Picking back up on some of my experiences at a place I spent 18 years!

I worked for this company for 14 years before anyone on the Regional leadership team was a person of color and that first person happened to be me!

When my nightmare boss received news that I was offered a district leader position she kept telling everyone that I was going to be an “area leader” which is basically as transitional position to being a district leader but with less salons and pay. She knew what I was offered but she made it a point to try and remain higher ranked.

As I joined the regional field team with a group of women that I had looked up to my whole career, they quickly removed their masks and I saw a lot of things that I did not like. The boss would roll her neck when speaking to me and refer to me as girlfriend and other slang terms. I called her out each and every time! I never changed the way I speak to her so I could not grasp WHY she felt inspired to switch up when speaking to me. At one meeting she (the boss) went around the room and asked everyone about attending an upcoming Luke Bryant concert except me, and again I addressed it, she said she didn’t think I would be interested, I’m like do you know how to find out for sure?..Ask me..

In 2015 the boss tried to insert me in a situation that had nothing to do with me and I told her that I did not want any parts of the situation and instead of respecting it she proceeded to call me and harass me on my off time about it and when I saw her next at a team meeting she was promising to terminate the employee in the situation and pointed her finger in my face and told me I better stay out of it! Now y’all know…. Respect is never requested in my presence, it is required!

My immediate boss was a blessing, she took so much on herself as she constantly defended me and prepared me for their attacks. She would get critique that I was too quiet in meetings and not engaged, when I did engage she would get feedback that I was combative and disruptive, I could not win! I would try to directly address issues with our bosses but they would not answer my calls, instead they would see my call and call each other to see what I wanted, it was such a mess!

They believed the story they told themselves about me versus the truth! Acknowledging the truth would mean admitting that they were the issue and that was not happening but oh our God reminds us in his word that one should not trouble his anointed! I ended up leaving after 18 years. I would not continue to defend my character!

Moving on…