She was successful on paper—Director title, MBA, decades of leadership experience. But inside, Renée was burned out, angry, and wondering if this was all life had to offer.
In this episode, we dive into the story behind the success. Renée shares how growing up on a farm shaped her resilience, how she rose through the ranks in engineering and operations, and what it looked like when everything started to crumble.
If you’ve ever felt like your career looks good from the outside but feels heavy on the inside, this one’s for you.
We explore:
- Early career wins and setbacks in engineering
- The hidden toll of being “the strong one”
- Personal loss, burnout, and the breaking point
- Why she finally reached out for help
Remember to get your free Navigating Career Transitions Guide and don’t miss Part 2: Renée’s transformation through the Next Success Method.
Subscribe to Your Next Success so you never miss an episode.
Watch full video episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NextSuccessMethod/
Learn more about Next Success www.nextsuccesscareers.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Caroline (00:02):
What if everything you've accomplished so far has
been leading you right here to amoment of clarity?
What if the pressure you've beenfeeling lately is actually
pointing to something morealigned, more meaningful, and
more true to who you are?
And what if this season is thebeginning of something better?
(00:25):
Have you ever wondered, is thisit?
That question is the beginningof Your Next Success.
I am Dr.
Caroline Sangal, and thispodcast is your space to pause,
reflect, and create the careerand life you were made for.
(00:47):
We explore real stories,intentional transitions, and
practical insights to help youstep into alignment, purpose and
peace.
In today's episode, you'll hearfrom Renee.
A brilliant, highly accomplishedoperations leader who built her
career with purpose, excellence,and impact.
(01:09):
She's the kind of person whobrings energy into a room, lifts
others up, and gets things done.
Over time, though, the weight ofgrowing responsibilities,
personal loss, and the unspokenpressure to hold everything
together, began to wear her downinside and outside of work.
(01:31):
In part one of our conversation,you'll hear how it all built up
and the moment she gave herselfpermission to pause, reflect,
and reach out.
This episode is aboutresilience, reflection, and the
power of recognizing whensomething needs to shift so you
can create the space toreconnect with yourself.
Caroline's audio backup- (01:56):
Renee, help me understand a little bit
about you, your career history,all of those kinds of fun
things, however you'd like tostart.
Renee's audio backup-3 (02:09):
So I think I'd like to start with,
growing up on a farm in GuernseyCounty, my parents had moved
from Detroit, Michigan.
They were the, green acres, offolks.
So they moved from the big cityand bought a farm with no
farming experience and thattaught me so many things, just
resourcefulness and willing totry anything.
(02:32):
My parents built their own houseand had a garden, cows, a horse,
and, a little crazy farm that alot of people dream of.
They made a reality.
So that's how I grew up.
Unfortunately, my, my fatherpassed away of cancer when I was
little, I was 10 and my momraised me and as I was growing
(02:52):
up, she always noticed that Ilike to tinker with things and
make things better and solve allthe problems.
So as I was in high school, shesaid, all the presidents of all
the companies I've ever workedfor have been engineers, and I
think you could be an engineer.
So go to school and be anengineer.
And if you find something youlike better, then fine.
(03:12):
You can do whatever you want.
She never limited me or forcedme into it.
And I thought engineering soundspretty good.
So getting into the Universityof Akron, it was amazing.
enjoyed the classes and, maybe Itook a non-traditional route of
college.
I ended up working full-time,getting my degree, mechanical
engineering technology but i gotsome great work experience in
(03:32):
ther e
Caroline's audio backup-4 (03:36):
for yourself, right?
right
Renee's audio backup-3 (03:39):
Yeah, a whole lot of it.
We had some bonds that we hadfrom my grandparents that we
cashed in and took out someloans, but, that wasn't enough
to cover all of it.
There was actually a semesterthat I carried baggies of change
down to Spicer Hall and countedout quarters and nickels and
dimes for I don't know how long.
It was a long time with theRegistrar down there back when
(04:01):
you did things in person therewas a hall to go to.
You didn't just send a creditcard.
That was my career of college.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (04:07):
And when you are in college, where
did you work?
Renee's audio backup-3 (04:11):
Yeah, so I worked at a few different
places.
I worked at Rob's Dining Hall.
So I got up early in the morningand helped with breakfast and
set up all the breakfasts linesand worked with the kitchen
staff and helped with that.
I also worked on the ResidenceLife and Housing Board there for
RHPB.
We worked on that together and
Caroline's audio backup (04:32):
spoiler alert we've known other for
Renee's audio backup-3 (04:35):
while
Caroline's audio backup-4 (04:36):
for
Renee's audio backup-3 (04:36):
while.
little so um so, So that paidfor room and board and that's
the reason I got into that andthen I also was an RA for, a
year over in Grant Hall and, Iworked with, Carl Crow, hall and
and and uh lot lot, uh, A lotabout office work and just
(05:00):
getting along with people.
He was very, understanding towork for and a really great guy.
Yeah.
Lots of jobs
Caroline's audio backup-4 (05:07):
to get through.
And then, so I'm a big proponentof it's take Yep is the
necessary thing.
But you said something like ittook a little while, how long
did it take you to go throughcollege?
Renee's audio backup-3 (05:21):
Yeah.
The typical program is fiveyears with a internship.
So I did an internship, and, ittook me nine years.
Part of that was because Iworked for a company that ended
up closing and, promised to payfor my degree, my classes, and
they didn't.
So working at a barely minimumwage job, I had to save enough
money to pay for a wholesemester on my own that I
(05:43):
thought was going covered.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (05:44):
So there was a company and it
sounded like a great deal foryou to work for them, and in
return they were gonna investand you
Renee's audio backu (05:51):
absolutely.
absolutely.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (05:53):
Yeah.
what kind of a company was that?
Renee's audio backup-3 (05:57):
Yeah, so we made street light poles.
It was a really neat company.
internship job and job and job,and, I I I think I got the job
purely persistence and And AndAnd I liked the company.
I thought it was a cool idea.
It was a newer company.
I think I might have been theirsecond engineer, or maybe third
(06:18):
that they had hired and I got todo a bunch of stuff.
It was a small company, my firstreal manufacturing job, and I
got to see things get built.
It was really, truly amazing tosee how all the people worked
together.
There was one accountant and onepurchasing agent, and one like
(06:39):
main engineer and eventually Ibecame the project manager there
and managed the projects and itwas just a really cool very
small hands-on company.
But.
The president of the company,unfortunately, ended up being a
crook and he took some moneyfrom some folks and did some bad
things and yeah, so one of thosethings was promising to pay for
(07:00):
my education and, so on goodfaith, took that and didn't know
to have contracts and thingslike that in place at a age of,
I think, maybe 19, 20, when Istarted there.
It was just Like
Caroline's audio backup-4 (07:15):
So even though that.
this is the recurring theme withyou, Renee, I believe, is that
there is some sort of challengethat could be completely
debilitating for other people,and yet you just rise up and
you're like, okay, next.
And that happened and I'm gonnakeep going towards my goal.
(07:35):
I'm gonna keep do doing what Ibelieve is right.
Where do you think that comesfrom?
Renee's audio backup-3 (07:43):
Yeah.
Really, I guess my parents, thatis, that's really how you know
they.
Started a farm and they didn'thave farming experience.
Nobody in their family had realfarming experience.
And my dad had a wood shop andwe would just make stuff all the
time and we'd make puzzles, andif things didn't work, we'd try
it again and, I would say heprobably was, my dad was
(08:05):
probably the biggest, person inmy life, I was always daddy's
girl.
Being on the farm and I wouldcollect eggs from the chickens
and, just that almost a movieset.
I couldn't even ask for anythingbetter as a child growing up in
Guernsey County on a farm andbeing able to do anything I
wanted to make anything or tryanything I wanted to.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (08:26):
And just that like resilience, and
work ethic, ability to seesomething through even if you
don't see the immediate result.
Okay, so the place promised topay for your education.
That fell through and then youstill persisted to do it anyway
and what happened?
Walk us through that.
Renee's audio backup-3 (08:47):
Yeah, so then I got married some people
talk about, oh, you can't getmarried until after you graduate
from college, And I don't knowthat I would've finished my
degree had I have not married myhusband, Todd.
He pushed me to go to schoolwhen we didn't have two nickels
to rub together and we worked sohard and he just, he was always
(09:09):
working.
Eventually we, found a realsmall apartment in a pretty
crummy kind of neighborhood and,we made it work.
And, I finished my degree, Iworked, full-time.
I ended up taking 21 seniorlevel engineering credits to
finish my degree.
I was working for anothercompany at that point then, the
(09:30):
first company, the streetlightpole company, closed and, so I
got another job and they saidthey had an engineering position
open, but I had to finish mydegree and so I crammed in as
much as I could, and, I got onesemester, I literally didn't
have a holiday for an entirefall semester just to get 21
engineering credits, full-timework and sometimes sleep in
(09:54):
there.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (09:54):
was the company that you were
working for then?
Yeah so Yeah so
Renee's audio backup-3 (09:58):
so so Yeah wrap used used wrap used an
an an an company an back in theday, but, yeah, I think I can
share the company, LINPAC FilmCo.
And they were based out of aEuropean country and so I got to
travel and do some truly amazingprojects there.
It was such a great experienceworking there and it was the
(10:21):
first manufacturing plant thatI'd been in that was big enough
and had support from othercompanies and other branches.
They had multiple people indifferent departments, so I
could kinda see how that levelworked.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (10:36):
Were there any other women?
Renee's audio backup-3 (10:37):
For a little while I worked for, the
purchasing manager and shepulled me out of the maintenance
stuff where I had started doingmaintenance purchasing and she
gave me a job doing purchasingfor like raw materials and some
of the components and thingsthat we used.
and there was a lot of supportstaff there, but typically
(10:59):
coming from the engineering andmaintenance side, I worked with
all men.
I was all of 23 years old and Ihad to walk into a maintenance
department with well seasonedguys.
So you can imagine those guysare in their fifties and sixties
and, at first, I worked withthem and then eventually they
reported to me.
It was a, an interesting shift,but we a that enjoyed enjoyed
(11:22):
that enjoyed that lot
Caroline's audio backup-4 (11:24):
you break through?
Because sometimes being one ofthe only women in a department
of much more experienced people,there could be a little bit of a
interesting looks or opinions,but how did you,
Renee's audio backup-3 (11:41):
for sure.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (11:42):
what was your tactic to push through
that or gain their trust
Renee's audio backup-3 (11:47):
yeah.
I don't know if it was a tactic,but one of my first days there,
the roughest, gruffest guy inthe maintenance crew who always
wore the cutoff shirts and wasknown to be the like number one
welder and nobody kinda screwedwith him, he walked up to me and
you're gonna have to up up up me
Caroline's audio backup-4 (12:07):
I'm gonna have to bleep just stuff
just just sayin not from you.
From me.
Renee's audio backup-3 (12:16):
yes.
he walked up to me and he said,I don't know what kind of sense
of humor you have.
I said you're just gonna have totry and find out and we'll see.
I'm maybe 22 at this point,right?
And he said bitch, get me abearing.
I just looked at them and Iwasn't quite sure what to say
(12:38):
and I said, what kind of bearingwould you like?
Roller bearing, ball bearing?
You're gonna have to be a littlemore specific, and he just
laughed and walked away and Ithink that might've been like my
first real day.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (12:50):
You rolled with the punches.
Renee's audio backup-3 (12:51):
you
Caroline's audio backup-4 (12:52):
and And
Renee's audio backup-3 (12:54):
he wasn't, that kind of guy, he
just wanted to see where thebarriers were and boundaries and
how far he could push it, and,once he got through it, he was
just a super sweet guy and verynice, and honestly, the whole
department really took care ofme.
I don't know if I'd say like Iwas their daughter, but they
certainly took care of me and Ifelt that way.
(13:16):
I felt appreciated and we workedwell together and it was good.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (13:21):
So then what happened?
Renee's audio backup-3 (13:23):
So after, about six years at that
company, I got to travelinternationally and work with
people in France and England,and went to those countries and
South America.
I got to go to Uruguay and madegood friends with some of our
coworkers down there.
it was such a great job.
I loved it.
But, I wasn't looking for a job.
A headhunter called me and hesaid, what would it take for you
(13:46):
to come work for this company?
And so I asked for everything Icould imagine.
I raised my price more than whatI thought, which, by the way,
now, it was very low.
It was not a very high startingwage, but I had worked my way up
in my career.
Now I have my engineeringdegree, i'd been an engineer for
(14:08):
a little over a year, startingon those lower rungs and, I went
for an interview at that companyasking for everything, and I
didn't have anything to lose, soI was very calm and confident.
I think that was one of thethings that maybe set me apart
from the other engineers whomaybe were, really, looking for
(14:28):
that job.
And I wasn't, I could totally bemyself.
And a few of the guys there thatinterviewed me really saw that
and they offered me the job andI took it and with tears in my
eyes, I left my friends at mycompany that had been there for
six years and traveled with andwent years start years yeah, So
Caroline's audio (14:54):
interestingly, it all started with that with a
headhunter and a conversationabout an opportunity that you
didn't even know Yep.
and then you took a leap offaith and ended up having 18
years there.
What was it that made you chooseto do that, to take a leap of
(15:19):
faith after you interviewed,like what, what made you decide
that thing?
Renee's audio backup-3 (15:25):
yeah I think I was looking for, I'll
call it a little more respect.
At the company I'd been with forsix years, I had worked my way
up from maintenance purchasingto a purchasing clerk, then
through a couple different jobsthere, and then ended up being
the engineer for the companyand, they, I got the impression
(15:50):
that it was just another raisefor getting a whole degree.
It wasn't moving that bar highenough to say, yes, we value you
now as an engineer, I was stillthe Renee who got married and
went to school and then just gota degree, it was just another
(16:12):
step in that space, and eventhough we had accomplished some
really big projects, we madeequipment in different countries
and worked with teams that spokedifferent languages and had to
arrange things over.
If you have ever worked withFrench companies, they shut down
for the month of August.
(16:32):
So we had to get everything doneon a deadline and ship it
overseas and be ready to startin September when they got back
and had people from multiplecountries here speaking multiple
languages, and we hadaccomplished all of that.
Now, I was just one part of it.
I was certainly not, I'm nottaking credit for all of that,
but I was certainly part of thatand I don't think that they
(16:56):
valued that position.
And I, I don't think it wasbecause I was a female engineer.
I really don't.
I just think it was, they didn'tvalue that position and and what
I could bring or what I could dofor the company.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (17:11):
And so when you had another
opportunity of the recruiterseeing something in you greater
than you saw yourself, and thenthat company offering growth,
etc.
Renee's audio backup (17:27):
Everything that I for.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (17:30):
a good, it seemed like a good
move.
Now, you mentioned that back inthe day your mom had said
something about being apresident of companies and
thought you could do that sortof thing.
What did you think?
What, when, what did youconsider as far as when you're
(17:50):
in your high school self oryounger self, what did you think
success would look like or whatdid you think you wanted your
career to be?
Renee's audio backup-3 (17:58):
Yeah, that, that's great.
We've talked about this over thelast year and a half as we've
worked through this program, andI, I really, it was just part of
what my life was gonna be to bethe president of a company.
Like I, it was never even aquestion of whether I'd go to
college.
There was, and I asked my momone time, how did you do that?
(18:19):
You never said you had to go tocollege.
And she said, I just talkedabout what would happen after
you did those things.
And yep.
She said oh, after college thenyou can get a car, or then you
can, whatever I wanted at thetime, she would say after
college then you'll be able toafford your own car, or whatever
it was.
(18:39):
And little things like, when Iwas getting ready for prom, I
remember my mom did my hair andhad it all perfect.
And she said, now that's yourWhite House hair.
When you House, And And Andpainting painting so
Caroline's audio backup-4 (18:54):
me I
Renee's audio backup-3 (18:54):
Right Right
Caroline's audio backup-4 (18:55):
Right
Renee's audio backup-3 (18:57):
have picture picture pictures picture
picture picture picture and,yeah, it was so she never told
me what I had to be, but she setthose expectations and set them
quite high.
And so it wasn't until, you andI started working together that
I realized that maybe thatwasn't my dream, or maybe it
(19:20):
was, but it was how I got there.
Was more because she set that asan expectation.
And so I quite honestly, I jokedwith the president of the
company that I was in for 18years, that someday I wanted his
job as president and I meant it.
And so I expected to bepresident of a company.
seemed seemed seemed old I.
(19:45):
like maturity like maturity andwhere you had your stuff all
together, you knew exactly whatlife was gonna be like and at
35, that's the way it goes.
Yeah I had a whole life plan ofexactly how things were gonna
go.
And we're working on most of it,but now I think.
With the work that you and Ihave done together that now it's
more even more flushed out andmore
Caroline's audio backup-4 (20:07):
let's talk a little bit about that.
So we've heard a little bit hereof you were at a company for 18
years.
You left the company you hadbeen before because of the
growth and the opportunities andsomething must have happened
that you stayed at a company for18 years.
But yet then we've been.
(20:27):
Aside from being friends, we didlose touch for a little bit of
time.
Although, like anybody, that'sactually my friend, it's okay.
A day, a decade, anything can goby and the minute we get back
together, it's like nothing everchanged.
let's talk a little bit aboutbefore the calm before the
storm.
So you were at a company for 18years, you came in and you
(20:48):
started at what position, andthen you worked your way up a
lot and had quite bigresponsibilities.
Let's help our listenersunderstand a little bit about
that before we get into thenitty gritty.
Renee's audio backup-3 (21:01):
Yeah.
So I started as plant engineerand maintenance manager.
Maybe I forget exactly thetitle, but I got to run the
maintenance and engineering.
There was no engineering at theplant and that was me.
So I also worked with themaintenance department.
made, we were in the rubber andplastics industry And so dip
molded parts and extruded TPEsmostly for medical, dental
(21:23):
industry.
A few other little side things,but mostly that.
And so we had, just under 200employees and three different
buildings all in northeast Ohioand I had maintenance guys and
all three of the buildings andmy initial jobs were things
around setting up programs.
(21:45):
So we didn't have a safetyprogram and I had a real passion
for safety and I worked todevelop an entire program for
the whole company.
We used some bits and pieces ofother company other safety
programs and brought in theparts that worked for us and,
set that up and did all thetraining for all three plants,
(22:07):
and we had all multiple shiftsat the plant.
So I was doing all sorts oftraining.
I got to know all the employees.
I really enjoyed that part ofit.
There was it was a lot, but itwas amazing.
We developed a preventativemaintenance program.
There wasn't really one when Istarted there, so I worked with
the maintenance guys and we,first of all, we had to identify
(22:27):
every piece of equipment that weowned and start figuring out how
we were going to do the work onthese to keep'em.
Keep'em working efficiently andstop all of the breakdowns.
We were constantly fightingfires and there was equipment
down, and we'd miss ordersbecause we couldn't really track
how things were going.
(22:48):
Equipment, large equipment wouldbreak down often.
And even to the point where wehad fires because equipment
wasn't managed well and therewould be bearings would fail and
wear holes and shafts, and thenthe shafts would fall and things
would catch fire.
It was a mess.
(23:48):
I'm Dr.
Caroline Sangal let's continuelistening to Renee's journey to
authentic success.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (23:53):
How were they able?
'cause this is something a lotof companies, particularly
chemical related companies, thatstarted out.
Grew to bigger, lots of themdidn't have preventative
maintenance and some of themindsets of those sorts of
companies were like we don'thave
Renee's audio backup-3 (24:09):
Mm
Caroline's audio backup-4 (24:10):
stop and do all this.
How did you overcome that?
or was it a fire or some biggerthing?
Okay, what was it that made thembuy in that preventative
maintenance was a good deal.
Renee's audio backup-3 (24:27):
I think some of it was just continuously
bringing up the fact that wewere fixing things multiple
times.
And when we said if we're gonnafix it and we fix it right the
first time, we don't have to goback to it and fix it again next
week and fix it again next weekand fix it again next week.
So even though everybody agreedthat was the way to do it.
(24:49):
The first time I said, Hey thisline is gonna be down for a
week.
We have to get parts in, we haveto go through it.
We have to fix it.
For sure they were not happy.
But the president or the, maybehe was the vice president at the
time, he and I literally pinkyswore that we would do it, we'd
fix it right the first time.
And so he held tight to that andhe said, okay, we're gonna
(25:12):
figure it out and we'll make doand we did.
And they saw that we fixed itand it got better.
Every time that we could makesomething better.
It just saved a little bit oftime for the operations group
and it certainly didn't happenovernight.
It took when months of tweakingand, we constantly had
(25:33):
breakdowns, so we were PMingthings.
On a regular basis because wedidn't know how far it could go
before it actually would breakwhen it was well maintained in
the beginning.
So we it was our system, right?
Like we could make it anythingwe wanted it to be.
So with Excel and Word isliterally the whole program and
(25:53):
we.
We could adjust it as things ranbetter and bearings were greased
regularly and belts were checkedon a normal basis.
Maybe it was weekly, and then itwould go to monthly, and then it
would go to bimonthly and thenit would go to every six months
or whatever.
And then maybe it's six months,it, we'd have a failure and
would do, oh, nope, that was toofar.
(26:13):
So then we come back and, maybeit's every three months we do
something.
Yeah, it was quite a process andthe maintenance guys were
awesome.
They just, they would constantlykeep up with all the work and
keep up with how the equipmentreally was performing and that
was awesome.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (26:29):
And then sometime in there from when
you started in between when youstarted and when you left, you
went back to school.
What was that about?
Renee's audio backup-3 (26:40):
Yeah.
Yeah.
This company was awesome as faras they paid for my MBA.
The owner of our company reallyvalues education and he's helped
several of our, of the employeesthat worked there get their
degrees.
Some of them wereundergraduates, some were MBAs.
Mine was an MBA from Malone, I'mreal proud of that.
(27:01):
It was a lot of work after hoursagain working full-time during
the day and then taking nightclasses for a couple years to
get my MBA.
But I am pretty proud of that
Caroline's audio ba (27:11):
Absolutely.
I'm glad that finally somebodykept their promise so would
would
Renee's audio backup- (27:18):
contracts contracts There were on both
sides Yes
Caroline's audio backup-4 (27:22):
good.
So then.
You're progressing, continuingto have more responsibility,
more great projects that you'reworking on.
And then you started maybefeeling a little bit
interestingly differently.
What sort of symptoms did younotice, maybe physically or
(27:46):
emotionally or any of that?
What started happening and whatwas your initial response.
Renee's audio backup-3 (27:54):
Yeah.
Yeah, so it was right beforeCovid actually happened one of
the plant managers,unfortunately for him, had a
heart attack and a stroke backto back, and so he was out for
several months with each ofthose and, we were struggling as
a company to make sureeverything ran well, though it
was okay.
(28:15):
And then Covid hit and I said,Hey, all of our projects are
canceled.
Nobody knew.
If you remember back then wewere a medical company and so we
were mandatory.
Nobody knew from day to day whatwas happening and everything was
changing.
Our projects were canceled.
We said we're gonna, not spendmoney where we don't have to.
And I asked what can I do?
What can I do to help?
And my boss said, Hey, you cango help with there's plant that
(28:37):
needs a manager and be moreinvolved there.
and so that's what I got to doand I got into the operations
side.
We started making some greatprogress.
we saw some efficiencieshappening and I, I really
enjoyed it.
And a year later that move wasmade official and so I went from
(28:58):
being the Director ofEngineering to Director of
Operations and initially wethought I would take on maybe
all the operations, but inreality it didn't work out.
I was still doing theengineering role, they didn't
hire for that position and so Iwas still doing projects and
managing the maintenancedepartment, making sure that was
(29:19):
running smoothly enough, andalso working on the operations
side and trying to really learnand understand.
Even though I'd been there formaybe about 15 years I, I had
never really worked on theoperations side and my
perspective was completelydifferent and so I was really
trying to understand that betterand see where I could really
(29:41):
make a big impact from theoperations side.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (29:45):
had basically all your jobs just
kept getting added onto.
How did that.
Work as far as how long were youworking?
How much stress was that?
Renee's audio backup-3 (29:59):
yeah, it was definitely a lot of stress
and I thought there was an endto it.
I thought that based onconversations with the president
of the company, that when thefiscal year started, we could
budget for another, I.
Engineer to come and backfillthat side of it, do those sort
of tasks, and then I could domore operations.
And when, man, it was yeah, itwas a lot of stress.
(30:20):
I felt like I couldn't getanything accomplished 100% and
do a good job with it.
I was constantly jumping fromthing to thing and trying to get
projects done and then trying toget operations efficiencies
done.
And I really was in the meantimeof all of that my mom passed
(30:41):
away and there's a lot of ifyou've ever had a family member
pass away, there's just a lotthat goes with that.
And so that was going on in mypersonal life.
Yeah, I, I.
Was on, on more medications andI felt angry more often.
I was stressed and so I wasn't Ithink I would reflect on it as I
(31:07):
wasn't a very good manager to mydirect reports and I was a
difficult coworker for a while.
Mostly I would say because I wasstressed and,
Caroline's audio backup-4 (31:19):
I think you were spending a lot of
time being everything toeverybody but yourself.
Would you agree?
Were you putting, so you are thetype of person that you're given
a challenge, you're given anopportunity to help, and you go
all in, and you don'tnecessarily think about how
that's actually affecting yourown wellbeing because you are a
(31:42):
giver and a leader and somebodywho strives for excellence and
gets excellence, but just keptpushing.
Is that.
Fair to say.
Renee's audio backup-3 (31:54):
Yeah.
And I think I was pushing notonly myself, I think I was
trying to push the people I wasworking with at, in all levels,
whatever level.
And I was pushing and I.
That wasn't the way I was usedto working, and so it, it
created some turmoil.
And I had a tough year with alot of my coworkers and I don't
(32:17):
know that it was any onespecific thing.
Yeah, I think it was justpushing and trying to do more
and maybe I was.
I can reflect that I was losingsome trust because I would get
into a project and jump on themfor not doing it well enough or
(32:38):
fast enough, and then I wouldjump to something else, leaving
them in this like puddle of Idon't know what, of turmoil and
then they didn't know whetherthey should move on and go
forward, or they should wait forme to jump back in and tell'em
how they were doing things wrongin the beginning.
(33:00):
And so I, I think that reallywas eye-opening for me to see
that
Caroline's audio backup-4 (33:05):
And what year was this?
roughly I
Renee's audio backup-3 (33:11):
of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (33:16):
then what led you to reach out?
Tell me how that all went down.
To reach out to me.
Like all of a sudden you'repopping up in my inbox and it
seemed a phenomenal time forboth of us, but like from your
side, what
Renee's audio backup-3 (33:37):
Yeah.
I was I was super frustrated.
I am, I'm.
Fairly certain that everybodywas frustrated at that time.
Projects weren't getting done.
It, a lot of frustration oneverybody's standpoint.
And I just thought this isn'tgood.
I was mad when I was at home.
My husband and I startedarguing.
I was just angry a lot and Isaid, this can't go on this
(33:59):
anymore.
And I said, ah.
I have seen Caroline's picturetwice on my LinkedIn, and she
was doing recruiting the lasttime I talked to her.
I'm gonna reach out to her andsee just if she has anything
maybe that, I don't know.
Just see.
And so I would like to say thatI was called to, to call you.
(34:23):
I, and I know that it's justLinkedIn and maybe people don't,
maybe you don't believe, but Iknow you and I believe and, I
saw you on there and when Icalled you one of the things
that stood out to me was.
First of all, we picked up rightwhere we'd been all the years
before.
You've been raising children andI've been here working more, and
you'd been working.
Fast forward I don't know, agood few years.
(34:46):
And we caught back up almostimmediately.
Like we were still living inSpanton Hall 19 old old old was
awesome old was awesome.
The second thing that I tookaway from that was that you had
left your big career and andthis is your story, but from my
side that you had left your bigcareer and you were starting
(35:09):
your own thing and that you hada one year non-compete.
And gosh, it had just run outthe week before we had our first
conversation.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (35:21):
Yeah.
Renee's audio backup-3 (35:22):
Yeah.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (35:24):
And so I remember in that
conversation that I just hadnothing but compassion, love,
and understanding from the pointwhere you were, and I could have
(35:44):
that compassion, love, andunderstanding because I had.
Similarly, different company,different thing.
I had reached a point where Iwas outwardly successful by many
measures, but inwardly there wasrage and there was anger, and I
(36:05):
was losing it on strangers.
There was a poor checkout girlat Chipotle that got to see my
wrath really embarrassingly formy child who happened to also be
there, but like it was nothingthat she did.
Really it wasn't, she was justthe wrong person at the wrong
time.
(36:25):
And I had been trying to stuffdown feelings and emotions, so
for so long thinking that Icould, should be able to handle
whatever was happening.
And I was so frustrated thatsome things that I wanted to
change about where I worked.
I couldn't change and it wasn'tfor lack of trying or for lack
(36:47):
of giving very well thought outdata.
It didn't come across the rightway.
I'm sure I delivered it poorly,but very succinct and matter of
fact that this is exactly what'swrong.
And I tried to, but I tried tofind I then took time to try to
find a way out, and I alsorealized that this was a
(37:08):
recurring thing that I had seeneven in many years of
recruiting.
People had successful positions,high titles, decent salary, good
other people that they work withyet reached a limit.
Didn't feel successful and thenweren't loving the life that
they created.
(37:28):
In fact, their life got theleftover.
It didn't get the best of them.
My family was not getting thebest of me, and your family was
not getting the best of you.
And so when we talked, I waslike hey.
I just spent this time and I'vegot this program that I'm
getting ready to start.
(37:50):
Seems like it's at the perfecttime for you.
Would you like to be involvedand how hard of a decision?
Like it was not very welldefined.
I had an idea, I had ahypothesis, but it was not
proven yet.
Now it's proven.
And you're one of the peoplethat's gone through every single
thing, so I'd love to get yourview on that.
(38:10):
How easy was it to just take aleap and decide to enter into
this undefined program at thetime?
Renee's audio backup-3 (38:19):
Yeah.
First of all, I know and loveyou and I knew that whatever you
do, you would be incrediblyknowledgeable about.
You would come at it from thescience standpoint, which is
where I love to know that sideof it, right?
What's the science behind it andand then knowing that you were
(38:40):
putting your whole everythinginto it.
You were researching and puttingyour whole career was gonna be
this, and I know you well enoughto know you wouldn't put
everything into something if itwasn't really transformative and
I knew something had to changein me and I could just see it.
(39:02):
It was such an easy decision forme to say yes.
I knew that it was no problem.
Of course there was, there'smoney involved and I was
fortunate that I was one of theearly ones.
And and I can understand howpeople may have some sort of
reservation about, spendingmoney on themselves for
(39:23):
something that is work onyourself.
That seems Like from the outsideI can say what we did was
complex and deep and reallythought provoking and you
guided.
(39:45):
Me through exercises that, Idon't know maybe anybody could
do the exercises.
But then when you asked mequestions like, why do you think
that is?
And what might've led to that?
Or Why do you think you feelthat way?
And then not only did you askthe question once.
(40:08):
You might ask it a couple timesto really dig down into what was
really going on and things thatI didn't know, things that I
didn't know about myself.
One of the first things we didtogether was the disc
assessment.
And I've done that beforethrough my company, and I've
done it with tons of people.
So I had a little, I went inthinking I knew everything.
(40:29):
And quite honestly I was prettysure that I did.
And I, I could teach this, it'dbe fine.
It'd be all right, but I'll playalong.
Okay.
So I go in and we get into itand I'm a high ID and we were
talking about it and I knewwhere I was gonna end up coming
out, and I did.
I came out in
Caroline's audio backup-4 (40:48):
And that's why I picked that
assessment, that particularbrand, because it is reliable,
valid.
I'm just saying Cliftonstrengths, every time I take it,
it's different.
I cannot stand behind that disc.
The one that I picked.
It's consistent with somebody'snatural style is consistent.
The adapted maybe'cause of theirenvironment.
Okay, so you knew where you weregonna come out and you did,
Renee's audio backup-3 (41:12):
all
Caroline's audio backup-4 (41:13):
all
Renee's audio backup-3 (41:13):
all I knew all the things that we were
gonna talk about wanting optionsand, being relationship focused
and being quick and all thesethings.
I knew all that and we did, wetalked about many of those
things.
It plus some other things thatwere in there.
And then you asked me questionsabout why.
(41:36):
I might feel so strongly aboutpeople and needing to take care
of them.
And I think I just lost it.
Like I started crying, realizinglike that is I from growing up,
(41:58):
I think I mentioned.
My dad passing away when I was10.
Excuse me, I I had a littlesister.
I have a little sister who wasjust six.
And so taking care of her andtaking care of my mom.
That was my role.
And so at some point thattranslated into taking care of
(42:23):
people, my, my employees, mycoworkers, background.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (42:29):
it.
I love your puppy.
Don't
Renee's audio backup-3 (42:31):
and
Caroline's audio backup-4 (42:32):
I
Renee's audio backup-3 (42:32):
yeah, I think that.
Conversation that we had aboutwhy what changed and why I was
focusing on taking so much care,why I felt like I had to, not
that I wanted to, but I feltlike I had to.
Take care of all these people,and they quite frankly, didn't
(42:54):
need me to be taking care ofthem, and it was probably more
detrimental.
So I, I knew where I was on thatdisc assessment, and yet I
hadn't explored what that reallymeant as a coworker and as a
leader.
And though I had positives andeven that, my strengths and
(43:18):
weaknesses on the disc and IndraI didn't realize that it was so
deeply rooted in who I was andthat I could make adjustments to
that based on who I wanted to beas a leader.
And yeah, and pulling thosethings out after we had
conversation.
And that changed so many
Caroline's audio backup-4 (43:39):
I think this is important to to
talk about a little bit furtherhere because I had that too.
So it's you, meaning when wegrow up, certain things happen,
ending up being for us at thisat the time it seems to us.
Or we just one day after theother.
And we are adjusting and we aredoing the best that we can and
(44:00):
we're getting through and we'remaking decisions and
observations as children andconclusions as to what that must
mean.
And then just going around our,on our, in our life.
Accordingly, according to thedata that we had from when we
made that choice.
But yet we get so far removedfrom it that we forget that it
was a choice and some thingsjust become, this is just how
(44:23):
the world is.
This is just what it is.
You're a giver.
You take care of people, right?
I'm gonna be assertive and telleverybody what I think like it's
so that it can, and I'm gonnaget, we're both gonna be really
high achieving.
Get whatever a reward or goal isset out there.
And without ever pausing,stopping firstly, allowing that
(44:47):
space and realizing it is okayto take a minute for my own
self, and if I can take care ofothers, why am I taking the
least care of me?
I'm, I've been walking aroundwith me this whole time.
But just, yeah, trying to havethat.
Recognition and pause andrealization that yes, I can
(45:08):
choose something different andif it's gonna serve you for your
future, I think that was a thingtoo how's that working out for
you?
How are you?
And on one hand I felt, s like,I didn't want to bring up
something that became, painfulmemories or sad.
(45:32):
And on the other hand, I was sothankful that you felt safe
enough in that space to allowsome of those emotions that you
had ignored or tried to.
Stuff, try to pretend theyweren't there because you're
super strong and you can getthrough anything.
And just allowing some of thatto just be, and for you to start
(45:57):
becoming who you are more
Renee is the kind of woman whobrings excellence, care, and
energy to everything she does.
She built a powerful career,earned the trust of her team,
and kept things running even indifficult seasons.
Over time, the joy started tofade.
(46:18):
The spark got quieter and thelife she had built began to feel
more like something to managethan something to enjoy.
In the next episode, you'll hearwhat happened when she stepped
into the next success method,how she uncovered the deeper
patterns at play, realigned withher strengths and values, and
began to create a life andcareer that truly reflect who
(46:40):
she is.
The work isn't about fixingsomething that's broken.
It's about honoring who you'vealways been and giving yourself
the space to rise.
If you're feeling that quietpull, like it's time for
something new, take one smallstep today.
Download the Navigating CareerTransitions Guide.
In the show notes.
(47:01):
You have permission to reclaimyour future, design a life you
want, and show up intentionallyand joyfully for what comes
next.
Be sure to follow the podcast soyou don't miss part two, and
I'll see you next time on yournext success.
Keep going.
You're not done yet.
Caroline (47:19):
Thanks for listening to Your Next Success with Dr.
Caroline Sangal.
Remember, authentic success isyours to define and includes
aligning your career to supportthe life you want.
What if everything you've accomplished so far has
been leading you right here to amoment of clarity?
What if the pressure you've beenfeeling lately is actually
pointing to something morealigned, more meaningful, and
more true to who you are?
And what if this season is thebeginning of something better?
(00:25):
Have you ever wondered, is thisit?
That question is the beginningof Your Next Success.
I am Dr.
Caroline Sangal, and thispodcast is your space to pause,
reflect, and create the careerand life you were made for.
(00:47):
We explore real stories,intentional transitions, and
practical insights to help youstep into alignment, purpose and
peace.
In today's episode, you'll hearfrom Renee.
A brilliant, highly accomplishedoperations leader who built her
career with purpose, excellence,and impact.
(01:09):
She's the kind of person whobrings energy into a room, lifts
others up, and gets things done.
Over time, though, the weight ofgrowing responsibilities,
personal loss, and the unspokenpressure to hold everything
together, began to wear her downinside and outside of work.
(01:31):
In part one of our conversation,you'll hear how it all built up
and the moment she gave herselfpermission to pause, reflect,
and reach out.
This episode is aboutresilience, reflection, and the
power of recognizing whensomething needs to shift so you
can create the space toreconnect with yourself.
Caroline's audio backup- (01:56):
Renee, help me understand a little bit
about you, your career history,all of those kinds of fun
things, however you'd like tostart.
Renee's audio backup-3 (02:09):
So I think I'd like to start with,
growing up on a farm in GuernseyCounty, my parents had moved
from Detroit, Michigan.
They were the, green acres, offolks.
So they moved from the big cityand bought a farm with no
farming experience and thattaught me so many things, just
resourcefulness and willing totry anything.
(02:32):
My parents built their own houseand had a garden, cows, a horse,
and, a little crazy farm that alot of people dream of.
They made a reality.
So that's how I grew up.
Unfortunately, my, my fatherpassed away of cancer when I was
little, I was 10 and my momraised me and as I was growing
(02:52):
up, she always noticed that Ilike to tinker with things and
make things better and solve allthe problems.
So as I was in high school, shesaid, all the presidents of all
the companies I've ever workedfor have been engineers, and I
think you could be an engineer.
So go to school and be anengineer.
And if you find something youlike better, then fine.
(03:12):
You can do whatever you want.
She never limited me or forcedme into it.
And I thought engineering soundspretty good.
So getting into the Universityof Akron, it was amazing.
enjoyed the classes and, maybe Itook a non-traditional route of
college.
I ended up working full-time,getting my degree, mechanical
engineering technology but i gotsome great work experience in
(03:32):
ther e
Caroline's audio backup-4 (03:36):
for yourself, right?
right
Renee's audio backup-3 (03:39):
Yeah, a whole lot of it.
We had some bonds that we hadfrom my grandparents that we
cashed in and took out someloans, but, that wasn't enough
to cover all of it.
There was actually a semesterthat I carried baggies of change
down to Spicer Hall and countedout quarters and nickels and
dimes for I don't know how long.
It was a long time with theRegistrar down there back when
(04:01):
you did things in person therewas a hall to go to.
You didn't just send a creditcard.
That was my career of college.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (04:07):
And when you are in college, where
did you work?
Renee's audio backup-3 (04:11):
Yeah, so I worked at a few different
places.
I worked at Rob's Dining Hall.
So I got up early in the morningand helped with breakfast and
set up all the breakfasts linesand worked with the kitchen
staff and helped with that.
I also worked on the ResidenceLife and Housing Board there for
RHPB.
We worked on that together and
Caroline's audio backup (04:32):
spoiler alert we've known other for
Renee's audio backup-3 (04:35):
while
Caroline's audio backup-4 (04:36):
for
Renee's audio backup-3 (04:36):
while.
little so um so, So that paidfor room and board and that's
the reason I got into that andthen I also was an RA for, a
year over in Grant Hall and, Iworked with, Carl Crow, hall and
and and uh lot lot, uh, A lotabout office work and just
(05:00):
getting along with people.
He was very, understanding towork for and a really great guy.
Yeah.
Lots of jobs
Caroline's audio backup-4 (05:07):
to get through.
And then, so I'm a big proponentof it's take Yep is the
necessary thing.
But you said something like ittook a little while, how long
did it take you to go throughcollege?
Renee's audio backup-3 (05:21):
Yeah.
The typical program is fiveyears with a internship.
So I did an internship, and, ittook me nine years.
Part of that was because Iworked for a company that ended
up closing and, promised to payfor my degree, my classes, and
they didn't.
So working at a barely minimumwage job, I had to save enough
money to pay for a wholesemester on my own that I
(05:43):
thought was going covered.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (05:44):
So there was a company and it
sounded like a great deal foryou to work for them, and in
return they were gonna investand you
Renee's audio backu (05:51):
absolutely.
absolutely.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (05:53):
Yeah.
what kind of a company was that?
Renee's audio backup-3 (05:57):
Yeah, so we made street light poles.
It was a really neat company.
internship job and job and job,and, I I I think I got the job
purely persistence and And AndAnd I liked the company.
I thought it was a cool idea.
It was a newer company.
I think I might have been theirsecond engineer, or maybe third
(06:18):
that they had hired and I got todo a bunch of stuff.
It was a small company, my firstreal manufacturing job, and I
got to see things get built.
It was really, truly amazing tosee how all the people worked
together.
There was one accountant and onepurchasing agent, and one like
(06:39):
main engineer and eventually Ibecame the project manager there
and managed the projects and itwas just a really cool very
small hands-on company.
But.
The president of the company,unfortunately, ended up being a
crook and he took some moneyfrom some folks and did some bad
things and yeah, so one of thosethings was promising to pay for
(07:00):
my education and, so on goodfaith, took that and didn't know
to have contracts and thingslike that in place at a age of,
I think, maybe 19, 20, when Istarted there.
It was just Like
Caroline's audio backup-4 (07:15):
So even though that.
this is the recurring theme withyou, Renee, I believe, is that
there is some sort of challengethat could be completely
debilitating for other people,and yet you just rise up and
you're like, okay, next.
And that happened and I'm gonnakeep going towards my goal.
(07:35):
I'm gonna keep do doing what Ibelieve is right.
Where do you think that comesfrom?
Renee's audio backup-3 (07:43):
Yeah.
Really, I guess my parents, thatis, that's really how you know
they.
Started a farm and they didn'thave farming experience.
Nobody in their family had realfarming experience.
And my dad had a wood shop andwe would just make stuff all the
time and we'd make puzzles, andif things didn't work, we'd try
it again and, I would say heprobably was, my dad was
(08:05):
probably the biggest, person inmy life, I was always daddy's
girl.
Being on the farm and I wouldcollect eggs from the chickens
and, just that almost a movieset.
I couldn't even ask for anythingbetter as a child growing up in
Guernsey County on a farm andbeing able to do anything I
wanted to make anything or tryanything I wanted to.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (08:26):
And just that like resilience, and
work ethic, ability to seesomething through even if you
don't see the immediate result.
Okay, so the place promised topay for your education.
That fell through and then youstill persisted to do it anyway
and what happened?
Walk us through that.
Renee's audio backup-3 (08:47):
Yeah, so then I got married some people
talk about, oh, you can't getmarried until after you graduate
from college, And I don't knowthat I would've finished my
degree had I have not married myhusband, Todd.
He pushed me to go to schoolwhen we didn't have two nickels
to rub together and we worked sohard and he just, he was always
(09:09):
working.
Eventually we, found a realsmall apartment in a pretty
crummy kind of neighborhood and,we made it work.
And, I finished my degree, Iworked, full-time.
I ended up taking 21 seniorlevel engineering credits to
finish my degree.
I was working for anothercompany at that point then, the
(09:30):
first company, the streetlightpole company, closed and, so I
got another job and they saidthey had an engineering position
open, but I had to finish mydegree and so I crammed in as
much as I could, and, I got onesemester, I literally didn't
have a holiday for an entirefall semester just to get 21
engineering credits, full-timework and sometimes sleep in
(09:54):
there.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (09:54):
was the company that you were
working for then?
Yeah so Yeah so
Renee's audio backup-3 (09:58):
so so Yeah wrap used used wrap used an
an an an company an back in theday, but, yeah, I think I can
share the company, LINPAC FilmCo.
And they were based out of aEuropean country and so I got to
travel and do some truly amazingprojects there.
It was such a great experienceworking there and it was the
(10:21):
first manufacturing plant thatI'd been in that was big enough
and had support from othercompanies and other branches.
They had multiple people indifferent departments, so I
could kinda see how that levelworked.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (10:36):
Were there any other women?
Renee's audio backup-3 (10:37):
For a little while I worked for, the
purchasing manager and shepulled me out of the maintenance
stuff where I had started doingmaintenance purchasing and she
gave me a job doing purchasingfor like raw materials and some
of the components and thingsthat we used.
and there was a lot of supportstaff there, but typically
(10:59):
coming from the engineering andmaintenance side, I worked with
all men.
I was all of 23 years old and Ihad to walk into a maintenance
department with well seasonedguys.
So you can imagine those guysare in their fifties and sixties
and, at first, I worked withthem and then eventually they
reported to me.
It was a, an interesting shift,but we a that enjoyed enjoyed
(11:22):
that enjoyed that lot
Caroline's audio backup-4 (11:24):
you break through?
Because sometimes being one ofthe only women in a department
of much more experienced people,there could be a little bit of a
interesting looks or opinions,but how did you,
Renee's audio backup-3 (11:41):
for sure.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (11:42):
what was your tactic to push through
that or gain their trust
Renee's audio backup-3 (11:47):
yeah.
I don't know if it was a tactic,but one of my first days there,
the roughest, gruffest guy inthe maintenance crew who always
wore the cutoff shirts and wasknown to be the like number one
welder and nobody kinda screwedwith him, he walked up to me and
you're gonna have to up up up me
Caroline's audio backup-4 (12:07):
I'm gonna have to bleep just stuff
just just sayin not from you.
From me.
Renee's audio backup-3 (12:16):
yes.
he walked up to me and he said,I don't know what kind of sense
of humor you have.
I said you're just gonna have totry and find out and we'll see.
I'm maybe 22 at this point,right?
And he said bitch, get me abearing.
I just looked at them and Iwasn't quite sure what to say
(12:38):
and I said, what kind of bearingwould you like?
Roller bearing, ball bearing?
You're gonna have to be a littlemore specific, and he just
laughed and walked away and Ithink that might've been like my
first real day.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (12:50):
You rolled with the punches.
Renee's audio backup-3 (12:51):
you
Caroline's audio backup-4 (12:52):
and And
Renee's audio backup-3 (12:54):
he wasn't, that kind of guy, he
just wanted to see where thebarriers were and boundaries and
how far he could push it, and,once he got through it, he was
just a super sweet guy and verynice, and honestly, the whole
department really took care ofme.
I don't know if I'd say like Iwas their daughter, but they
certainly took care of me and Ifelt that way.
(13:16):
I felt appreciated and we workedwell together and it was good.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (13:21):
So then what happened?
Renee's audio backup-3 (13:23):
So after, about six years at that
company, I got to travelinternationally and work with
people in France and England,and went to those countries and
South America.
I got to go to Uruguay and madegood friends with some of our
coworkers down there.
it was such a great job.
I loved it.
But, I wasn't looking for a job.
A headhunter called me and hesaid, what would it take for you
(13:46):
to come work for this company?
And so I asked for everything Icould imagine.
I raised my price more than whatI thought, which, by the way,
now, it was very low.
It was not a very high startingwage, but I had worked my way up
in my career.
Now I have my engineeringdegree, i'd been an engineer for
(14:08):
a little over a year, startingon those lower rungs and, I went
for an interview at that companyasking for everything, and I
didn't have anything to lose, soI was very calm and confident.
I think that was one of thethings that maybe set me apart
from the other engineers whomaybe were, really, looking for
(14:28):
that job.
And I wasn't, I could totally bemyself.
And a few of the guys there thatinterviewed me really saw that
and they offered me the job andI took it and with tears in my
eyes, I left my friends at mycompany that had been there for
six years and traveled with andwent years start years yeah, So
Caroline's audio (14:54):
interestingly, it all started with that with a
headhunter and a conversationabout an opportunity that you
didn't even know Yep.
and then you took a leap offaith and ended up having 18
years there.
What was it that made you chooseto do that, to take a leap of
(15:19):
faith after you interviewed,like what, what made you decide
that thing?
Renee's audio backup-3 (15:25):
yeah I think I was looking for, I'll
call it a little more respect.
At the company I'd been with forsix years, I had worked my way
up from maintenance purchasingto a purchasing clerk, then
through a couple different jobsthere, and then ended up being
the engineer for the companyand, they, I got the impression
(15:50):
that it was just another raisefor getting a whole degree.
It wasn't moving that bar highenough to say, yes, we value you
now as an engineer, I was stillthe Renee who got married and
went to school and then just gota degree, it was just another
(16:12):
step in that space, and eventhough we had accomplished some
really big projects, we madeequipment in different countries
and worked with teams that spokedifferent languages and had to
arrange things over.
If you have ever worked withFrench companies, they shut down
for the month of August.
(16:32):
So we had to get everything doneon a deadline and ship it
overseas and be ready to startin September when they got back
and had people from multiplecountries here speaking multiple
languages, and we hadaccomplished all of that.
Now, I was just one part of it.
I was certainly not, I'm nottaking credit for all of that,
but I was certainly part of thatand I don't think that they
(16:56):
valued that position.
And I, I don't think it wasbecause I was a female engineer.
I really don't.
I just think it was, they didn'tvalue that position and and what
I could bring or what I could dofor the company.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (17:11):
And so when you had another
opportunity of the recruiterseeing something in you greater
than you saw yourself, and thenthat company offering growth,
etc.
Renee's audio backup (17:27):
Everything that I for.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (17:30):
a good, it seemed like a good
move.
Now, you mentioned that back inthe day your mom had said
something about being apresident of companies and
thought you could do that sortof thing.
What did you think?
What, when, what did youconsider as far as when you're
(17:50):
in your high school self oryounger self, what did you think
success would look like or whatdid you think you wanted your
career to be?
Renee's audio backup-3 (17:58):
Yeah, that, that's great.
We've talked about this over thelast year and a half as we've
worked through this program, andI, I really, it was just part of
what my life was gonna be to bethe president of a company.
Like I, it was never even aquestion of whether I'd go to
college.
There was, and I asked my momone time, how did you do that?
(18:19):
You never said you had to go tocollege.
And she said, I just talkedabout what would happen after
you did those things.
And yep.
She said oh, after college thenyou can get a car, or then you
can, whatever I wanted at thetime, she would say after
college then you'll be able toafford your own car, or whatever
it was.
(18:39):
And little things like, when Iwas getting ready for prom, I
remember my mom did my hair andhad it all perfect.
And she said, now that's yourWhite House hair.
When you House, And And Andpainting painting so
Caroline's audio backup-4 (18:54):
me I
Renee's audio backup-3 (18:54):
Right Right
Caroline's audio backup-4 (18:55):
Right
Renee's audio backup-3 (18:57):
have picture picture pictures picture
picture picture picture and,yeah, it was so she never told
me what I had to be, but she setthose expectations and set them
quite high.
And so it wasn't until, you andI started working together that
I realized that maybe thatwasn't my dream, or maybe it
(19:20):
was, but it was how I got there.
Was more because she set that asan expectation.
And so I quite honestly, I jokedwith the president of the
company that I was in for 18years, that someday I wanted his
job as president and I meant it.
And so I expected to bepresident of a company.
seemed seemed seemed old I.
(19:45):
like maturity like maturity andwhere you had your stuff all
together, you knew exactly whatlife was gonna be like and at
35, that's the way it goes.
Yeah I had a whole life plan ofexactly how things were gonna
go.
And we're working on most of it,but now I think.
With the work that you and Ihave done together that now it's
more even more flushed out andmore
Caroline's audio backup-4 (20:07):
let's talk a little bit about that.
So we've heard a little bit hereof you were at a company for 18
years.
You left the company you hadbeen before because of the
growth and the opportunities andsomething must have happened
that you stayed at a company for18 years.
But yet then we've been.
(20:27):
Aside from being friends, we didlose touch for a little bit of
time.
Although, like anybody, that'sactually my friend, it's okay.
A day, a decade, anything can goby and the minute we get back
together, it's like nothing everchanged.
let's talk a little bit aboutbefore the calm before the
storm.
So you were at a company for 18years, you came in and you
(20:48):
started at what position, andthen you worked your way up a
lot and had quite bigresponsibilities.
Let's help our listenersunderstand a little bit about
that before we get into thenitty gritty.
Renee's audio backup-3 (21:01):
Yeah.
So I started as plant engineerand maintenance manager.
Maybe I forget exactly thetitle, but I got to run the
maintenance and engineering.
There was no engineering at theplant and that was me.
So I also worked with themaintenance department.
made, we were in the rubber andplastics industry And so dip
molded parts and extruded TPEsmostly for medical, dental
(21:23):
industry.
A few other little side things,but mostly that.
And so we had, just under 200employees and three different
buildings all in northeast Ohioand I had maintenance guys and
all three of the buildings andmy initial jobs were things
around setting up programs.
(21:45):
So we didn't have a safetyprogram and I had a real passion
for safety and I worked todevelop an entire program for
the whole company.
We used some bits and pieces ofother company other safety
programs and brought in theparts that worked for us and,
set that up and did all thetraining for all three plants,
(22:07):
and we had all multiple shiftsat the plant.
So I was doing all sorts oftraining.
I got to know all the employees.
I really enjoyed that part ofit.
There was it was a lot, but itwas amazing.
We developed a preventativemaintenance program.
There wasn't really one when Istarted there, so I worked with
the maintenance guys and we,first of all, we had to identify
(22:27):
every piece of equipment that weowned and start figuring out how
we were going to do the work onthese to keep'em.
Keep'em working efficiently andstop all of the breakdowns.
We were constantly fightingfires and there was equipment
down, and we'd miss ordersbecause we couldn't really track
how things were going.
(22:48):
Equipment, large equipment wouldbreak down often.
And even to the point where wehad fires because equipment
wasn't managed well and therewould be bearings would fail and
wear holes and shafts, and thenthe shafts would fall and things
would catch fire.
It was a mess.
(23:48):
I'm Dr.
Caroline Sangal let's continuelistening to Renee's journey to
authentic success.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (23:53):
How were they able?
'cause this is something a lotof companies, particularly
chemical related companies, thatstarted out.
Grew to bigger, lots of themdidn't have preventative
maintenance and some of themindsets of those sorts of
companies were like we don'thave
Renee's audio backup-3 (24:09):
Mm
Caroline's audio backup-4 (24:10):
stop and do all this.
How did you overcome that?
or was it a fire or some biggerthing?
Okay, what was it that made thembuy in that preventative
maintenance was a good deal.
Renee's audio backup-3 (24:27):
I think some of it was just continuously
bringing up the fact that wewere fixing things multiple
times.
And when we said if we're gonnafix it and we fix it right the
first time, we don't have to goback to it and fix it again next
week and fix it again next weekand fix it again next week.
So even though everybody agreedthat was the way to do it.
(24:49):
The first time I said, Hey thisline is gonna be down for a
week.
We have to get parts in, we haveto go through it.
We have to fix it.
For sure they were not happy.
But the president or the, maybehe was the vice president at the
time, he and I literally pinkyswore that we would do it, we'd
fix it right the first time.
And so he held tight to that andhe said, okay, we're gonna
(25:12):
figure it out and we'll make doand we did.
And they saw that we fixed itand it got better.
Every time that we could makesomething better.
It just saved a little bit oftime for the operations group
and it certainly didn't happenovernight.
It took when months of tweakingand, we constantly had
(25:33):
breakdowns, so we were PMingthings.
On a regular basis because wedidn't know how far it could go
before it actually would breakwhen it was well maintained in
the beginning.
So we it was our system, right?
Like we could make it anythingwe wanted it to be.
So with Excel and Word isliterally the whole program and
(25:53):
we.
We could adjust it as things ranbetter and bearings were greased
regularly and belts were checkedon a normal basis.
Maybe it was weekly, and then itwould go to monthly, and then it
would go to bimonthly and thenit would go to every six months
or whatever.
And then maybe it's six months,it, we'd have a failure and
would do, oh, nope, that was toofar.
(26:13):
So then we come back and, maybeit's every three months we do
something.
Yeah, it was quite a process andthe maintenance guys were
awesome.
They just, they would constantlykeep up with all the work and
keep up with how the equipmentreally was performing and that
was awesome.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (26:29):
And then sometime in there from when
you started in between when youstarted and when you left, you
went back to school.
What was that about?
Renee's audio backup-3 (26:40):
Yeah.
Yeah.
This company was awesome as faras they paid for my MBA.
The owner of our company reallyvalues education and he's helped
several of our, of the employeesthat worked there get their
degrees.
Some of them wereundergraduates, some were MBAs.
Mine was an MBA from Malone, I'mreal proud of that.
(27:01):
It was a lot of work after hoursagain working full-time during
the day and then taking nightclasses for a couple years to
get my MBA.
But I am pretty proud of that
Caroline's audio ba (27:11):
Absolutely.
I'm glad that finally somebodykept their promise so would
would
Renee's audio backup- (27:18):
contracts contracts There were on both
sides Yes
Caroline's audio backup-4 (27:22):
good.
So then.
You're progressing, continuingto have more responsibility,
more great projects that you'reworking on.
And then you started maybefeeling a little bit
interestingly differently.
What sort of symptoms did younotice, maybe physically or
(27:46):
emotionally or any of that?
What started happening and whatwas your initial response.
Renee's audio backup-3 (27:54):
Yeah.
Yeah, so it was right beforeCovid actually happened one of
the plant managers,unfortunately for him, had a
heart attack and a stroke backto back, and so he was out for
several months with each ofthose and, we were struggling as
a company to make sureeverything ran well, though it
was okay.
(28:15):
And then Covid hit and I said,Hey, all of our projects are
canceled.
Nobody knew.
If you remember back then wewere a medical company and so we
were mandatory.
Nobody knew from day to day whatwas happening and everything was
changing.
Our projects were canceled.
We said we're gonna, not spendmoney where we don't have to.
And I asked what can I do?
What can I do to help?
And my boss said, Hey, you cango help with there's plant that
(28:37):
needs a manager and be moreinvolved there.
and so that's what I got to doand I got into the operations
side.
We started making some greatprogress.
we saw some efficiencieshappening and I, I really
enjoyed it.
And a year later that move wasmade official and so I went from
(28:58):
being the Director ofEngineering to Director of
Operations and initially wethought I would take on maybe
all the operations, but inreality it didn't work out.
I was still doing theengineering role, they didn't
hire for that position and so Iwas still doing projects and
managing the maintenancedepartment, making sure that was
(29:19):
running smoothly enough, andalso working on the operations
side and trying to really learnand understand.
Even though I'd been there formaybe about 15 years I, I had
never really worked on theoperations side and my
perspective was completelydifferent and so I was really
trying to understand that betterand see where I could really
(29:41):
make a big impact from theoperations side.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (29:45):
had basically all your jobs just
kept getting added onto.
How did that.
Work as far as how long were youworking?
How much stress was that?
Renee's audio backup-3 (29:59):
yeah, it was definitely a lot of stress
and I thought there was an endto it.
I thought that based onconversations with the president
of the company, that when thefiscal year started, we could
budget for another, I.
Engineer to come and backfillthat side of it, do those sort
of tasks, and then I could domore operations.
And when, man, it was yeah, itwas a lot of stress.
(30:20):
I felt like I couldn't getanything accomplished 100% and
do a good job with it.
I was constantly jumping fromthing to thing and trying to get
projects done and then trying toget operations efficiencies
done.
And I really was in the meantimeof all of that my mom passed
(30:41):
away and there's a lot of ifyou've ever had a family member
pass away, there's just a lotthat goes with that.
And so that was going on in mypersonal life.
Yeah, I, I.
Was on, on more medications andI felt angry more often.
I was stressed and so I wasn't Ithink I would reflect on it as I
(31:07):
wasn't a very good manager to mydirect reports and I was a
difficult coworker for a while.
Mostly I would say because I wasstressed and,
Caroline's audio backup-4 (31:19):
I think you were spending a lot of
time being everything toeverybody but yourself.
Would you agree?
Were you putting, so you are thetype of person that you're given
a challenge, you're given anopportunity to help, and you go
all in, and you don'tnecessarily think about how
that's actually affecting yourown wellbeing because you are a
(31:42):
giver and a leader and somebodywho strives for excellence and
gets excellence, but just keptpushing.
Is that.
Fair to say.
Renee's audio backup-3 (31:54):
Yeah.
And I think I was pushing notonly myself, I think I was
trying to push the people I wasworking with at, in all levels,
whatever level.
And I was pushing and I.
That wasn't the way I was usedto working, and so it, it
created some turmoil.
And I had a tough year with alot of my coworkers and I don't
(32:17):
know that it was any onespecific thing.
Yeah, I think it was justpushing and trying to do more
and maybe I was.
I can reflect that I was losingsome trust because I would get
into a project and jump on themfor not doing it well enough or
(32:38):
fast enough, and then I wouldjump to something else, leaving
them in this like puddle of Idon't know what, of turmoil and
then they didn't know whetherthey should move on and go
forward, or they should wait forme to jump back in and tell'em
how they were doing things wrongin the beginning.
(33:00):
And so I, I think that reallywas eye-opening for me to see
that
Caroline's audio backup-4 (33:05):
And what year was this?
roughly I
Renee's audio backup-3 (33:11):
of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (33:16):
then what led you to reach out?
Tell me how that all went down.
To reach out to me.
Like all of a sudden you'repopping up in my inbox and it
seemed a phenomenal time forboth of us, but like from your
side, what
Renee's audio backup-3 (33:37):
Yeah.
I was I was super frustrated.
I am, I'm.
Fairly certain that everybodywas frustrated at that time.
Projects weren't getting done.
It, a lot of frustration oneverybody's standpoint.
And I just thought this isn'tgood.
I was mad when I was at home.
My husband and I startedarguing.
I was just angry a lot and Isaid, this can't go on this
(33:59):
anymore.
And I said, ah.
I have seen Caroline's picturetwice on my LinkedIn, and she
was doing recruiting the lasttime I talked to her.
I'm gonna reach out to her andsee just if she has anything
maybe that, I don't know.
Just see.
And so I would like to say thatI was called to, to call you.
(34:23):
I, and I know that it's justLinkedIn and maybe people don't,
maybe you don't believe, but Iknow you and I believe and, I
saw you on there and when Icalled you one of the things
that stood out to me was.
First of all, we picked up rightwhere we'd been all the years
before.
You've been raising children andI've been here working more, and
you'd been working.
Fast forward I don't know, agood few years.
(34:46):
And we caught back up almostimmediately.
Like we were still living inSpanton Hall 19 old old old was
awesome old was awesome.
The second thing that I tookaway from that was that you had
left your big career and andthis is your story, but from my
side that you had left your bigcareer and you were starting
(35:09):
your own thing and that you hada one year non-compete.
And gosh, it had just run outthe week before we had our first
conversation.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (35:21):
Yeah.
Renee's audio backup-3 (35:22):
Yeah.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (35:24):
And so I remember in that
conversation that I just hadnothing but compassion, love,
and understanding from the pointwhere you were, and I could have
(35:44):
that compassion, love, andunderstanding because I had.
Similarly, different company,different thing.
I had reached a point where Iwas outwardly successful by many
measures, but inwardly there wasrage and there was anger, and I
(36:05):
was losing it on strangers.
There was a poor checkout girlat Chipotle that got to see my
wrath really embarrassingly formy child who happened to also be
there, but like it was nothingthat she did.
Really it wasn't, she was justthe wrong person at the wrong
time.
(36:25):
And I had been trying to stuffdown feelings and emotions, so
for so long thinking that Icould, should be able to handle
whatever was happening.
And I was so frustrated thatsome things that I wanted to
change about where I worked.
I couldn't change and it wasn'tfor lack of trying or for lack
(36:47):
of giving very well thought outdata.
It didn't come across the rightway.
I'm sure I delivered it poorly,but very succinct and matter of
fact that this is exactly what'swrong.
And I tried to, but I tried tofind I then took time to try to
find a way out, and I alsorealized that this was a
(37:08):
recurring thing that I had seeneven in many years of
recruiting.
People had successful positions,high titles, decent salary, good
other people that they work withyet reached a limit.
Didn't feel successful and thenweren't loving the life that
they created.
(37:28):
In fact, their life got theleftover.
It didn't get the best of them.
My family was not getting thebest of me, and your family was
not getting the best of you.
And so when we talked, I waslike hey.
I just spent this time and I'vegot this program that I'm
getting ready to start.
(37:50):
Seems like it's at the perfecttime for you.
Would you like to be involvedand how hard of a decision?
Like it was not very welldefined.
I had an idea, I had ahypothesis, but it was not
proven yet.
Now it's proven.
And you're one of the peoplethat's gone through every single
thing, so I'd love to get yourview on that.
(38:10):
How easy was it to just take aleap and decide to enter into
this undefined program at thetime?
Renee's audio backup-3 (38:19):
Yeah.
First of all, I know and loveyou and I knew that whatever you
do, you would be incrediblyknowledgeable about.
You would come at it from thescience standpoint, which is
where I love to know that sideof it, right?
What's the science behind it andand then knowing that you were
(38:40):
putting your whole everythinginto it.
You were researching and puttingyour whole career was gonna be
this, and I know you well enoughto know you wouldn't put
everything into something if itwasn't really transformative and
I knew something had to changein me and I could just see it.
(39:02):
It was such an easy decision forme to say yes.
I knew that it was no problem.
Of course there was, there'smoney involved and I was
fortunate that I was one of theearly ones.
And and I can understand howpeople may have some sort of
reservation about, spendingmoney on themselves for
(39:23):
something that is work onyourself.
That seems Like from the outsideI can say what we did was
complex and deep and reallythought provoking and you
guided.
(39:45):
Me through exercises that, Idon't know maybe anybody could
do the exercises.
But then when you asked mequestions like, why do you think
that is?
And what might've led to that?
Or Why do you think you feelthat way?
And then not only did you askthe question once.
(40:08):
You might ask it a couple timesto really dig down into what was
really going on and things thatI didn't know, things that I
didn't know about myself.
One of the first things we didtogether was the disc
assessment.
And I've done that beforethrough my company, and I've
done it with tons of people.
So I had a little, I went inthinking I knew everything.
(40:29):
And quite honestly I was prettysure that I did.
And I, I could teach this, it'dbe fine.
It'd be all right, but I'll playalong.
Okay.
So I go in and we get into itand I'm a high ID and we were
talking about it and I knewwhere I was gonna end up coming
out, and I did.
I came out in
Caroline's audio backup-4 (40:48):
And that's why I picked that
assessment, that particularbrand, because it is reliable,
valid.
I'm just saying Cliftonstrengths, every time I take it,
it's different.
I cannot stand behind that disc.
The one that I picked.
It's consistent with somebody'snatural style is consistent.
The adapted maybe'cause of theirenvironment.
Okay, so you knew where you weregonna come out and you did,
Renee's audio backup-3 (41:12):
all
Caroline's audio backup-4 (41:13):
all
Renee's audio backup-3 (41:13):
all I knew all the things that we were
gonna talk about wanting optionsand, being relationship focused
and being quick and all thesethings.
I knew all that and we did, wetalked about many of those
things.
It plus some other things thatwere in there.
And then you asked me questionsabout why.
(41:36):
I might feel so strongly aboutpeople and needing to take care
of them.
And I think I just lost it.
Like I started crying, realizinglike that is I from growing up,
(41:58):
I think I mentioned.
My dad passing away when I was10.
Excuse me, I I had a littlesister.
I have a little sister who wasjust six.
And so taking care of her andtaking care of my mom.
That was my role.
And so at some point thattranslated into taking care of
(42:23):
people, my, my employees, mycoworkers, background.
Caroline's audio backup-4 (42:29):
it.
I love your puppy.
Don't
Renee's audio backup-3 (42:31):
and
Caroline's audio backup-4 (42:32):
I
Renee's audio backup-3 (42:32):
yeah, I think that.
Conversation that we had aboutwhy what changed and why I was
focusing on taking so much care,why I felt like I had to, not
that I wanted to, but I feltlike I had to.
Take care of all these people,and they quite frankly, didn't
(42:54):
need me to be taking care ofthem, and it was probably more
detrimental.
So I, I knew where I was on thatdisc assessment, and yet I
hadn't explored what that reallymeant as a coworker and as a
leader.
And though I had positives andeven that, my strengths and
(43:18):
weaknesses on the disc and IndraI didn't realize that it was so
deeply rooted in who I was andthat I could make adjustments to
that based on who I wanted to beas a leader.
And yeah, and pulling thosethings out after we had
conversation.
And that changed so many
Caroline's audio backup-4 (43:39):
I think this is important to to
talk about a little bit furtherhere because I had that too.
So it's you, meaning when wegrow up, certain things happen,
ending up being for us at thisat the time it seems to us.
Or we just one day after theother.
And we are adjusting and we aredoing the best that we can and
(44:00):
we're getting through and we'remaking decisions and
observations as children andconclusions as to what that must
mean.
And then just going around our,on our, in our life.
Accordingly, according to thedata that we had from when we
made that choice.
But yet we get so far removedfrom it that we forget that it
was a choice and some thingsjust become, this is just how
(44:23):
the world is.
This is just what it is.
You're a giver.
You take care of people, right?
I'm gonna be assertive and telleverybody what I think like it's
so that it can, and I'm gonnaget, we're both gonna be really
high achieving.
Get whatever a reward or goal isset out there.
And without ever pausing,stopping firstly, allowing that
(44:47):
space and realizing it is okayto take a minute for my own
self, and if I can take care ofothers, why am I taking the
least care of me?
I'm, I've been walking aroundwith me this whole time.
But just, yeah, trying to havethat.
Recognition and pause andrealization that yes, I can
(45:08):
choose something different andif it's gonna serve you for your
future, I think that was a thingtoo how's that working out for
you?
How are you?
And on one hand I felt, s like,I didn't want to bring up
something that became, painfulmemories or sad.
(45:32):
And on the other hand, I was sothankful that you felt safe
enough in that space to allowsome of those emotions that you
had ignored or tried to.
Stuff, try to pretend theyweren't there because you're
super strong and you can getthrough anything.
And just allowing some of thatto just be, and for you to start
(45:57):
becoming who you are more
Renee is the kind of woman whobrings excellence, care, and
energy to everything she does.
She built a powerful career,earned the trust of her team,
and kept things running even indifficult seasons.
Over time, the joy started tofade.
(46:18):
The spark got quieter and thelife she had built began to feel
more like something to managethan something to enjoy.
In the next episode, you'll hearwhat happened when she stepped
into the next success method,how she uncovered the deeper
patterns at play, realigned withher strengths and values, and
began to create a life andcareer that truly reflect who
(46:40):
she is.
The work isn't about fixingsomething that's broken.
It's about honoring who you'vealways been and giving yourself
the space to rise.
If you're feeling that quietpull, like it's time for
something new, take one smallstep today.
Download the Navigating CareerTransitions Guide.
In the show notes.
(47:01):
You have permission to reclaimyour future, design a life you
want, and show up intentionallyand joyfully for what comes
next.
Be sure to follow the podcast soyou don't miss part two, and
I'll see you next time on yournext success.
Keep going.
You're not done yet.
Caroline (47:19):
Thanks for listening to Your Next Success with Dr.
Caroline Sangal.
Remember, authentic success isyours to define and includes
aligning your career to supportthe life you want.
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