Her Story
About Tara
Tara Colvin is a Partner and co-owner of Thought Design, a leadership development company. She works with leaders and teams to identify unseen patterns, build capacity to lead differently, and create psychologically safe, high-performing environments through facilitation, coaching, and training grounded in brain science and adult development. Tara brings an accounting background and 17 years of experience in K-12 education and federal grants at National Heritage Academies, where she trained adults, supported principals with compliance and strategic planning, and developed a passion for leadership development. She holds a degree in educational studies with a focus on adult learning, along with TTISI certifications in DISC assessment and 12 Driving Forces, and certification in the Fearless Organization Scan. Tara also authored a book published in June. She attributes her success to strong relationships, including her leadership coach, a supportive network, and her figure-it-out mindset.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tara
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the strong relationships in my life, including my leadership coach and supportive friends who tell me the truth, along with my figure it out mindset that allows me to move from setbacks to figuring out what's next.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is that I was confusing being needed with being valuable. Leaders are remembered for helping others grow and challenging them, not for solving every problem themselves.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Build in 5 minutes of reflection time for yourself each day to think about what you are noticing and how you showed up. Be passionate about what you do, as that passion makes selling and promoting yourself much easier.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity is helping leaders navigate complexity and uncertainty in uncertain times with AI, politics, and fast change, by admitting they don't have all the answers and running experiments with their teams. The challenge is that leaders don't know this is what they need because it's never been named.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Learning is my number one value. I am happiest when learning something new. Laughter is also very important, as sometimes you either laugh or cry and I'd rather laugh.
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