Tiffany Hodgest

The best career advice I received came from my operations manager, and it was actually two pieces of wisdom that transformed how I lead. First, he told me that I have to learn to delegate and that I cannot be such a perfectionist that I don't delegate, because I'm holding the next person back from being great and from greatness. He said that when they begin, just like we gave you the opportunity, you have to give them the opportunity to grow. They're going to make mistakes, but just trust that once you show them the right way, they won't make the mistake again. That was huge for me because I didn't like to delegate - I was afraid that someone was going to make a mistake and it would be on me. The second piece of advice he gave me was about celebrating wins. After all my early accomplishments and being recognized by USAA executives, I was on cloud nine, and he told me: celebrate today, but get back on it tomorrow, because if you celebrate too long, you will lose focus. He gave me the example of Troy, how they celebrated and got drunk and were caught off guard by the enemy. I never thought of it that way, and so now I celebrate my victories and then we're back focused the next day. We don't spend too much time celebrating. He told me to go get some more wins, go get some more victories. This advice helped me tremendously, and I've taken it and taught it to other people throughout the years.

I would say it's going to be challenging. You're going to have people that feel that you don't qualify for the job. You may even have a nemesis - I hate to say that, but you do. But you cannot let that hold you back from what you are to become, or what you should become. You have to understand that people are going to have their opinions about you, they're going to have their perceptions about you, and you have to live your life in full color of who you are, and let them change their perception. If they never do, that means they were the ones who were standing and saying I'm not going to change how I feel about this person. But whatever their opinions are, don't let it be true if it's a bad opinion, and if it's a good opinion, keep living in full color in front of them. That's what I tell my team all the time. I've learned in this industry that some people, no matter what you show them - you can show them that you have the strongest integrity, you're very honest, you're the person that doesn't hold back, you're going to speak your mind - they're still going to believe that you may be a liar, they're still going to believe that you can't be trusted. And when that happens, you can't let it be true. My thoughts are, just don't let it be true. No matter what they say, don't let it be true if it's bad.

My biggest current challenge is understanding what is preventing me from advancing to the next level in my career, specifically into a director or vice president role. While I have actively pursued leadership development through training and coursework, I am seeking clarity on both the strengths I should continue building and the gaps that may be limiting my progression. At the same time, I am navigating a significant personal season, having recently experienced the loss of my father following an extended period of illness and caregiving responsibility. I served as his medical and durable power of attorney and was deeply involved throughout his care journey, which lasted several years and intensified over the final eight months. This experience has had a profound emotional and mental impact on me, as I am also learning to process grief in a healthy and intentional way for the first time in my life. I am working through this season with the belief that challenges can become opportunities for growth, and I am focused on understanding how both personal healing and professional development intersect as I prepare myself for the next stage of leadership and personal growth.

In my work life, I would say integrity is the most important value to me. Number one, I want my boss to believe and trust that I'm going to run the business as it should be run when she's not looking, when she's not here. I want my team, anyone that's under me or my peers, to be able to trust me. That's sometimes a hard thing when you've had leaders that were not good leaders and you can't trust what they say. I want them to be able to trust me. I want them to know that I'm going to fight for them, I have their best interests at heart. They are able to move freely and dream big. Like I told them, and like I had to learn, you're the tech support supervisor - you are the CEO of that company. That's your company, you run it. You may have to run some things by me depending on what they are, but I want you to dream big. Don't hold yourself back. I want them to trust me - that's very important. In my personal life, I would say the same thing, but also family. I value family. I value my relationship with God. I value people that follow me - and I hate to say it this way because I don't want to sound arrogant - but people that believe in me, that I am worthy to be followed, that you can believe that I am a good leader, that when you come at the end of your life, you can say that you've gained something by following me or by walking with me in life. Those things are important to me.