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Dealing with the Jobsite Narcissist: Outsmarting the Bully Without Losing Your Cool
He (and sometimes she) shows up on the jobsite, in your inbox, or even in your comment section with one goal: to make you look and feel inferior. He’ll try to paint you as the “crazy emotional woman” who doesn’t belong on the crew. He’ll try to drag you into arguments online so he can twist your words and make you look like the problem. You’re not alone — and you’re not powerless. The key is learning how to recognize a narcissist’s tricks and quietly pop that ego bubble witho

Tiffany Tillema
3 days ago3 min read


The Dangerous Woman: Why it Takes Courage to be Mild
The quote above sits with me, maybe because I’ve lived it so many times. We often think of courage as something loud and dramatic....

Tiffany Tillema
Jul 212 min read


Intimidation on the Job Site: How to Handle Bullying
Most of us have been intimidated, or let’s be honest, bullied, at some point. “Intimidation” is just the grown-up word we use to avoid...

Tiffany Tillema
Jul 214 min read


Pick Your Battles: Thriving as a Woman in the Trades
As a woman in the trades for over 30 years and a mentor to other women in male-dominated industries, I understand that most of these groups

Tiffany Tillema
Feb 182 min read


Who Needs Stitches? The Story of My First Mishap as a Bricklayer.
Bricklayers take particular pride in their injuries. Scars and mishaps are badges of honor, each with a story to tell. As a woman...

Tiffany Tillema
Dec 5, 20243 min read


How a Great-Horned Owl Boosted my Career as a Mason
As I approached, the owl opened its eyes and fixed its gaze upon me, a silent exchange of understanding passing between us.

Tiffany Tillema
Apr 26, 20243 min read


The Hidden Battle: Fatigue
The quote "Fatigue makes cowards of us all" has been attributed to many different people. However, it was first penned by William...

Tiffany Tillema
Dec 4, 20233 min read


My Midlife Decision
When My Husband and I were young and first married, we started building our careers in the Masonry industry. My Husband would often get...

Tiffany Tillema
Oct 17, 20232 min read


Attracting and Keeping Women in the Trades
In 2008, a recession hit the construction industry pretty hard. Many companies did not recover, and thousands lost their jobs. In 2019...

Tiffany Tillema
Jul 25, 20235 min read


Gender Bias and leadership in the trades
When I was a little girl, my Dad would come home from his Masonry job, lay his hard hat and lunchbox down, and get ready for dinner. I...

Tiffany Tillema
Jul 25, 20236 min read
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