LEADERSHIP

Whether in my professional or personal life, I was born to be a leader. I see the world through the lens of solutions, seeking to satisfy a problem often before it becomes one. This type of leadership is valuable to any organization as I can make decisions with confidence and work together with my team to produce the best quality product for both internal and external clients. 

Throughout my supervisory experience, I have striven to develop my team members individually, helping them pursue their potential and develop their careers through personal mentorship and professional development. We are constantly growing as individuals and the best way to help our teams feel successful is to allow them the opportunities they need to feel like they are moving forward and progressing toward their dreams. By building an environment of growth we develop a team that is invested in the work that they do.

Being a strong leader also means you know when to take a step back and let others take the lead when they are the expert on the topic. This is imperative for gathering the data necessary for making larger decisions for a project or team and can influence the end product during the final buildout. As important as it is to know your strengths and lean into them, it is just as valuable to know the strengths of your team and how best to maximize each member.

The pursuit of education and personal growth is never-ending and should be considered a must-have when looking for a successful leader. This is especially important due to the speed at which new technologies and marketing strategies are released. If we start to rest on our laurels we will find ourselves stuck in the past and running to catch up with our competitors. Thankfully, we live in an era where if we do not yet possess a skill, we can almost certainly obtain it through self-tutelage online. Only we can limit ourselves in what is possible to learn and when an obstacle stands in our way it is an opportunity to think outside the problem and toward a solution.

The photo above was taken in a moment of triumph when I could have allowed an obstacle to stop me from reaching my end goal. Maroon Bells has been at the top of my Must See list ever since I moved to Colorado in 2017. It was late spring when I finally decided to go and, after reading over the website to make sure I was within the range when the roads would be open, I hit the highway for an eight-hour (round trip) road trip.

Much to my disappointment, the entrance to the Maroon Bells park was closed. They had kept the gate down due to snow refusing to melt off of the road, however, it was open to bike and foot traffic. Unwilling to turn back defeated, I threw my hiking boots on, grabbed my bottle of water, and set out on a 12 mile (round trip) hike to get to the lake between the two colliding mountains. It was a formidable hike that I wasn’t originally expecting to be on, but I continued to push myself to reach the top. The view (and I’m sure the altitude) was breathtaking and, even more so, the absolute accomplishment I felt when I arrived at the lake was worth every mile and squeak of my now busted hiking boots.

It was an experiment in mental fortitude and self-motivation which has flowed over into other aspects of my life. We are capable of much more than we could imagine and I enjoy learning about the limitlessness of others as much as I enjoy learning about my own.