Tiffani Jones

I would say really my self-motivation and others around me, like family and friends, that motivate me right after my self-motivation. Really understanding what I want in this life, and ensuring that I have the tools, and if I don't have the tools, I learn those tools. I ask other people that may have those tools for insight, so I can put those tools to get to where I want. I try to stay motivated, and even when I'm not feeling motivated, because we always have those days, I try to motivate myself slowly, no matter if that's a, oh, I need to rest, oh, maybe I can just take a little break, read my favorite book, and let me jump back in. I have a really strong work ethic, so I think it's just pushing yourself, no matter what.

I would say never being afraid to apply, even if you don't feel like you fit every qualification that a job description says. I think that is a big one. It's really, honestly, listening to that advice got me to where I am today. Just because, you know, you didn't know that you can execute a job well, but you read a job description, and you see, like, oh, are these qualifications, I may not apply, still apply, because you just never know.

I would say never stop where you are. Don't get too comfortable, because there's always more. There's other positions that you can explore and other places to go at the end of the day. Don't get so comfortable. It is a wonderful field. I absolutely love what I do, and I love my position, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop here.

As far as opportunities, there's definitely a lot of room for growth. Absolutely, and that's first and foremost, absolutely a lot of room for growth in my organization, really, just because we do the entire state of Maryland, so the opportunities are limitless. We need all the help we can get. But as far as challenges, of course, being a woman in a field where I am speaking to a lot of CEOs and leaders of organizations, and unfortunately, a lot of the CEOs and leaders of organizations are men. So sometimes there's a little power challenge there. Sometimes they don't want to give you the time of day. They're not worried about the benefits for their employees and things like that that they absolutely should care about. I would say that's the biggest challenge, like getting them to understand this is an absolutely free benefit for all of your employees, and a lot of them can benefit from it.

I would say always staying true to oneself. I definitely think that's the biggest thing that I teach my own child. No matter what, you being that leader, being who you are, and not a follower. There's so many things that you can get caught up in in this life, and you just want to ensure that you're really staying true to yourself and what you want, no matter what anybody else says. That's definitely one of the biggest things. Having integrity and being accountable, I think that's another big one that I'm trying to hammer into his head at this age. Accountability is very huge for me because we all get it wrong sometimes, and that's perfectly fine. No one is to get it right all the time. Holding yourself accountable and doing what you can to make things right.