Hilary Hagen

My strong work ethic, probably from my parents. And just having... I mean, I just think that some people are just born with confidence in themselves, and I've just always had faith in myself. I would say that's the biggest thing, and I position myself well, I'm strategic, and I read people well, and I'm just curious. All of those attributes.

Don't boil the ocean. You can't boil the ocean. So... That was one of my former leaders. Because it's so hard to not want to go down every rabbit hole as you overturn things, and you're trying to figure out some solutions. It was probably, like, you can't boil the ocean, so you have to figure out what really matters. And I think, like, that's the common thing, that's why I've been able to advise, like, executives, is because I figure out what matters to my audience, and that's what I'm gonna focus in on. And then probably... disconnecting, like... like, close your laptop, that's probably the other piece of advice, I would say, is, like, close your laptop. It's okay to disconnect.

Don't apologize too much. I find that a lot of women, by nature, just say they're sorry all the time, for no reason. They start a sentence with, I'm sorry. So, apologize for things that deserve an apology, and everything else, you know. Create boundaries for yourself, so set boundaries for yourself. And... have confidence. And what you bring to the table. And, honestly, If some... oh, and have a strong handshake. I think first impression are everything, and... There's a lot you can tell about somebody, especially women, based on their handshake and... What... how they position themselves, so... That would be my advice for them.

It's pretty exciting because this is new for the organization. It definitely has its challenges. You're building a culture, right? And you have to learn how to lead and bring people along for the ride. This is the first financial institution I've worked for as well, so it's its own beast. But yeah, I would say that... Yeah, this is, It's pretty exciting to be able to build out framework and lead people and influence change.

Being challenged. I'm, like, a cereal hobbyist, I love... I know my line limits what I'm not interested in, but outside of that, I will try anything once. So, I... I like to try ancillary hobbies. So, right now, I'm really into jigsaw puzzling, and I want to, compete at the National Jigsaw Puzzle Competition. Next year. I took up curling last year, so I, I curl. Tennis. I started curling, let's see, I like, I like mountain climbing, I like, road biking, running. Pickleball. I was a tennis player, so I still play tennis here and there. I like to watercolor and do... and pretty artistic for fun. Photography, yeah, kind of anything. So... I would say the common theme is I just want to learn more. I just like to learn new things, so I'm never... intent, which is not always the best quality, but, professionally as well. I enjoy the grind, and learning, and being very strategic. I'm definitely more strategic than tactical, so I like to dig in and learn The why behind everything.