, right? Like there is a culture that could be in the workplace that, you know, like you said, if you give someone a deadline and they're not responding. That could be a culture of that work environment for years. And so the fact that you follow up, it might not even be anything to do with you. It could be with.
00:34:59
Speaker
they've never been held accountable. So yes, you know, there's always other other things that could be happening and just, you know, be aware that sometimes you might even feel like this victim mentality of like, it's because I'm a woman or whatever, but
00:35:15
Speaker
you know, as managers and as leaders, we have to be looking at all the different angles of the situation and be able to confront them. And I love that you say, you know, what was your intention? This is how I perceived it. And that's something I need to do more of in my personal life, I feel like, especially with my relationship with my husband, because I'm like, yeah, you know,
00:35:36
Speaker
I'm playing, but then I should be like, oh, honey, I'm learning. I'm a newlywed. Yeah, well, but it's it's not it's not necessarily confrontational. That's kind of the beauty of it. And I can't remember who told me to, you know, that that was a good phrase to use. But one of the best pieces of career advice in being in a leadership role was that because it's not like, who do you think you're talking to? You know, it's not
00:36:06
Speaker
confrontational but it's like hey so this is how I took that was that your intention really just opens that the ability for them to either back down and say oh or you know oh my god no that wasn't my intention so it's so non-confrontational I think it could even work with your husband for sure
00:36:27
Speaker
They probably really appreciate that. Yeah, you know, seek clarity always, always seek clarity, whether you take some time to reflect personally, or like I said, if you have a mentor or a coach, or you know, get involved in some women run groups, so you can have these conversations. And that'll that'll be a game changer for
Conclusion and Social Media Shoutout
00:36:50
Speaker
All women, I think, is just being around more women that come through these situations. But I really appreciate the conversation. I love it, something I feel really close to. And I'm excited that you're finally on the podcast. I've been trying to get you on for a long time. I'm glad I could. I am so glad we have this conversation. Absolutely. Thank you for joining us again, Tasha. Oh, yeah. Thank you.
00:37:20
Speaker
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