Jill Huinder

I would say perseverance or determination, not giving up. Moving out of and keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone as well. I have worked, for example, I've taken on positions where I did not have the full expertise in that specific subject, and that's where I demonstrated this sort of courage to say, okay, let's just go for it, and make the best of it, and then it will work out. So definitely, if I had to put one word on it, I would probably pick determination and courage.

Someone once told me, do what you are exceptionally well at, not what you're mediocre at. That's really good advice, but I don't know if I fully followed that always throughout my life. I think the best advice is maybe be confident. Not obviously be arrogant, but be confident in your own capabilities, even when you have resistance, or when you have to be resilient, or when things are not entirely working in your favor. Keep believing in yourself, and be confident that what it is that you want to do, that you'll get there.

I would say know what you want. I think that if you have this sort of point of orientation on the horizon, something that you are working towards, you will get there, and the opportunities will present itself for you to get there, but it starts with knowing for yourself the direction in which you want to head. And I don't think that all of that needs to be completely set in stone, you know, when you're young, that you need to know what you want to do when you're older, but even in shorter time spans, just know what you want to work toward, and then be determined to get there, and it will happen.

The UN is going through so much restructuring right now. The opportunity is that we are all asked to reflect on which person we want to be, and how we want to express that professionally. The whole organization is going through restructuring, which means that a lot of people are let go, and there's a reduction in the available funding, so it just demands of us to ask ourselves, who am I, what do I want to represent, and how can I do that in this organization. I would say there's a huge opportunity here to influence the private sector, so that could be finance, it could be business, to influence that sector with the norms and the values and the principles that are present in the United Nations. Basically, positively influencing the private sector. If I were to go now out to the private sector and work for a business, I would bring these principles of sustainable development, human rights, justice, I would bring that to that sector, and I think that's a huge opportunity.

I think integrity is really important to me. I wouldn't recommend lying, but let's not say honesty in a competitive market like New York. I think integrity is good. Dignity is important. And collaboration. I definitely believe that we should work together. I think everyone can tap into their personal leadership, so that's also something I strongly believe in, that we can all tap into our personal leadership, and that empowers us to collaborate effectively, so it's not so much of a top-down approach. I really believe that we can work together effectively if we all feel empowered.