January 10, 2025 • 55 mins
Jeanette Allom-Hill’s life story is as powerful as it is inspiring. In this emotionally charged episode of Pure Grit, Jeanette opens up about her journey from a traumatic childhood to becoming a transformative leader. From surviving unimaginable personal tragedies to facing corporate bullying, Jeanette’s resilience and grit have driven her to create Lionhearted, a foundation dedicated to empowering women and fostering safe leadership.
Jeanette recounts growing up in South Africa, losing everything, and starting a new life in Australia after a traumatic event forced her family to flee. She shares how these early experiences shaped her character and instilled in her a deep commitment to helping women find their strength and purpose. Through Lionhearted, she now leads programs aimed at supporting women facing workplace bullying, harassment, and trauma, while also guiding them to discover their unique brilliance.
This episode isn’t just a story of hardship—it’s a story of hope, healing, and the power of lifting others. Jeanette’s mission is clear: build an army of women who stand shoulder to shoulder, ready to lead with courage, compassion, and authenticity. Don’t miss this raw, heartfelt conversation that will leave you inspired to find your inner strength.
If you or someone you know needs support, reach out to Lionhearted or visit their website for more information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Pure Grit with Paula McGrath. If you search
the word grit, you'd see that it means to have courage,
show strength of character, passion, and perseverance. Throughout the series,
paul chat to guest from all walks of life who
have shown pure grit to get to where they are now. Paula, Paula, Yeah, look,
(00:26):
he looks fine. I've done the intro, so ready for
you to talk now? Yeah, you do your talking things.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Welcome to another episode of Pure Grit. My guest today
is an incredible woman, an award winning woman awards such
as just a Little One is like this, Global Woman
of Influence Award twenty twenty four, awards like Telstra Businesswoman's Award.
In the public sector, she's astute businesswoman. Currently she works
for a nonprofit organization promoting multiculturism, access equity, social justice
(00:59):
as the interest and CEO. Amazing Yeah, just a little,
a little. Not only has she worked for the government
federal departments. With her extensive experience, she founded a national
enterprise called the Lion Heart Foundation, which she is incredibly
passionate about changing the face of leadership and bringing women
together to help empower each other and changing, you know,
(01:21):
changing the face of leadership. I had a rare moment
where I had time not being a solo mum. My
son was away overseas visiting his dad. So I took
a chance and I went and on this weekend where
I got to meet my guest. She's a mother too
and a wife. But I went to a place called Gwingana,
(01:43):
and I've been out of my comfort zone. I just went, yeah,
I'm going to go. It's a health retreat. I thought,
I'm going to go and meet all these women. And
then I saw this leader of Lineheartened and I was
drawn to her, but not She's got this mad lion
main hair, this incredible hair. She looks like, you know,
(02:04):
she's the leader of Lionhard Foundation. And I just had
this feeling this woman has a love story. I don't
know what. I didn't know what, but was I right.
There is a life story behind this woman that I
couldn't wait to share with my audience on Pure Grit.
Please welcome Jeanette alum Hill to Pure Grit.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Lovely.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Thank you, Paula, what a glorious intro, beautiful heart, thank
you for having me. I'm very honored to be on
the Pure Grit podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well here you are. Why I want to know why.
As I said, I met you at one of your
Lionhearted weekend retreats. I haven't been to you do these workshops,
which lots of we would go to all over the country,
especially I've seen them here on the Sunshine Coast. I
(02:54):
see that those ones advertised. But now I see you
going to incredible weekends in Tasmania and I wish I
could go. But I took a chance and I went
to gwin Gana, which was amazing, beautiful food, beautiful looking
back over the Gold Coastintilanta was it was incredible. But Jeanette,
(03:14):
I saw you as the leader of Wine Hearted. But
I knew you had a story. I don't know how,
I don't know. I call it my third eye. I
just I just sensed you had an incredible story and
was I right? And I started talking to you there
(03:35):
and questioning you as I do, and everyone will know
that that's what I do. I just go tell me
about you. So you Let's start at the beginning your childhood. Yes,
where you were born?
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Yeah, So I was born to a nineteen year old
mother in South Africa. She came from a very prestigious family,
and it was a little bit of a disgrace. It
was way back in nineteen seventy when I think those
things were a disgrace on two year old. Yes, I
know so the same I think I'm wise. Let it
be said, we're going to go for wise instead of no,
(04:12):
you're not. And she was sent away throughout her pregnancy,
and when she and she went into labor where she
woke up in the morning, I was gone. She was
sent away, as I suppose punishment, so that and I
was never spoken about ever again. She was sent away,
she came back home, and no one ever spoke to
(04:33):
me again. So I was sent to an orphanage in Pretoria,
and I was there for about six weeks. And a
missionary couple who'd been waiting fourteen years when you all
and said, we have a six week your old baby girl.
Would you like her in a week's time? So bless them,
they had to run around and all the people in
the mission field gave them all the beautiful baby things
(04:54):
so that they have a baby room. And they came
and picked me up. And I lived in Johannesburg on
the outskirt of Zuda Land. My father would spend a
lot of time in Zulu Land with the as a missionary,
and my mother was a teacher, so we didn't really
have a huge amount of time with Mum and dad.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
They both worked really, really hard.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
When I was five, I decided that I wanted a
baby brother, so Mum and Dad again put in for
adoption and managed to get the most magnificent two year
old little boy called Malcolm, who's now much.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Taller than me and much bossier than me.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
But for many, many years I used to put him
in my pram and push him out of the house
and tell him exactly what to do. So Malcolm had
a very idyllic childhood. We were brought up by a
black nanny, the beautiful Maggie, who we used to love
to call Maggie Mu. And she was everything that you
were a black nanny to be. She was large and joyful,
(05:48):
and she rodess, and I would say she would have
been in her late thirties maybe yep, so young, so young.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, she had.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Young children of her own, and we I certainly thought
Maggie was my mother, and I often laugh now when
I work in big multicultural organizations.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I don't see different colors or.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Races to be human, And I think I thank my
childhood for that, because I never saw anything besides just
love for her and her love for us. So we
had a pretty idyllic time for a period of a
couple of years. And then in nineteen seventy six during
the Suweto riots, where rightly so black Salvings have been
(06:31):
told that they had to learn Afrikaans in school, so
they were huge, huge riots and lots of killing. Father
got stuck in the mission field, my mother was stuck
at school and we were at home with Maggie, and
the black extremist groups thought my father was working very
closely with Nandela because he was in zululand so there
was some big tension there with our family that has
(06:53):
young children, you know, five and seven. We had absolutely
no idea about whatsoever. While mom and dad were away,
a group of black extremists charged into our house and
they gang raped Maggie and killed her in front of
Malcolm and I and Yeah, that night, Mum and Dad
came home and we slept in the church. We left
(07:16):
absolutely everything besides a suitcase, and Mum and Dad packed
whatever they could. They had five thousand rand, which is
not a lot of money, and Wesley Central Mission got
us out the next day and flew us to Australia.
But we were homeless. Obviously, we had absolutely nothing, and
they put us in a homeless shelter out in lang Cove.
(07:36):
And as a consequence, my mum had not that I
knew at that age, but a pretty huge nervous breakdown,
and as a consequence of that, our life from then
on became relatively emotionally and physically abusive. My dad had
to work for Wesley Central Mission during the day and
had to study at night to be a tax accountant
to try and bring money, and Mum had to go
(07:57):
and teach.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Of what you and Malcolm were suffering.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
I think so, But I think for him and my
dad was a beautiful human it was survival because he
knew that in order to start our lives again. And
my mum was in her early forties, as was Dad,
and you know, they had lost absolutely everything, and I
think that Dad was just focused on trying to get
(08:25):
a proper roof over our heads because we didn't. We
were being looked after by Wesley Central Mission, and you know,
Dad's ultimate goal was to try and get another incoming
or a career, because you can't really.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Be a missionary in Australia.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I suppose a career that allowed him to put a
roof over our heads. So he worked for many, many
years and studied at night, and Mum had to go
and teach out at Lipcombe and we were in lane Cove,
so it was a really long commute for her, and
she used to take Malcolm and I we would sit
under the desk while she would teach. So yeah, we
it was a pretty horrific change for us from the
(09:03):
love of Maggie and the.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Beg How did you a Malcolm recover from or even
I don't know, we're from seeing Maggie eat.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I think, child, you lock things out like I don't.
For me now as an adult there are moments if
I have a bad dream or something, I will remember
some of the visuals.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
But you see it anymore as a child. No, I
don't think. I did.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
I think when you come to the realization of what
happens as an adult, mostly because I realized what that
trauma had done to me as an adult. But we
went from extreme trauma to extreme trauma. So his mum
was very very abusive physically and mentally. We were sent
to a private school and it was quite an elite
(09:50):
school because we were given a scholarship. So I was
bullied very very very badly by a bunch of girls
because my parents were really religious, so we didn't have
anything at home, no music, no TV. So I was
very very ostracized because I didn't I wasn't a young
teenage girl.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That stood any Yeah, you didn't know that, and I
didn't know, so I sort of bullying did they do
to you?
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Oh? They were well, mostly because we were so poor.
So I was teased incredibly about being so poor. I
teased more so than I didn't understand the music or
I didn't have the fashion. But they would be very
deliberate in their bullying. So one time they invited me
away to their farm because they were all very wealthy,
and they made me sleep outside and just terribly terrible.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
They set up a boy to.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I hope that they're listening, and I hope I don't
know where they would be terrible. Yeah, no, but you
know what that they're women now and they will remember that. Yeah,
and I remember that.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
You know, Line Hearted has come flying had a fantashion
has come from so much trauma in me and the
trauma of wanting to keep other women, you know, even
at an older age. Now we do a lot of
work and making sure that women get to be exactly
who they are and they get to be appreciated for
who they are and not bullied for the differences that
people see in them. So I feel like, in retrospect,
(11:14):
many years later, the things that all that trauma and
that bullying taught me to really put everything that I've
got into making sure that women are seen for how
amazing they are and not how different they are, and
not allowing what other women or other people think of
them to impact their brilliance and how great they can be.
(11:35):
And you know, that's driven a.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Lot of hearing that bullying incident for you at an
elite school. It was a couple of years ago, I
don't know, if you know, on the Sunshine Coast, some
girls invited a girl to a party and they she
kowed her, and yeah, same thing where she would have
thought I'm getting invited.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
To her get invited.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Really, it's just horrific, Like, how how as those girls parents?
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Yeah exactly, now do you and I suppose one of
the things I've learned in non judgment through the years,
because when you go through what I've been through in
my life, there is an element of judgment of how
can you be such a horrible human being? How could
you have done that to me as a mother?
Speaker 3 (12:20):
You know?
Speaker 4 (12:20):
And I had to go through a real healing period
my mom and he died last year and I had
to go through an incredible healing period of forgiveness, of
seeking first to understand, of curiosity, and you know, much
later in life, I found out that she had been
sexually abused as a child and then as a result,
didn't want to have children, could actually physically have children,
(12:42):
but refuse to.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Have She did she could have kids.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Could and I only found that out years and years
and years later that she had chosen not to have Yeah,
you know, I didn't understand.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
But did she feel like did you feel like she
had you both?
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I felt like she didn't love us. I feel like
that that the trauma of when when we're in South
Africa and we were safe and we're being brought up
by Maggie and we were ass and everybody was happy,
and she had beautiful friends around her.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
We were just beautiful kids.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Right, But then after the trauma, my brother had lots
of traumatic responses for many years to come, and she
would be very, very frustrated by that. And I think
that just everything on top of, you know, losing everything
in her life that she loved because she was very
South African and very used to that lifestyle and having
(13:36):
to come of here. She didn't drive, she didn't cook,
she didn't clean, and she had two very traumatized children
in different ways. You know, I hid from the trauma.
My brother reacted from the trauma, and I think she
just didn't feel anything for either or us and did
her absence.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Didn't have the capacity to film.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Yeah, and I'm a very and I met my birth
mother and it was funny, like the two were not funny,
but interesting. The two of them met at my son's christening.
My my adopted mother flew out and met my birth mother.
And you know what, Paula, you couldn't have put two
different women in a room if you tried, not.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So how did you find your birth mother?
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (14:21):
That was a story in itself so well, because.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I know there's a story behind the story, Like where
your life path you just don't notice, like where your
life path goes. Actually, were all know, you.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Don't know, you don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
What something something rise up, and I just want to
meet my.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
I had always Paula the minute my parents had told
me I was adopted, which was very young, you know,
they said, you know you adopted. They never keep in that, remember.
But I think because of the trauma of what happened
to us and moving and then how away I felt
from mum, I could never understand why she was always
so angry and why she beat us, and why she
(15:05):
was always so mad at us, and she was always
making us. We would work morning, noon and night, so
we would come home. We would garden till really late.
We would have to you know, we would clean. You know,
we were basically the servants of which she had been
used to. So you know, I never, I suppose, I
never felt any joy, and I never felt any connection
(15:25):
to her in any way, shape or form or any
deep love.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You know, I was just fearful of.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Ever love you once you were in Australia.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
In her way she did her demonstration of love was
to provide for us, and as an adult, Noah, I
realized how hard she worked and how much she lost
and I understand that her only way to love us
was to keep a roof over our heads, to feed
us food on the table. That was her definition of love,
and she was so exhausted and so broken herself that
(15:57):
she wasn't able to give us. Whereas I'm very demonstras
in my love. My style of love is to say
I love you and hug you and care in your eyes.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
That's me.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I'm very tactile. Mum wasn't tactile at all. So back
to your question. My whole life, I had ached for something.
I thought, Wow, you know who am I? Where do
I come from? And really little things like I I'm
very innovative, and I'm very good at problem solving, and
I I wanted to be a child psychologist. And my
mom said to me, you're a girl. You're not very smart.
(16:29):
You've never been very smart. Of course, can you be
a nurse or a teacher? So I was forced into
this way of life because Mum was a teacher. And
I always felt, well, I come from somewhere else, and
I ache for something. I don't know what it is,
and I can never find my path in who I
am unless I find out where I come from so
I had always wanted to native nature were they were
(16:53):
very very strong, and I always felt unconnected to something.
So I had always thought that I would find my
birth mother, and I've been told that she was from
the UK. So when I first started working, I started
saving because I came from really deep poverty, so I
had nothing, and I also had to pay to contribute
to rent and to my brother's schooling, and.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
So I never had any money. So I worked so
so hard.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
For many many years and put away with a goal
that I was going to go to the UK and
I was going to find my mum. So when I
was about twenty eight, I had enough to go and
move to the UK. So I met my husband and
I said to her, my moving to the UK, so
if you want to marry me, you have to come too.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
You have to come.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
And got married in the March, and we moved to
the UK in this September. He was able to get
a job and got us trans transferred over there, which
was a mat to me. It was so hard, and
that was amazing. And I hired a private detective and
I knew her name. I knew obviously where I was born,
and that was it, and she took about six weeks
and she found her. Wow, and which was as down
(18:00):
because I thought, how do you find from that name? Like,
how do you find her? And she found her? And
the way that they did the process is that they
would send a letter to her and then was Tessa
and say, look, we've got your birth daughter here. She
would love to make contact. And as I said before, Paula,
Tessa had never mentioned me ever ever, like course she
(18:21):
spoken about me again. She was married with two children,
and they had never spoken about me. She'd never told
her husband. So she said to the detective, look, it
would be so disruptive now because I was thirty, so
Tessa would have been twenty years fifty seven.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
And still she's still quite young.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, very very young. And she was like, I can't
meet her.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
It's too disruptive. It's she and I can't do it.
And I said, look, I completely respect that, but I
want to start a family. I'd love to be able
to tell my children where they come from. Is there
anything that you can send me or give me? And
she sent me these first dish of these amazing, amazing books.
Because her heritage was Lord Thomas Cochrane Stewart Who's buried
(19:06):
in Westminster Abbey between the Unknown Soldier and David Livingstone.
So beautiful, beautiful heritage of this amazing explorer who was
courageous and valiant, and this incredible family history that I
had never had. And she sent me these beautiful original books,
all the little bows and just a handwritten note saying,
you know you come from great bravery and chivalry and
(19:29):
should be really proud. And you know he's buried in
Westminster Abbey.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
You know. They a little bit about the history.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
And Who's Who book where he was in the Who's Who.
And I was just so touched because I was like wow.
And then obviously my husband and I were and visited
at the castles and went and look to the graveside, and.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I was so excited.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
I'm like, look, I've got this beautiful heritage I can
hold onto in this beautiful ly And as a thank you,
I sent her a you know those photo album books
that you put the little photos in. I put one
of me at one, you know I loved ice cream,
me at two, all the ways my wedding, and just
said thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This
is a little bit about me and when she got
(20:11):
that and saw a photo of me. So we look
exactly the same way. I have the Cochran Stuart dimple
on the left hand side.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I am.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
You know, I'm the epitome when we are together. We
looked like sisters. So she saw my photo and she said, no,
I'm going to meet her, but you have to give
me time to tell my family. So she very bravely
told her husband and my two half sisters, which was
amazing and very brave of her. And yeah, and then
they reached out and said let's meet. So Jeff met
(20:43):
her husband who wasn't my father, and they went for
a walk. And I went with the detective to her home. Wow,
and met her and the girls. And sometimes I still
take a moment to remember seeing her standing in the
door way, and she was a very tall.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
She had a real presence about her, real gravitas.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
You know, for my listeners, Jeanette is the same Jeanett.
Jeanette has a presence about her, lion main hair, amazing hair.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
You have a presence. I think we have the same.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
And I will never forget that feeling of seeing her.
And then we went inside and sat on the on
the lounge and floor, and they pulled out all their
photo albums of all the places that they had been
and lived and experienced. They lived in the Bahamash, and
they lived in they lived out in his Stonehenge, they
had traveled, lived in Kabutzer's that amazing, amazing, amazing.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Complete, complete opposite to you.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
And my mum was a painter and creative and beautiful
and a great entertainer and eloquent and amazing and passionate
and wrote and just incredible. You know, I was just
in awe. And we all sat down and had a
beautiful long lunch and played croquet on the lawn and then.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Very much.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
It was very rare, rare, and I came from such poverty,
so you know, it was the absolute extreme for me.
But they were, you know, they were warm and welcoming
and beautiful. And did you.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Feel like when you saw your mum and your half sisters,
did you straight away see oh this is family.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
I felt like that. But I was very shy. I
was very you know, I didn't know, and I think
maybe because of the extreme of figure round and yeah, yeah,
I felt very like not embarrassed, but you know, I
certainly hadn't had the background or the education or the
experiences that they had had. And I felt a little
(22:51):
bit in awe, to be honest, And also it actually
really broke me because I thought, what if I had
had all that, Imagine what I duck with my life.
And I really, I really felt an incredible sense of
loss because and not because of the wealth per per se,
(23:13):
but because of the family. They were a family. They
were full of tight joy and tight and kissing and
cuddling and experiences and joy and passion about life and
everything that.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
I had in me. Ye never been allowed to.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Hang on Jeanette. There was just lost internet connection.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Courage to be their best selves.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Sorry, it just you have to pick that up again, Jeanette,
because we lost internet connection.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Oh oh oh, honey, you got that? Where were we?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
You were just saying we'll pick up you got me?
You felt a bit sad. Yeah, where have you gone?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Yeah? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:07):
And yeah just a you okay, yeah, no, now you're
back now.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
You just went like you got me, love, I've got you,
but you went all pixelated and I lost your your
your voice.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
You got me?
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Now? Got you? Now? Yep?
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Me now? Sorry, honey. I don't know if that sounds
well we.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Just pick up, can we just pick up? Yeah? So
you felt an incredible lost what could have been?
Speaker 4 (24:36):
That's where, Yeah, complete sense of loss for what could
have been because they had had not only opportunity, but
they had been love so deeply and believed in so much.
I was envious of that, very envious of that, because
I had never felt that. I had always felt like
(25:01):
very stricted to be anything. I performed that I was
capable of being anything. And yeah, it really really broke me.
And it took me a long time to recover from
that and to find my feet in myself. But again
in big retrospect, Paula, you know, for Line Hearted one
of our first things we do in Linehearted life is
(25:23):
help women find out what their strengths are, you know,
what's there in a DNA, what makes them so incredibly special.
And that for me was my grounding. When I was
able to do that, I went back to, well, it
doesn't matter that I've lost so much and I feel
like so much opportunity and love was never there for me.
I have to find me for me and gallop strength
(25:45):
find to help me do that, and we do that
with all women now. So the first thing they do
is their gallop strengths, and then we go through an
egger guy process of you know, who are you?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
What do you love?
Speaker 4 (25:54):
So it's sort of strengths and values for purpose. And
I help all women do that now, naturally, because I
had to do that for myself because I had felt
like I had fallen off the edge of a cliff,
because I was like, well.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Who am I like? You know, where do I find?
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Who?
Speaker 4 (26:11):
I am hanging on to the loss of this beautiful
family that I ached for. And I had to start
with saying, well, all my life till I was thirty,
I'd hang I'd hung on to hoping that it would
be the answer to a question, but it actually wasn't.
I had to find I had to find it in me.
I had to come back to self. The answer wasn't
(26:31):
outside of me, which is what I was aching for
the whole time. It was actually inside of me. And
people say to me, why are you so resilient? Why
are you able to face anything? It's because I had
to come back to self and I had to rely
on self, and I had to know self, and then
I built from that to what I do, what I love,
and I did that all inside me, And now I
(26:55):
know how to do that with other women that have
experienced trauma or experienced something that broke them, is help
them come back to self and build from that to
allow them to bet you.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
For you, Genette, where your grit and resilience and came
from was within you? Because you know, I always ask
the question of my guests, where where, And it's funny
over my this is now my fourth season, and all
the interviews I've done, it's always someone who it tends
(27:28):
to come from an incredible hardship in child and then
something within.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Just doesn't come.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
You know, I sort of saying, has it come from
the parenting? And you know, and it's come from within
because and some people don't have it and some people don't. Yeah,
That's why I always ask the question.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
I know, I know, and it's so hard. You know.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
I did a lot of research on nature versus nurture
to try and understand why I was the way I was,
you know, and my my nature is joy and that
comes from inside me.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
You know.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
When I met Yes, I met the girls, that beauty
of love, that passion, that lust for life, that complete
and utter, deep seated finding the goodness in everything comes
from my DNA having messages.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Did you say contact with them?
Speaker 4 (28:23):
Yeah, well, my mom passed away. My birth mother died
at sixty. Sadly I had I had a couple of
years with her, but she passed and I don't really
keep in touch with my half sisters, maybe like social
media or but not really because they lived there. I
suppose if we went back, we would make an effort
to contact. Then they came to Australia a few times.
(28:45):
But I suppose I took from that the goodness of
who I was, and then I think the resilience came
from the nurture because I had to learn to be resilience.
I had to survive.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
I had to suffering abuse from your adult.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
You just you had to get up every day and
you had to just put one foot in front of
the other. And actually that's what she did in life,
you know, was after everything she had lost and then
she was with these you know, had these two very
traumatized children and a husband who was absent, trying to
start life all over again. You know, for her, she
had to be.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Some people, some people with your traumatic background never get
to this position where you've got no they they stay
trapped in the trauma for their entire life, whether they
turned to drugs whatever, How how do why do some
(29:53):
people go that way? And then you.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
How? I think one of my greatest strengths is learner
and one of my greatest strengths is positivity. So when
you look at what my strengths are, the way that
I see trauma or see things, I see them as
lessons to be learned, and I'm able to see it
as a positive for want of a better word. And
I think I've always had such a brain that it
(30:22):
analyzed something that happened and why did that happen? What
did I learn from it? And when I think about
line hearted, I've managed to say the terrible things that
happened to me now are of benefit because they are
a toolkit that help other women, and therefore they make
sense and they heal me. And you don't ever underestimate
every single time I do a life series or a
(30:42):
leadership series and someone says you've changed my life or
you've given me a different perspective of you've helped me
see myself. Me, a little piece of me is healed
because I go, wow, I've done that, because I know
how to do that because of what I've faced. So
I think for me, because my natural DNA is to
learn from something, to see something as a reason, hope
(31:05):
is big for me when I'm in the middle of
something that I go, I just can't get through this.
So I don't understand this. I always have a fundamental
belief that there's a lesson in it and it will
come at some stage. I hope that things will get better.
So for me, learner hope, positivity. You know, I'm a
big problem solver. So I see something and I go,
(31:26):
oh God, I can't just about solving. How do I
solve for that? And I think those natural traits make
me think I'm going to push through because you're one
hundred percent right. And you know, I love my brother
with everything that's in me. And he was adopted from
a different family, but he comes from a different, different family,
and his experience did send him down quite a difficult
(31:49):
path for quite a long time. And he and I
have had exactly the same experience. So I went through
a path of I'm going to work my hardest to
get money so I can go find my family. I'm
going to get to the high point that I can
possibly get in my career because if I do that,
I'm safe financially. I'm safe because I've in a career.
So I fought every single step of the way to
(32:11):
get to a point that I wouldn't have to experience
what I had experienced in the past, because poverty meant
abuse for me.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
In it, we lost everything.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
I was abused, So I was like, well, I have
to work really hard so I can that can.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
Never happen to me again.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
But then the universe teaches you lessons in that because
from a career perspective, I had worked so hard and
I was at the final pinnacle of my career, having
done the depth and breadth the government. I was on
my way as Deputy Director General, and I was and
I had a horrific bullying experience that can be your
home back.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of the three.
Speaker 4 (32:46):
It came back from school, it did, It came all
the way back, and you know, and when I there was.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Another lesson huge And when.
Speaker 4 (32:55):
You reflect on that, I realized that I don't walk
past the behavior. I don't access because deep trauma as
a child of not being able to have a voice.
I'm very big on everybody having a voice, So for me,
people say, how did you get through that bullying incident?
How did you go through two years of a whistle
blowing out? How did you put up with that? And
because of my traumatic childhood and my inability to have
(33:18):
a voice. When I can have a voice, it's a
very strong one.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
And I'm so.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Bad for that because I think, you know, there's something
within me, Jeanette that's the same I cannot stand up
seeing injustices, whether it be me coming from a solo parent,
you know, not now having a partner at the moment,
but but con men for example, taking advantage of Oh
(33:45):
my gosh, it gets under my skin and I do
anything to protect anything.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
And how And I'm grateful for that. And that sounds
weird because people say, God, if you could not have
had all the trauma that you have had, Because even
at this last point of trauma of sort of getting
to the pinnacle of my career and then having restrain
a trade and not being able to get a job
because I was a whistleblower, you know, I was like,
oh my God, like, how can you justify that? Like,
oh my god, I've worked so hard to get to
(34:12):
this point and now I can't get a job because
I spoke the truth. But lineharted came out of that
because women started reaching out to me and saying, look,
we're being bullied, we're very senior by a board, or
we're being bullied by can you help us? And because
I'd been through this horrific whistleblowing process and this public
interest disclosure process, I was able to help them and
(34:32):
say we'll do this and do this and don't do that,
and you need this, and you know, over the last
couple of years, we've helped a large majority of women
across the whole of Australia to either stand up against bulling, harassment,
or sexual wisconduct or to walk away and find a
job where they're safe. And then, as the proactive side
of that, I'm creating an entire army through linehunted leadership
(34:52):
of women that lead well, that keep others safe. So
as a consequence of the terrible things I've been through.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
And what was it by males?
Speaker 3 (35:03):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (35:04):
Was male's okay? Yeah, because females a little bit. In
my I've been very lucky agenderly my career. I've been
very lucky in my career. But the only time I
do feel like I was bullied was was actually a
female boss.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Yeah, and females, And that's the thing.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
I think there is a special place in hell for
female women who don't other women and I have been
bullied by female bosses. And I've been doing a lot
of research lately about what drives that, you know, almost
that concept of you know, in the olden days, women
that were different were witches and they were burnt in
the snake. Now women that are different are bullied by
other women or bullied by men, or it's this tall
(35:44):
poppy syndrome, or anyone that shines a light, or anyone
that's different, or anyone that thinks differently. There's this horrid,
horrible societal thing that stops them being their best selves.
And Lineharded is the opposite for that. We see women
for their brilliance and we wrap them around with other
women who lift them up and support them for being different,
(36:04):
for being conscious, for being intelligent, for being you know,
on the spectrum, or whatever it is. Because I think
if you can change that, then that beautiful diversity in
life will solve for some big problems we've never been
able to solve for before because we wanted everyone to
be the same. And I feel grateful for having been bullied,
(36:26):
for having been through the things that I've been through,
because I see it as because there's something really magical
about me. Because the organizations I was never bullied in
were organizations like Microsoft and Boston Consulting because they saw
me and went, oh, my god, you are incredible.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I think that you.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Are capable and amazing. And this last role where I've
been CEO, it was the best role because the board
saw me for my brilliance. I was able to be
my best self and say what about this and what
about this and bring everything I wanted to to the
table without having to pull back and think, oh, they're
going to think I'm too much. And organizations like Boston
and Microsoft liked too much. They like intelligence, they like
(37:07):
And when I thought about that poor, I thought, so
it actually wasn't me. It was me making sure I'm
working for the right organizations who allow me to be
the best that I can be. And that's a big
thing for women, because we take it all on and think, oh,
it's me, you know, that's why this is happening, because
I've done something wrong and in some cases you're just
(37:31):
astoundingly incredible and other people can't take that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Yeah, yeah, coming from my whole career in the media, like, yeah,
different to you. In corporate world, it was very male
dominated my whole early career, very I was one of
the rare females that actually got moved around very quickly
because there weren't many females. And once I got into television,
(37:59):
it was a boss that hided me and saw me
for what I had. Yeah, And it was a male,
male boss and then a female sort of second in charge,
who I still think about today because I don't know
(38:19):
what was about what it was about with me. I
just I was pretty resilient. I could tell that she was.
You know, we all used to make a bit of
jokes and stuff that was maybe a little bit blokey
or whatever you had to be to survive, right, I
don't think light in TV. When you're intellision, you have
(38:40):
to be done up, you know, I'm not very like that.
You know, your hair has to be done fair an
hour and a half and make up chair, you know,
and hair and do anything. Every day you'd come out
of work and look glamorous, you know how I look,
and then people see then people see at the supermarket
and go, oh, you see, this is how I really.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Like my real life.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
This is how I look when I do the.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
Shop with the hour and a half in the chair.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
You know she was she was yeah odd and and
said on things to my work colleagues where the little
me was had my dream job. But I'd be like,
I can't believe you just said that to someone, like
going past someone who was very good, amazing intellivision. We're
(39:28):
all very close, but it was gay, and would make
a comment about you can't do that in the workplace.
Even my little young self then at twenty six or
twenty said my whole body would be like, you know,
you can't say I had that injustice arising within me,
but I was still young. And then I ended up
(39:48):
basically getting attacked by a band in the green room
and one of the band members. So I didn't really
want to go on air and then be live with
them because it was very it was quite violent, and
it was it was sexual it was sexual assault, really,
but I didn't want to all all. My producer at
(40:09):
the time just said we need to pull the interview
because this went on. So I look at the crowd,
it's she didn't have the back she you know, when
you just be like, oh, she didn't have anyone, she
didn't have a female's back, that's for sure. You know.
I would be like, that's it, that's it, not doing that,
you know, and I'll never forget it. But she ended
(40:30):
up getting sacked.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Yeah, you know, but there is the boy there's this
boys club that's natural, and what we're trying to build
with Line Hard it is is a girls club.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
You know that women that do have other women's back, that.
Speaker 4 (40:45):
Say, you know, I don't have to pull you down
for me to be pushed up. Their city concept of
that there's only one room for one woman at the top,
and there's not right, there's and I love it. I
love it when I see someone else shine and I
see the brilliant in someone else, because I think, isn't
that incredible that she's been given an opportunity to be
her best self? And we're going to make sure that
(41:06):
she constantly sees that. You know, and your soup, you know,
you have these incredible superpowers of seeing people and being
able to ask these amazing questions. I see a woman
when she walks into linehearted for how amazing she is
and whenever someone joins up and comes to the life series,
which is our three half days, I.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Will google them. I'll spend time about them, even if
I've never met them.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Well, I can't believe how amazing you are because I
only I didn't know a lot about you, Janet. I
didn't know. I didn't know your history, your corporate history.
I didn't know your history on the Sometime Coast, you know.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
And we don't need that when we meet.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
I just saw you, but I saw you.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
I saw that.
Speaker 4 (41:45):
It's important, right, And that's what I love about gwin
Gana and going away is you're sort of stripped of
all the beauty because your hairs back and yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
And we had a beanie one.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
And we have beanies on and you just and that's
the lovely thing about line hearted as well as I
just want people to see them for their souls, for
their hearts, for their minds. I don't want people to
see people for their titles or their you know. And
I don't need to bring my experience to the table
unless I'm coaching you, or unless you're applying for a
job or you know. But in the environment where I'm
(42:16):
meeting you, it was about us building trust and telling
stories and making sure that you felt safe and as
part of this beautiful army of women around you.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
I didn't need to.
Speaker 4 (42:26):
Bring status or experience to the table. And I think
that's the thing, is that just being no.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
But there's an aura around your che there's an organ
there's a there's like a light orb around you. I
don't know what I saw. I knew had a story.
I I honestly didn't know anything about you, but I
knew there was a story there.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
A different knowing such a story such hutch, I.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
Didn't know there was going to be such hardship and abuse,
and you know, seeing your basically you know you're the
woman who raised you as a mum being murdered like
I didn't. I was sort of like I knew there
was something there his eyes. I don't know, I don't know.
I just knew. I don't know if a lot of
people meet you the first time and just get that feeling,
(43:11):
but I got it. I got it.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
I just knew that's your superpower, right.
Speaker 4 (43:15):
And that's why the minute you start speaking to me,
I open up because I trusted that because you know,
you see, you see beyond the human which what makes
you so incredible at what you do and I feel
very honored to get to have an opportunity to share
that with you for the sake of other women, you know.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
Someone you know, if someone will be listening today, that
will have come from hardship and it might just inspire
them to pull themselves out of their hole. They might
be in a hole or in a and you can it's.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
Within you, but you need to ask for help. And
again that's why for me, you know, Linehearted is that
opportunity to say, come and come and get help. Come
and get an understand of who you are and what
you're great at and what you should be doing, and
let us help you step into your power and be
your best self. And then let us create an army
around your shouldered shoulder who supports you. Know, so every
(44:11):
component of what I've done, so the protect stream is
about women who are going through bulleting, arrestment, secual misconduct.
And you can reach out privately to Line Heart. It
will help you.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
So they can reach anyone can reach you.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
It's on the website.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
You just reach out. My email and my phone number
is there. Reach out privately. We will support you either
to get your voice and help you through that process
or support you to find another job where you are safe.
That's very important. But the line hearted life, leadership and
luxury have been built on. Life is about finding yourself.
Who am I? What do I love? What am I
(44:45):
good at? What I should be doing this world? What's
my purpose? And how do I get the courage to
live the life that I desire and deserve? How do
I keep my body well? How do I keep my
mind strong? How do I bring hope back into my life?
So that's a foundation not all about self. How do
you find you? How do you find the career that
you should be doing? How do you find? And then
leadership is how do I lead well? How do you
(45:07):
lead you yourself? How do you lead your business? How
do you live your your organization? How do you lead
your people? How do you keep them safe? And then luxury,
which you came on, is you know, how do you
live with whole hearted joy? How do you you know?
We're off to Tasmania on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
I'm so jealous.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
Through Barnet Brown's wholehearted living principles, so beautiful build. So
we're doing three nights and four days a sublime and
I partner with Jane, who has a master's of gastronomy,
so she and I do all that well. She started
in France all about food and you know, plate and
(45:44):
so she helps me do the entire itinery, which is
because we luxury. It's around food and wine and being
together and and just relaxing and finding a moment to
take a breath. But figuring out how do you bring
whole hearted joy and living into your life so that
you're living a lie of the life that you wake
up every day and you really want to be a
part of, you know, because this is such a short gift,
(46:06):
this beauty.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Because it's very short and you don't know what tomorrow
will live on?
Speaker 4 (46:13):
Do not watched women change and come from into life
and cry for three days and then you know, really
find themselves and then come into leadership and start to
stand in their power and you know, build their businesses
and and do amazing things and then come into.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Luxury and just be their best selves.
Speaker 4 (46:32):
And no greater reward have I had.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
Just on a topic of you know, not knowing, there's
been times where I felt creatively stuck, you know or whatever.
Yesterday I went for a healing someone who's learning, learning
their gift of ranking and whatever. And I said, I'll
be you know, need to practice. And funnily, she said
(47:03):
all she was getting through in this healing was speak
speak speak, speak, speak speak. I'm going what she said,
They're just saying speak.
Speaker 4 (47:13):
Yeah, it is that incredible voice of yours, and it
is your voice is so powerful knowledge and so alo.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
It made me smile. It made me smile because I
was like, who's saying, speak to yours? I don't know,
They're just saying speak okay, And I love I love it.
But I've had moments where I've been, oh, you know,
I don't know whether it's self.
Speaker 4 (47:36):
Doubt or it is And often with us women it
is because we go what gives me the right to speak,
to be, to see, well, it's gift and without that,
without you using the gift, the world's missing out right.
And I just think that you have to stand in
your power and have the courage to be who you
(47:58):
were born to be. Life, you know, what a waste
of an incredible life. And as if women, we can
grab other women's hands and say, look at you.
Speaker 3 (48:07):
You're phenomenal and you're talented, and you're amazing and look
you and remind you of that.
Speaker 4 (48:13):
Then that just continues as beautiful. I had this dream
when we crewded Linehearted, this domino effect, you know, that
beautiful one hit domino and then it goes round and
around for emphas and I see that, and for me,
that's it. If we can lift a woman and let
her be your best self and then she does it
for someone else. And I watch Linehearted and they're all
doing it for each other. And these beautiful you know,
(48:37):
groups of women that have gone to the different series together,
that are just so connected and so supportive of each other,
and you know, and that domino effect is going to
go on and on and on and on forever, you know.
And it and then that heals me because I would
not be doing this today if we hadn't, if I
hadn't been adopted, if I hadn't through that trauma, if
I hadn't been bullied and seen how terrible that is
(49:00):
and what they can do to people, if I hadn't
had to have a voice in a workplace that was
strong and brave for other women's sakes, you know. And
I haven't loved a lot of those experiences.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
No, especially I don't think you would have loved the
bullying experience in.
Speaker 3 (49:17):
That No, And sometimes that still break because I.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Think it has it affected you would still affect you, wouldn't.
Speaker 4 (49:24):
Yeah, it does because often if I look at a
really amazing role on the Sunshine Coast, I'd applied for
a role of a CEO of this incredible not for
profit and I really wanted it, and I could have
done it with my eyes closed, and I got right
through to the board interview and one of the board
had spoken to someone who knew what had happened, and
that person said to them, I'll be careful.
Speaker 3 (49:46):
I wasn't.
Speaker 4 (49:50):
And I didn't. They just said, oh, you're not the
right person for the role. But of course a year
later I bumped into one of the board members and
she said she said to me, I was so disappointed
they didn't I you would have been a made the
person had said this about you. So things like that
really break me because I think it stops me getting
to do really good work. But in saying that, then
(50:11):
I put all my heart and soul into line hearted,
which I might not have done if I'd taken on
that role. So I believe that life pushes you in
the direction that you're supposed to go, and you allow
that risper to say off you go, then yeah, yeah,
and you know.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
Their loss Really I'm sorry in it, but their losses
are amazing. And if before we go, every single guest
on Pilgrid, I ask what is your your favorite like
life motto or mantra? I know, I know you would
have a lot like I.
Speaker 4 (50:47):
Do have a lot, But when when I think that
my favorite? Because I think it's the epitome of what
line Hearted is aiming for. And IGB said, if you
want to be a true professional, you will do something
outside yourself, something to repair tears in your community, something
(51:09):
to make life a little better for people less fortunate
in you. That's what I think a meaningful life is,
living not for oneself but for one's community. And I
love that because the ultimate goal of lineharted is letting
everyone be their best selves so that they can repair
tears in others and therefore repair tiers in the bigger
(51:30):
issues that we face in the world in our community.
So that domino effect for me is very much captured
in that quote of if we can help women find
their best lives, if we can help women lead well,
if we can help live women live wholehearted lives. Then
that domino effect just creates a better community and creates
a better life, and maybe then we can solve some
(51:51):
of the big problems around DV and homelessness, the things
that we face together, because women being their best selves
together ours for that right, because when women are collective,
there's no nothing.
Speaker 2 (52:05):
We can't answer it, right, and they won't stand for
DV or you know they won't. And what about a song?
What about a song?
Speaker 4 (52:14):
Now thousands but my favorite.
Speaker 2 (52:17):
Bit of even a moment in your life, or like
if someone said that those you really really well, go, oh,
that's Jeanette's song, that's me.
Speaker 4 (52:24):
Oh, that would probably be Dancing Queen because the minute
we get dance in Queen and I've to get out.
But my favorite song at the moment is Lighthouse. And
it's this beautiful song that basically says, I've got your
back and I will be there for you, and when
you're scared in the darkest hours, I will be your lighthouse.
I will be your right out when and it says
when the night gets cold and the light's going out
(52:46):
and the sun's gone behind the clouds and you feel lost,
just reach out, I will guide you home. I will
be your lighthouse and play that a lot at Linehearted,
because that's what it is. We are creating hundreds and
hundreds of lighthouses that can guide women home to themselves,
guide them home to the life that they desire, deserve,
(53:08):
guide them home to build the businesses they want that
keep other women employed and keep them safe.
Speaker 3 (53:14):
So for me, like.
Speaker 4 (53:16):
House is is a beautiful and whenever I feel down,
I will put that song on and I'll be like,
We'll be your lighthouse and we'll guide I'm.
Speaker 2 (53:23):
Going to play that. I'm going to play that.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
I'll send it to you.
Speaker 4 (53:27):
It's called Lighthouse by G G R L. I think
it is some girl band I never heard of, but
I've heard absolutely love the words.
Speaker 2 (53:36):
Thank you, Jeanette, Thank you for joining me on Pure
What an incredible story. And when we when I put
the podcast up on the socials will put I'll put
the link to Linehearted for anyone who wants to get
involved or reach out to you for maybe bullying.
Speaker 4 (53:54):
Yep, yep, yep, so misconduct in the workplace. We now
have an incredible army of pro bono lawyers and consultants
and counselors and well beingsalists and who all give their
time and energy to help the woman through that process.
Because those are things that I needed that I didn't have.
(54:14):
So you are facing something you can't face right now,
we're here and we've got you. Or if you just
need to discover your best self, we've got you too.
Or if you need an army of women shoulder to shoulder.
Speaker 2 (54:27):
You've got to You've got to reach out to Jeanette
and I. When I put a photo up with the podcast,
you wait, you see Jeanette's amazing hair, my lines made,
She's got total lines made. Incredible.
Speaker 4 (54:43):
I love you, beautiful heart, Thank you for seeing me,
Thank you for such thank.
Speaker 2 (54:47):
You for your amazing story, and I look forward to
seeing you again in person.
Speaker 3 (54:53):
I can't wait. Miss you muchly, and good luck with Tasmania.
Speaker 2 (54:58):
And I wish I was coming. I've never been test
you were coming.
Speaker 3 (55:02):
Going to be extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (55:03):
And one of our line holed ladies has moved back
there now, so she's going to be our tour guide.
Speaker 3 (55:08):
So it's going to be amazing.
Speaker 2 (55:11):
Oh well, very jealous on that note. Thank you, Jeanette,
Thanks for joining me on Pure Grit Thanks for your
amazing story.
Speaker 3 (55:17):
Love you, Charles.
Speaker 1 (55:21):
Well there you go. Thanks for listening to Pure Grit
with Paul McGrath. Now the web guard has been a
very busy boy. You can now visit the website pure
grit dot com dot au, search Pure Grip podcast on
Facebook and Instagram for the fun behind the scenes stuff.
And I was wondering why Paul had started wearing makeup.
Turns out all the chats are now on YouTube as well,
so make sure you give that a subscribe.
Welcome to Pure Grit with Paula McGrath. If you search
the word grit, you'd see that it means to have courage,
show strength of character, passion, and perseverance. Throughout the series,
paul chat to guest from all walks of life who
have shown pure grit to get to where they are now. Paula, Paula, Yeah, look,
(00:26):
he looks fine. I've done the intro, so ready for
you to talk now? Yeah, you do your talking things.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Welcome to another episode of Pure Grit. My guest today
is an incredible woman, an award winning woman awards such
as just a Little One is like this, Global Woman
of Influence Award twenty twenty four, awards like Telstra Businesswoman's Award.
In the public sector, she's astute businesswoman. Currently she works
for a nonprofit organization promoting multiculturism, access equity, social justice
(00:59):
as the interest and CEO. Amazing Yeah, just a little,
a little. Not only has she worked for the government
federal departments. With her extensive experience, she founded a national
enterprise called the Lion Heart Foundation, which she is incredibly
passionate about changing the face of leadership and bringing women
together to help empower each other and changing, you know,
(01:21):
changing the face of leadership. I had a rare moment
where I had time not being a solo mum. My
son was away overseas visiting his dad. So I took
a chance and I went and on this weekend where
I got to meet my guest. She's a mother too
and a wife. But I went to a place called Gwingana,
(01:43):
and I've been out of my comfort zone. I just went, yeah,
I'm going to go. It's a health retreat. I thought,
I'm going to go and meet all these women. And
then I saw this leader of Lineheartened and I was
drawn to her, but not She's got this mad lion
main hair, this incredible hair. She looks like, you know,
(02:04):
she's the leader of Lionhard Foundation. And I just had
this feeling this woman has a love story. I don't
know what. I didn't know what, but was I right.
There is a life story behind this woman that I
couldn't wait to share with my audience on Pure Grit.
Please welcome Jeanette alum Hill to Pure Grit.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Lovely.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Thank you, Paula, what a glorious intro, beautiful heart, thank
you for having me. I'm very honored to be on
the Pure Grit podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well here you are. Why I want to know why.
As I said, I met you at one of your
Lionhearted weekend retreats. I haven't been to you do these workshops,
which lots of we would go to all over the country,
especially I've seen them here on the Sunshine Coast. I
(02:54):
see that those ones advertised. But now I see you
going to incredible weekends in Tasmania and I wish I
could go. But I took a chance and I went
to gwin Gana, which was amazing, beautiful food, beautiful looking
back over the Gold Coastintilanta was it was incredible. But Jeanette,
(03:14):
I saw you as the leader of Wine Hearted. But
I knew you had a story. I don't know how,
I don't know. I call it my third eye. I
just I just sensed you had an incredible story and
was I right? And I started talking to you there
(03:35):
and questioning you as I do, and everyone will know
that that's what I do. I just go tell me
about you. So you Let's start at the beginning your childhood. Yes,
where you were born?
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Yeah, So I was born to a nineteen year old
mother in South Africa. She came from a very prestigious family,
and it was a little bit of a disgrace. It
was way back in nineteen seventy when I think those
things were a disgrace on two year old. Yes, I
know so the same I think I'm wise. Let it
be said, we're going to go for wise instead of no,
(04:12):
you're not. And she was sent away throughout her pregnancy,
and when she and she went into labor where she
woke up in the morning, I was gone. She was
sent away, as I suppose punishment, so that and I
was never spoken about ever again. She was sent away,
she came back home, and no one ever spoke to
(04:33):
me again. So I was sent to an orphanage in Pretoria,
and I was there for about six weeks. And a
missionary couple who'd been waiting fourteen years when you all
and said, we have a six week your old baby girl.
Would you like her in a week's time? So bless them,
they had to run around and all the people in
the mission field gave them all the beautiful baby things
(04:54):
so that they have a baby room. And they came
and picked me up. And I lived in Johannesburg on
the outskirt of Zuda Land. My father would spend a
lot of time in Zulu Land with the as a missionary,
and my mother was a teacher, so we didn't really
have a huge amount of time with Mum and dad.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
They both worked really, really hard.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
When I was five, I decided that I wanted a
baby brother, so Mum and Dad again put in for
adoption and managed to get the most magnificent two year
old little boy called Malcolm, who's now much.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Taller than me and much bossier than me.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
But for many, many years I used to put him
in my pram and push him out of the house
and tell him exactly what to do. So Malcolm had
a very idyllic childhood. We were brought up by a
black nanny, the beautiful Maggie, who we used to love
to call Maggie Mu. And she was everything that you
were a black nanny to be. She was large and joyful,
(05:48):
and she rodess, and I would say she would have
been in her late thirties maybe yep, so young, so young.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, she had.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Young children of her own, and we I certainly thought
Maggie was my mother, and I often laugh now when
I work in big multicultural organizations.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I don't see different colors or.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Races to be human, And I think I thank my
childhood for that, because I never saw anything besides just
love for her and her love for us. So we
had a pretty idyllic time for a period of a
couple of years. And then in nineteen seventy six during
the Suweto riots, where rightly so black Salvings have been
(06:31):
told that they had to learn Afrikaans in school, so
they were huge, huge riots and lots of killing. Father
got stuck in the mission field, my mother was stuck
at school and we were at home with Maggie, and
the black extremist groups thought my father was working very
closely with Nandela because he was in zululand so there
was some big tension there with our family that has
(06:53):
young children, you know, five and seven. We had absolutely
no idea about whatsoever. While mom and dad were away,
a group of black extremists charged into our house and
they gang raped Maggie and killed her in front of
Malcolm and I and Yeah, that night, Mum and Dad
came home and we slept in the church. We left
(07:16):
absolutely everything besides a suitcase, and Mum and Dad packed
whatever they could. They had five thousand rand, which is
not a lot of money, and Wesley Central Mission got
us out the next day and flew us to Australia.
But we were homeless. Obviously, we had absolutely nothing, and
they put us in a homeless shelter out in lang Cove.
(07:36):
And as a consequence, my mum had not that I
knew at that age, but a pretty huge nervous breakdown,
and as a consequence of that, our life from then
on became relatively emotionally and physically abusive. My dad had
to work for Wesley Central Mission during the day and
had to study at night to be a tax accountant
to try and bring money, and Mum had to go
(07:57):
and teach.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Of what you and Malcolm were suffering.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
I think so, But I think for him and my
dad was a beautiful human it was survival because he
knew that in order to start our lives again. And
my mum was in her early forties, as was Dad,
and you know, they had lost absolutely everything, and I
think that Dad was just focused on trying to get
(08:25):
a proper roof over our heads because we didn't. We
were being looked after by Wesley Central Mission, and you know,
Dad's ultimate goal was to try and get another incoming
or a career, because you can't really.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Be a missionary in Australia.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I suppose a career that allowed him to put a
roof over our heads. So he worked for many, many
years and studied at night, and Mum had to go
and teach out at Lipcombe and we were in lane Cove,
so it was a really long commute for her, and
she used to take Malcolm and I we would sit
under the desk while she would teach. So yeah, we
it was a pretty horrific change for us from the
(09:03):
love of Maggie and the.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Beg How did you a Malcolm recover from or even
I don't know, we're from seeing Maggie eat.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I think, child, you lock things out like I don't.
For me now as an adult there are moments if
I have a bad dream or something, I will remember
some of the visuals.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
But you see it anymore as a child. No, I
don't think. I did.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
I think when you come to the realization of what
happens as an adult, mostly because I realized what that
trauma had done to me as an adult. But we
went from extreme trauma to extreme trauma. So his mum
was very very abusive physically and mentally. We were sent
to a private school and it was quite an elite
(09:50):
school because we were given a scholarship. So I was
bullied very very very badly by a bunch of girls
because my parents were really religious, so we didn't have
anything at home, no music, no TV. So I was
very very ostracized because I didn't I wasn't a young
teenage girl.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That stood any Yeah, you didn't know that, and I
didn't know, so I sort of bullying did they do
to you?
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Oh? They were well, mostly because we were so poor.
So I was teased incredibly about being so poor. I
teased more so than I didn't understand the music or
I didn't have the fashion. But they would be very
deliberate in their bullying. So one time they invited me
away to their farm because they were all very wealthy,
and they made me sleep outside and just terribly terrible.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
They set up a boy to.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I hope that they're listening, and I hope I don't
know where they would be terrible. Yeah, no, but you
know what that they're women now and they will remember that. Yeah,
and I remember that.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
You know, Line Hearted has come flying had a fantashion
has come from so much trauma in me and the
trauma of wanting to keep other women, you know, even
at an older age. Now we do a lot of
work and making sure that women get to be exactly
who they are and they get to be appreciated for
who they are and not bullied for the differences that
people see in them. So I feel like, in retrospect,
(11:14):
many years later, the things that all that trauma and
that bullying taught me to really put everything that I've
got into making sure that women are seen for how
amazing they are and not how different they are, and
not allowing what other women or other people think of
them to impact their brilliance and how great they can be.
(11:35):
And you know, that's driven a.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Lot of hearing that bullying incident for you at an
elite school. It was a couple of years ago, I
don't know, if you know, on the Sunshine Coast, some
girls invited a girl to a party and they she
kowed her, and yeah, same thing where she would have
thought I'm getting invited.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
To her get invited.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Really, it's just horrific, Like, how how as those girls parents?
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Yeah exactly, now do you and I suppose one of
the things I've learned in non judgment through the years,
because when you go through what I've been through in
my life, there is an element of judgment of how
can you be such a horrible human being? How could
you have done that to me as a mother?
Speaker 3 (12:20):
You know?
Speaker 4 (12:20):
And I had to go through a real healing period
my mom and he died last year and I had
to go through an incredible healing period of forgiveness, of
seeking first to understand, of curiosity, and you know, much
later in life, I found out that she had been
sexually abused as a child and then as a result,
didn't want to have children, could actually physically have children,
(12:42):
but refuse to.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Have She did she could have kids.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Could and I only found that out years and years
and years later that she had chosen not to have Yeah,
you know, I didn't understand.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
But did she feel like did you feel like she
had you both?
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I felt like she didn't love us. I feel like
that that the trauma of when when we're in South
Africa and we were safe and we're being brought up
by Maggie and we were ass and everybody was happy,
and she had beautiful friends around her.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
We were just beautiful kids.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Right, But then after the trauma, my brother had lots
of traumatic responses for many years to come, and she
would be very, very frustrated by that. And I think
that just everything on top of, you know, losing everything
in her life that she loved because she was very
South African and very used to that lifestyle and having
(13:36):
to come of here. She didn't drive, she didn't cook,
she didn't clean, and she had two very traumatized children
in different ways. You know, I hid from the trauma.
My brother reacted from the trauma, and I think she
just didn't feel anything for either or us and did
her absence.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Didn't have the capacity to film.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Yeah, and I'm a very and I met my birth
mother and it was funny, like the two were not funny,
but interesting. The two of them met at my son's christening.
My my adopted mother flew out and met my birth mother.
And you know what, Paula, you couldn't have put two
different women in a room if you tried, not.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So how did you find your birth mother?
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (14:21):
That was a story in itself so well, because.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I know there's a story behind the story, Like where
your life path you just don't notice, like where your
life path goes. Actually, were all know, you.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Don't know, you don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
What something something rise up, and I just want to
meet my.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
I had always Paula the minute my parents had told
me I was adopted, which was very young, you know,
they said, you know you adopted. They never keep in that, remember.
But I think because of the trauma of what happened
to us and moving and then how away I felt
from mum, I could never understand why she was always
so angry and why she beat us, and why she
(15:05):
was always so mad at us, and she was always
making us. We would work morning, noon and night, so
we would come home. We would garden till really late.
We would have to you know, we would clean. You know,
we were basically the servants of which she had been
used to. So you know, I never, I suppose, I
never felt any joy, and I never felt any connection
(15:25):
to her in any way, shape or form or any
deep love.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
You know, I was just fearful of.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Ever love you once you were in Australia.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
In her way she did her demonstration of love was
to provide for us, and as an adult, Noah, I
realized how hard she worked and how much she lost
and I understand that her only way to love us
was to keep a roof over our heads, to feed
us food on the table. That was her definition of love,
and she was so exhausted and so broken herself that
(15:57):
she wasn't able to give us. Whereas I'm very demonstras
in my love. My style of love is to say
I love you and hug you and care in your eyes.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
That's me.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I'm very tactile. Mum wasn't tactile at all. So back
to your question. My whole life, I had ached for something.
I thought, Wow, you know who am I? Where do
I come from? And really little things like I I'm
very innovative, and I'm very good at problem solving, and
I I wanted to be a child psychologist. And my
mom said to me, you're a girl. You're not very smart.
(16:29):
You've never been very smart. Of course, can you be
a nurse or a teacher? So I was forced into
this way of life because Mum was a teacher. And
I always felt, well, I come from somewhere else, and
I ache for something. I don't know what it is,
and I can never find my path in who I
am unless I find out where I come from so
I had always wanted to native nature were they were
(16:53):
very very strong, and I always felt unconnected to something.
So I had always thought that I would find my
birth mother, and I've been told that she was from
the UK. So when I first started working, I started
saving because I came from really deep poverty, so I
had nothing, and I also had to pay to contribute
to rent and to my brother's schooling, and.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
So I never had any money. So I worked so
so hard.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
For many many years and put away with a goal
that I was going to go to the UK and
I was going to find my mum. So when I
was about twenty eight, I had enough to go and
move to the UK. So I met my husband and
I said to her, my moving to the UK, so
if you want to marry me, you have to come too.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
You have to come.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
And got married in the March, and we moved to
the UK in this September. He was able to get
a job and got us trans transferred over there, which
was a mat to me. It was so hard, and
that was amazing. And I hired a private detective and
I knew her name. I knew obviously where I was born,
and that was it, and she took about six weeks
and she found her. Wow, and which was as down
(18:00):
because I thought, how do you find from that name? Like,
how do you find her? And she found her? And
the way that they did the process is that they
would send a letter to her and then was Tessa
and say, look, we've got your birth daughter here. She
would love to make contact. And as I said before, Paula,
Tessa had never mentioned me ever ever, like course she
(18:21):
spoken about me again. She was married with two children,
and they had never spoken about me. She'd never told
her husband. So she said to the detective, look, it
would be so disruptive now because I was thirty, so
Tessa would have been twenty years fifty seven.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
And still she's still quite young.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, very very young. And she was like, I can't
meet her.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
It's too disruptive. It's she and I can't do it.
And I said, look, I completely respect that, but I
want to start a family. I'd love to be able
to tell my children where they come from. Is there
anything that you can send me or give me? And
she sent me these first dish of these amazing, amazing books.
Because her heritage was Lord Thomas Cochrane Stewart Who's buried
(19:06):
in Westminster Abbey between the Unknown Soldier and David Livingstone.
So beautiful, beautiful heritage of this amazing explorer who was
courageous and valiant, and this incredible family history that I
had never had. And she sent me these beautiful original books,
all the little bows and just a handwritten note saying,
you know you come from great bravery and chivalry and
(19:29):
should be really proud. And you know he's buried in
Westminster Abbey.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
You know. They a little bit about the history.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
And Who's Who book where he was in the Who's Who.
And I was just so touched because I was like wow.
And then obviously my husband and I were and visited
at the castles and went and look to the graveside, and.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I was so excited.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
I'm like, look, I've got this beautiful heritage I can
hold onto in this beautiful ly And as a thank you,
I sent her a you know those photo album books
that you put the little photos in. I put one
of me at one, you know I loved ice cream,
me at two, all the ways my wedding, and just
said thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This
is a little bit about me and when she got
(20:11):
that and saw a photo of me. So we look
exactly the same way. I have the Cochran Stuart dimple
on the left hand side.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I am.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
You know, I'm the epitome when we are together. We
looked like sisters. So she saw my photo and she said, no,
I'm going to meet her, but you have to give
me time to tell my family. So she very bravely
told her husband and my two half sisters, which was
amazing and very brave of her. And yeah, and then
they reached out and said let's meet. So Jeff met
(20:43):
her husband who wasn't my father, and they went for
a walk. And I went with the detective to her home. Wow,
and met her and the girls. And sometimes I still
take a moment to remember seeing her standing in the
door way, and she was a very tall.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
She had a real presence about her, real gravitas.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
You know, for my listeners, Jeanette is the same Jeanett.
Jeanette has a presence about her, lion main hair, amazing hair.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
You have a presence. I think we have the same.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
And I will never forget that feeling of seeing her.
And then we went inside and sat on the on
the lounge and floor, and they pulled out all their
photo albums of all the places that they had been
and lived and experienced. They lived in the Bahamash, and
they lived in they lived out in his Stonehenge, they
had traveled, lived in Kabutzer's that amazing, amazing, amazing.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Complete, complete opposite to you.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
And my mum was a painter and creative and beautiful
and a great entertainer and eloquent and amazing and passionate
and wrote and just incredible. You know, I was just
in awe. And we all sat down and had a
beautiful long lunch and played croquet on the lawn and then.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
Very much.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
It was very rare, rare, and I came from such poverty,
so you know, it was the absolute extreme for me.
But they were, you know, they were warm and welcoming
and beautiful. And did you.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Feel like when you saw your mum and your half sisters,
did you straight away see oh this is family.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
I felt like that. But I was very shy. I
was very you know, I didn't know, and I think
maybe because of the extreme of figure round and yeah, yeah,
I felt very like not embarrassed, but you know, I
certainly hadn't had the background or the education or the
experiences that they had had. And I felt a little
(22:51):
bit in awe, to be honest, And also it actually
really broke me because I thought, what if I had
had all that, Imagine what I duck with my life.
And I really, I really felt an incredible sense of
loss because and not because of the wealth per per se,
(23:13):
but because of the family. They were a family. They
were full of tight joy and tight and kissing and
cuddling and experiences and joy and passion about life and
everything that.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
I had in me. Ye never been allowed to.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Hang on Jeanette. There was just lost internet connection.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Courage to be their best selves.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Sorry, it just you have to pick that up again, Jeanette,
because we lost internet connection.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Oh oh oh, honey, you got that? Where were we?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
You were just saying we'll pick up you got me?
You felt a bit sad. Yeah, where have you gone?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Yeah? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:07):
And yeah just a you okay, yeah, no, now you're
back now.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
You just went like you got me, love, I've got you,
but you went all pixelated and I lost your your
your voice.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
You got me?
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Now? Got you? Now? Yep?
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Me now? Sorry, honey. I don't know if that sounds
well we.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Just pick up, can we just pick up? Yeah? So
you felt an incredible lost what could have been?
Speaker 4 (24:36):
That's where, Yeah, complete sense of loss for what could
have been because they had had not only opportunity, but
they had been love so deeply and believed in so much.
I was envious of that, very envious of that, because
I had never felt that. I had always felt like
(25:01):
very stricted to be anything. I performed that I was
capable of being anything. And yeah, it really really broke me.
And it took me a long time to recover from
that and to find my feet in myself. But again
in big retrospect, Paula, you know, for Line Hearted one
of our first things we do in Linehearted life is
(25:23):
help women find out what their strengths are, you know,
what's there in a DNA, what makes them so incredibly special.
And that for me was my grounding. When I was
able to do that, I went back to, well, it
doesn't matter that I've lost so much and I feel
like so much opportunity and love was never there for me.
I have to find me for me and gallop strength
(25:45):
find to help me do that, and we do that
with all women now. So the first thing they do
is their gallop strengths, and then we go through an
egger guy process of you know, who are you?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
What do you love?
Speaker 4 (25:54):
So it's sort of strengths and values for purpose. And
I help all women do that now, naturally, because I
had to do that for myself because I had felt
like I had fallen off the edge of a cliff,
because I was like, well.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Who am I like? You know, where do I find?
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Who?
Speaker 4 (26:11):
I am hanging on to the loss of this beautiful
family that I ached for. And I had to start
with saying, well, all my life till I was thirty,
I'd hang I'd hung on to hoping that it would
be the answer to a question, but it actually wasn't.
I had to find I had to find it in me.
I had to come back to self. The answer wasn't
(26:31):
outside of me, which is what I was aching for
the whole time. It was actually inside of me. And
people say to me, why are you so resilient? Why
are you able to face anything? It's because I had
to come back to self and I had to rely
on self, and I had to know self, and then
I built from that to what I do, what I love,
and I did that all inside me, And now I
(26:55):
know how to do that with other women that have
experienced trauma or experienced something that broke them, is help
them come back to self and build from that to
allow them to bet you.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
For you, Genette, where your grit and resilience and came
from was within you? Because you know, I always ask
the question of my guests, where where, And it's funny
over my this is now my fourth season, and all
the interviews I've done, it's always someone who it tends
(27:28):
to come from an incredible hardship in child and then
something within.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Just doesn't come.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
You know, I sort of saying, has it come from
the parenting? And you know, and it's come from within
because and some people don't have it and some people don't. Yeah,
That's why I always ask the question.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
I know, I know, and it's so hard. You know.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
I did a lot of research on nature versus nurture
to try and understand why I was the way I was,
you know, and my my nature is joy and that
comes from inside me.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
You know.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
When I met Yes, I met the girls, that beauty
of love, that passion, that lust for life, that complete
and utter, deep seated finding the goodness in everything comes
from my DNA having messages.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Did you say contact with them?
Speaker 4 (28:23):
Yeah, well, my mom passed away. My birth mother died
at sixty. Sadly I had I had a couple of
years with her, but she passed and I don't really
keep in touch with my half sisters, maybe like social
media or but not really because they lived there. I
suppose if we went back, we would make an effort
to contact. Then they came to Australia a few times.
(28:45):
But I suppose I took from that the goodness of
who I was, and then I think the resilience came
from the nurture because I had to learn to be resilience.
I had to survive.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
I had to suffering abuse from your adult.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
You just you had to get up every day and
you had to just put one foot in front of
the other. And actually that's what she did in life,
you know, was after everything she had lost and then
she was with these you know, had these two very
traumatized children and a husband who was absent, trying to
start life all over again. You know, for her, she
had to be.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Some people, some people with your traumatic background never get
to this position where you've got no they they stay
trapped in the trauma for their entire life, whether they
turned to drugs whatever, How how do why do some
(29:53):
people go that way? And then you.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
How? I think one of my greatest strengths is learner
and one of my greatest strengths is positivity. So when
you look at what my strengths are, the way that
I see trauma or see things, I see them as
lessons to be learned, and I'm able to see it
as a positive for want of a better word. And
I think I've always had such a brain that it
(30:22):
analyzed something that happened and why did that happen? What
did I learn from it? And when I think about
line hearted, I've managed to say the terrible things that
happened to me now are of benefit because they are
a toolkit that help other women, and therefore they make
sense and they heal me. And you don't ever underestimate
every single time I do a life series or a
(30:42):
leadership series and someone says you've changed my life or
you've given me a different perspective of you've helped me
see myself. Me, a little piece of me is healed
because I go, wow, I've done that, because I know
how to do that because of what I've faced. So
I think for me, because my natural DNA is to
learn from something, to see something as a reason, hope
(31:05):
is big for me when I'm in the middle of
something that I go, I just can't get through this.
So I don't understand this. I always have a fundamental
belief that there's a lesson in it and it will
come at some stage. I hope that things will get better.
So for me, learner hope, positivity. You know, I'm a
big problem solver. So I see something and I go,
(31:26):
oh God, I can't just about solving. How do I
solve for that? And I think those natural traits make
me think I'm going to push through because you're one
hundred percent right. And you know, I love my brother
with everything that's in me. And he was adopted from
a different family, but he comes from a different, different family,
and his experience did send him down quite a difficult
(31:49):
path for quite a long time. And he and I
have had exactly the same experience. So I went through
a path of I'm going to work my hardest to
get money so I can go find my family. I'm
going to get to the high point that I can
possibly get in my career because if I do that,
I'm safe financially. I'm safe because I've in a career.
So I fought every single step of the way to
(32:11):
get to a point that I wouldn't have to experience
what I had experienced in the past, because poverty meant
abuse for me.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
In it, we lost everything.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
I was abused, So I was like, well, I have
to work really hard so I can that can.
Speaker 3 (32:24):
Never happen to me again.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
But then the universe teaches you lessons in that because
from a career perspective, I had worked so hard and
I was at the final pinnacle of my career, having
done the depth and breadth the government. I was on
my way as Deputy Director General, and I was and
I had a horrific bullying experience that can be your
home back.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of the three.
Speaker 4 (32:46):
It came back from school, it did, It came all
the way back, and you know, and when I there was.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Another lesson huge And when.
Speaker 4 (32:55):
You reflect on that, I realized that I don't walk
past the behavior. I don't access because deep trauma as
a child of not being able to have a voice.
I'm very big on everybody having a voice, So for me,
people say, how did you get through that bullying incident?
How did you go through two years of a whistle
blowing out? How did you put up with that? And
because of my traumatic childhood and my inability to have
(33:18):
a voice. When I can have a voice, it's a
very strong one.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
And I'm so.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Bad for that because I think, you know, there's something
within me, Jeanette that's the same I cannot stand up
seeing injustices, whether it be me coming from a solo parent,
you know, not now having a partner at the moment,
but but con men for example, taking advantage of Oh
(33:45):
my gosh, it gets under my skin and I do
anything to protect anything.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
And how And I'm grateful for that. And that sounds
weird because people say, God, if you could not have
had all the trauma that you have had, Because even
at this last point of trauma of sort of getting
to the pinnacle of my career and then having restrain
a trade and not being able to get a job
because I was a whistleblower, you know, I was like,
oh my God, like, how can you justify that? Like,
oh my god, I've worked so hard to get to
(34:12):
this point and now I can't get a job because
I spoke the truth. But lineharted came out of that
because women started reaching out to me and saying, look,
we're being bullied, we're very senior by a board, or
we're being bullied by can you help us? And because
I'd been through this horrific whistleblowing process and this public
interest disclosure process, I was able to help them and
(34:32):
say we'll do this and do this and don't do that,
and you need this, and you know, over the last
couple of years, we've helped a large majority of women
across the whole of Australia to either stand up against bulling, harassment,
or sexual wisconduct or to walk away and find a
job where they're safe. And then, as the proactive side
of that, I'm creating an entire army through linehunted leadership
(34:52):
of women that lead well, that keep others safe. So
as a consequence of the terrible things I've been through.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
And what was it by males?
Speaker 3 (35:03):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (35:04):
Was male's okay? Yeah, because females a little bit. In
my I've been very lucky agenderly my career. I've been
very lucky in my career. But the only time I
do feel like I was bullied was was actually a
female boss.
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Yeah, and females, And that's the thing.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
I think there is a special place in hell for
female women who don't other women and I have been
bullied by female bosses. And I've been doing a lot
of research lately about what drives that, you know, almost
that concept of you know, in the olden days, women
that were different were witches and they were burnt in
the snake. Now women that are different are bullied by
other women or bullied by men, or it's this tall
(35:44):
poppy syndrome, or anyone that shines a light, or anyone
that's different, or anyone that thinks differently. There's this horrid,
horrible societal thing that stops them being their best selves.
And Lineharded is the opposite for that. We see women
for their brilliance and we wrap them around with other
women who lift them up and support them for being different,
(36:04):
for being conscious, for being intelligent, for being you know,
on the spectrum, or whatever it is. Because I think
if you can change that, then that beautiful diversity in
life will solve for some big problems we've never been
able to solve for before because we wanted everyone to
be the same. And I feel grateful for having been bullied,
(36:26):
for having been through the things that I've been through,
because I see it as because there's something really magical
about me. Because the organizations I was never bullied in
were organizations like Microsoft and Boston Consulting because they saw
me and went, oh, my god, you are incredible.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I think that you.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Are capable and amazing. And this last role where I've
been CEO, it was the best role because the board
saw me for my brilliance. I was able to be
my best self and say what about this and what
about this and bring everything I wanted to to the
table without having to pull back and think, oh, they're
going to think I'm too much. And organizations like Boston
and Microsoft liked too much. They like intelligence, they like
(37:07):
And when I thought about that poor, I thought, so
it actually wasn't me. It was me making sure I'm
working for the right organizations who allow me to be
the best that I can be. And that's a big
thing for women, because we take it all on and think, oh,
it's me, you know, that's why this is happening, because
I've done something wrong and in some cases you're just
(37:31):
astoundingly incredible and other people can't take that.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Yeah, yeah, coming from my whole career in the media, like, yeah,
different to you. In corporate world, it was very male
dominated my whole early career, very I was one of
the rare females that actually got moved around very quickly
because there weren't many females. And once I got into television,
(37:59):
it was a boss that hided me and saw me
for what I had. Yeah, And it was a male,
male boss and then a female sort of second in charge,
who I still think about today because I don't know
(38:19):
what was about what it was about with me. I
just I was pretty resilient. I could tell that she was.
You know, we all used to make a bit of
jokes and stuff that was maybe a little bit blokey
or whatever you had to be to survive, right, I
don't think light in TV. When you're intellision, you have
(38:40):
to be done up, you know, I'm not very like that.
You know, your hair has to be done fair an
hour and a half and make up chair, you know,
and hair and do anything. Every day you'd come out
of work and look glamorous, you know how I look,
and then people see then people see at the supermarket
and go, oh, you see, this is how I really.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Like my real life.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
This is how I look when I do the.
Speaker 3 (39:03):
Shop with the hour and a half in the chair.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
You know she was she was yeah odd and and
said on things to my work colleagues where the little
me was had my dream job. But I'd be like,
I can't believe you just said that to someone, like
going past someone who was very good, amazing intellivision. We're
(39:28):
all very close, but it was gay, and would make
a comment about you can't do that in the workplace.
Even my little young self then at twenty six or
twenty said my whole body would be like, you know,
you can't say I had that injustice arising within me,
but I was still young. And then I ended up
(39:48):
basically getting attacked by a band in the green room
and one of the band members. So I didn't really
want to go on air and then be live with
them because it was very it was quite violent, and
it was it was sexual it was sexual assault, really,
but I didn't want to all all. My producer at
(40:09):
the time just said we need to pull the interview
because this went on. So I look at the crowd,
it's she didn't have the back she you know, when
you just be like, oh, she didn't have anyone, she
didn't have a female's back, that's for sure. You know.
I would be like, that's it, that's it, not doing that,
you know, and I'll never forget it. But she ended
(40:30):
up getting sacked.
Speaker 4 (40:32):
Yeah, you know, but there is the boy there's this
boys club that's natural, and what we're trying to build
with Line Hard it is is a girls club.
Speaker 3 (40:41):
You know that women that do have other women's back, that.
Speaker 4 (40:45):
Say, you know, I don't have to pull you down
for me to be pushed up. Their city concept of
that there's only one room for one woman at the top,
and there's not right, there's and I love it. I
love it when I see someone else shine and I
see the brilliant in someone else, because I think, isn't
that incredible that she's been given an opportunity to be
her best self? And we're going to make sure that
(41:06):
she constantly sees that. You know, and your soup, you know,
you have these incredible superpowers of seeing people and being
able to ask these amazing questions. I see a woman
when she walks into linehearted for how amazing she is
and whenever someone joins up and comes to the life series,
which is our three half days, I.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Will google them. I'll spend time about them, even if
I've never met them.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Well, I can't believe how amazing you are because I
only I didn't know a lot about you, Janet. I
didn't know. I didn't know your history, your corporate history.
I didn't know your history on the Sometime Coast, you know.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
And we don't need that when we meet.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
I just saw you, but I saw you.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
I saw that.
Speaker 4 (41:45):
It's important, right, And that's what I love about gwin
Gana and going away is you're sort of stripped of
all the beauty because your hairs back and yeah.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
And we had a beanie one.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
And we have beanies on and you just and that's
the lovely thing about line hearted as well as I
just want people to see them for their souls, for
their hearts, for their minds. I don't want people to
see people for their titles or their you know. And
I don't need to bring my experience to the table
unless I'm coaching you, or unless you're applying for a
job or you know. But in the environment where I'm
(42:16):
meeting you, it was about us building trust and telling
stories and making sure that you felt safe and as
part of this beautiful army of women around you.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
I didn't need to.
Speaker 4 (42:26):
Bring status or experience to the table. And I think
that's the thing, is that just being no.
Speaker 2 (42:31):
But there's an aura around your che there's an organ
there's a there's like a light orb around you. I
don't know what I saw. I knew had a story.
I I honestly didn't know anything about you, but I
knew there was a story there.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
A different knowing such a story such hutch, I.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
Didn't know there was going to be such hardship and abuse,
and you know, seeing your basically you know you're the
woman who raised you as a mum being murdered like
I didn't. I was sort of like I knew there
was something there his eyes. I don't know, I don't know.
I just knew. I don't know if a lot of
people meet you the first time and just get that feeling,
(43:11):
but I got it. I got it.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
I just knew that's your superpower, right.
Speaker 4 (43:15):
And that's why the minute you start speaking to me,
I open up because I trusted that because you know,
you see, you see beyond the human which what makes
you so incredible at what you do and I feel
very honored to get to have an opportunity to share
that with you for the sake of other women, you know.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
Someone you know, if someone will be listening today, that
will have come from hardship and it might just inspire
them to pull themselves out of their hole. They might
be in a hole or in a and you can it's.
Speaker 4 (43:49):
Within you, but you need to ask for help. And
again that's why for me, you know, Linehearted is that
opportunity to say, come and come and get help. Come
and get an understand of who you are and what
you're great at and what you should be doing, and
let us help you step into your power and be
your best self. And then let us create an army
around your shouldered shoulder who supports you. Know, so every
(44:11):
component of what I've done, so the protect stream is
about women who are going through bulleting, arrestment, secual misconduct.
And you can reach out privately to Line Heart. It
will help you.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
So they can reach anyone can reach you.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
It's on the website.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
You just reach out. My email and my phone number
is there. Reach out privately. We will support you either
to get your voice and help you through that process
or support you to find another job where you are safe.
That's very important. But the line hearted life, leadership and
luxury have been built on. Life is about finding yourself.
Who am I? What do I love? What am I
(44:45):
good at? What I should be doing this world? What's
my purpose? And how do I get the courage to
live the life that I desire and deserve? How do
I keep my body well? How do I keep my
mind strong? How do I bring hope back into my life?
So that's a foundation not all about self. How do
you find you? How do you find the career that
you should be doing? How do you find? And then
leadership is how do I lead well? How do you
(45:07):
lead you yourself? How do you lead your business? How
do you live your your organization? How do you lead
your people? How do you keep them safe? And then luxury,
which you came on, is you know, how do you
live with whole hearted joy? How do you you know?
We're off to Tasmania on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
I'm so jealous.
Speaker 4 (45:23):
Through Barnet Brown's wholehearted living principles, so beautiful build. So
we're doing three nights and four days a sublime and
I partner with Jane, who has a master's of gastronomy,
so she and I do all that well. She started
in France all about food and you know, plate and
(45:44):
so she helps me do the entire itinery, which is
because we luxury. It's around food and wine and being
together and and just relaxing and finding a moment to
take a breath. But figuring out how do you bring
whole hearted joy and living into your life so that
you're living a lie of the life that you wake
up every day and you really want to be a
part of, you know, because this is such a short gift,
(46:06):
this beauty.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Because it's very short and you don't know what tomorrow
will live on?
Speaker 4 (46:13):
Do not watched women change and come from into life
and cry for three days and then you know, really
find themselves and then come into leadership and start to
stand in their power and you know, build their businesses
and and do amazing things and then come into.
Speaker 3 (46:30):
Luxury and just be their best selves.
Speaker 4 (46:32):
And no greater reward have I had.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
Just on a topic of you know, not knowing, there's
been times where I felt creatively stuck, you know or whatever.
Yesterday I went for a healing someone who's learning, learning
their gift of ranking and whatever. And I said, I'll
be you know, need to practice. And funnily, she said
(47:03):
all she was getting through in this healing was speak
speak speak, speak, speak speak. I'm going what she said,
They're just saying speak.
Speaker 4 (47:13):
Yeah, it is that incredible voice of yours, and it
is your voice is so powerful knowledge and so alo.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
It made me smile. It made me smile because I
was like, who's saying, speak to yours? I don't know,
They're just saying speak okay, And I love I love it.
But I've had moments where I've been, oh, you know,
I don't know whether it's self.
Speaker 4 (47:36):
Doubt or it is And often with us women it
is because we go what gives me the right to speak,
to be, to see, well, it's gift and without that,
without you using the gift, the world's missing out right.
And I just think that you have to stand in
your power and have the courage to be who you
(47:58):
were born to be. Life, you know, what a waste
of an incredible life. And as if women, we can
grab other women's hands and say, look at you.
Speaker 3 (48:07):
You're phenomenal and you're talented, and you're amazing and look
you and remind you of that.
Speaker 4 (48:13):
Then that just continues as beautiful. I had this dream
when we crewded Linehearted, this domino effect, you know, that
beautiful one hit domino and then it goes round and
around for emphas and I see that, and for me,
that's it. If we can lift a woman and let
her be your best self and then she does it
for someone else. And I watch Linehearted and they're all
doing it for each other. And these beautiful you know,
(48:37):
groups of women that have gone to the different series together,
that are just so connected and so supportive of each other,
and you know, and that domino effect is going to
go on and on and on and on forever, you know.
And it and then that heals me because I would
not be doing this today if we hadn't, if I
hadn't been adopted, if I hadn't through that trauma, if
I hadn't been bullied and seen how terrible that is
(49:00):
and what they can do to people, if I hadn't
had to have a voice in a workplace that was
strong and brave for other women's sakes, you know. And
I haven't loved a lot of those experiences.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
No, especially I don't think you would have loved the
bullying experience in.
Speaker 3 (49:17):
That No, And sometimes that still break because I.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Think it has it affected you would still affect you, wouldn't.
Speaker 4 (49:24):
Yeah, it does because often if I look at a
really amazing role on the Sunshine Coast, I'd applied for
a role of a CEO of this incredible not for
profit and I really wanted it, and I could have
done it with my eyes closed, and I got right
through to the board interview and one of the board
had spoken to someone who knew what had happened, and
that person said to them, I'll be careful.
Speaker 3 (49:46):
I wasn't.
Speaker 4 (49:50):
And I didn't. They just said, oh, you're not the
right person for the role. But of course a year
later I bumped into one of the board members and
she said she said to me, I was so disappointed
they didn't I you would have been a made the
person had said this about you. So things like that
really break me because I think it stops me getting
to do really good work. But in saying that, then
(50:11):
I put all my heart and soul into line hearted,
which I might not have done if I'd taken on
that role. So I believe that life pushes you in
the direction that you're supposed to go, and you allow
that risper to say off you go, then yeah, yeah,
and you know.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
Their loss Really I'm sorry in it, but their losses
are amazing. And if before we go, every single guest
on Pilgrid, I ask what is your your favorite like
life motto or mantra? I know, I know you would
have a lot like I.
Speaker 4 (50:47):
Do have a lot, But when when I think that
my favorite? Because I think it's the epitome of what
line Hearted is aiming for. And IGB said, if you
want to be a true professional, you will do something
outside yourself, something to repair tears in your community, something
(51:09):
to make life a little better for people less fortunate
in you. That's what I think a meaningful life is,
living not for oneself but for one's community. And I
love that because the ultimate goal of lineharted is letting
everyone be their best selves so that they can repair
tears in others and therefore repair tiers in the bigger
(51:30):
issues that we face in the world in our community.
So that domino effect for me is very much captured
in that quote of if we can help women find
their best lives, if we can help women lead well,
if we can help live women live wholehearted lives. Then
that domino effect just creates a better community and creates
a better life, and maybe then we can solve some
(51:51):
of the big problems around DV and homelessness, the things
that we face together, because women being their best selves
together ours for that right, because when women are collective,
there's no nothing.
Speaker 2 (52:05):
We can't answer it, right, and they won't stand for
DV or you know they won't. And what about a song?
What about a song?
Speaker 4 (52:14):
Now thousands but my favorite.
Speaker 2 (52:17):
Bit of even a moment in your life, or like
if someone said that those you really really well, go, oh,
that's Jeanette's song, that's me.
Speaker 4 (52:24):
Oh, that would probably be Dancing Queen because the minute
we get dance in Queen and I've to get out.
But my favorite song at the moment is Lighthouse. And
it's this beautiful song that basically says, I've got your
back and I will be there for you, and when
you're scared in the darkest hours, I will be your lighthouse.
I will be your right out when and it says
when the night gets cold and the light's going out
(52:46):
and the sun's gone behind the clouds and you feel lost,
just reach out, I will guide you home. I will
be your lighthouse and play that a lot at Linehearted,
because that's what it is. We are creating hundreds and
hundreds of lighthouses that can guide women home to themselves,
guide them home to the life that they desire, deserve,
(53:08):
guide them home to build the businesses they want that
keep other women employed and keep them safe.
Speaker 3 (53:14):
So for me, like.
Speaker 4 (53:16):
House is is a beautiful and whenever I feel down,
I will put that song on and I'll be like,
We'll be your lighthouse and we'll guide I'm.
Speaker 2 (53:23):
Going to play that. I'm going to play that.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
I'll send it to you.
Speaker 4 (53:27):
It's called Lighthouse by G G R L. I think
it is some girl band I never heard of, but
I've heard absolutely love the words.
Speaker 2 (53:36):
Thank you, Jeanette, Thank you for joining me on Pure
What an incredible story. And when we when I put
the podcast up on the socials will put I'll put
the link to Linehearted for anyone who wants to get
involved or reach out to you for maybe bullying.
Speaker 4 (53:54):
Yep, yep, yep, so misconduct in the workplace. We now
have an incredible army of pro bono lawyers and consultants
and counselors and well beingsalists and who all give their
time and energy to help the woman through that process.
Because those are things that I needed that I didn't have.
(54:14):
So you are facing something you can't face right now,
we're here and we've got you. Or if you just
need to discover your best self, we've got you too.
Or if you need an army of women shoulder to shoulder.
Speaker 2 (54:27):
You've got to You've got to reach out to Jeanette
and I. When I put a photo up with the podcast,
you wait, you see Jeanette's amazing hair, my lines made,
She's got total lines made. Incredible.
Speaker 4 (54:43):
I love you, beautiful heart, Thank you for seeing me,
Thank you for such thank.
Speaker 2 (54:47):
You for your amazing story, and I look forward to
seeing you again in person.
Speaker 3 (54:53):
I can't wait. Miss you muchly, and good luck with Tasmania.
Speaker 2 (54:58):
And I wish I was coming. I've never been test
you were coming.
Speaker 3 (55:02):
Going to be extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (55:03):
And one of our line holed ladies has moved back
there now, so she's going to be our tour guide.
Speaker 3 (55:08):
So it's going to be amazing.
Speaker 2 (55:11):
Oh well, very jealous on that note. Thank you, Jeanette,
Thanks for joining me on Pure Grit Thanks for your
amazing story.
Speaker 3 (55:17):
Love you, Charles.
Speaker 1 (55:21):
Well there you go. Thanks for listening to Pure Grit
with Paul McGrath. Now the web guard has been a
very busy boy. You can now visit the website pure
grit dot com dot au, search Pure Grip podcast on
Facebook and Instagram for the fun behind the scenes stuff.
And I was wondering why Paul had started wearing makeup.
Turns out all the chats are now on YouTube as well,
so make sure you give that a subscribe.
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