Benchmark Assignment - Leadership Reflection
Her name is Jayde Tijero and I interviewed her at San Mateo High School:
What were some of the biggest challenges?
· One of the biggest challenges is maintaining life balance. I really care and love my job, but I get so invested in the work to where I won’t stop thinking about it. Especially when I start a new project or position where I want to do my best, I will forget to eat and rest. I can get overwhelmed and push myself to where I’m having a breakdown. I was a lead coordinator for the first Filipinx community college statewide virtual graduation ceremony, but I did that all in after-hours unpaid time. I was very passionate and proud of the project but it caused me enormous stress.
What is your educational background?
I originally thought I wanted to be a pediatrician so I started out in undergrad as a biology major, but I realized I didn’t see myself or feel comfortable in a hospital environment. I ended up getting my bachelor’s degree in Psychology at CSU Stanislaus with the goal of getting my Master’s in counseling at San Francisco State University. Now I’m a high school counselor in the Bay Area and I work in advocating for underrepresented community’s supports in school and life.
What are three to four actions you believe are essential to enable others to be successful?
· Success is strongly tied to who each person is, which means one of the first actions I implement is helping others embrace more of who they are. I do this by creating opportunities where people can be themselves like checking in with an open question where they can answer freely, whatever comes to mind. Another key factor is knowing who your strong support system is whether that be family, friends or any other relationships where a person can trust and lean on them. I’d say assuring fun experiences where people can be free and laugh. They can forget the stress and pressure of being successful and just be. Lastly, reminding people to care for themselves whether that be taking a hike, going to the park to read, playing games, doing your nails, drinking water all must taken care of before anything else.
What advice do you have for building relationships and trust in an organization?
To build relationships, you need to make extra effort to ask about your coworkers and get to know them. Genuinely listen to who they are and find connections that you can bond and build relationships on. This goes beyond work talk. It’s important to show love and care about people beyond their role at work. Are they parents, siblings, children, friends? Once you establish a foundation, to sustain the relationships remember to check in with them and see how everyone is doing. Say hi and have day to day conversations.