Her Story
About Jillian
Jillian Swingen serves in a leadership role within state government in Olympia, Washington. With seven years of experience in the field, she focuses on helping others succeed in their positions through responsibilities such as conducting annual evaluations, managing performance, onboarding new hires, overseeing review processes, and providing coaching. She ensures her team has the resources needed to thrive. Swingen earned an associate's degree from a community college in 2001, which included applied studies for a legal background, and she holds a Washington Leading Others certificate. She participates in agency mentorship and has recently studied emotional intelligence and its application to leadership. Swingen attributes her success to her team's achievements, noting that if they are not succeeding, she has not succeeded either. She values work-life balance to support self-care, prevent burnout, and maintain employee engagement. Among the challenges in her field, she cites navigating various communication styles within leadership teams, while seeing abundant opportunities for those who find the right path and support. She advises young women entering the industry to listen with their heart and speak their truth, and she enjoys arts and crafts in her free time.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jillian
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute to my team's success is my success, because if they're not succeeding, I didn't succeed either.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
If you don't try, you won't fail, but if you try and fail, then you can try again, and you will learn from your mistakes.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Listen with your heart, and speak your truth.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The way people communicate is a challenge because of the various different communication styles. It's very challenging to navigate the leadership team with those challenges to meet in the middle somewhere. Opportunity, I think there is plenty of opportunities, you just have to find the right path and the right support.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work-life balance. It is important to have a work-life balance for self-care, not only self-care, but to prevent burnout and to keep employees engaged at work.
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