Interview with Helene Kwong

What does it mean to be a great leader?

To be a great leader you need to be in tune with the people you’re leading, effectively communicate with them on a regular basis and lead by example. 

Do you feel you're a leader? Why or why not?

I feel like I’m growing into leadership, and I’m improving my emotional intelligence and ability to be more present in my interactions with others. I’m also taking professional development classes to get to the point of feeling more like a leader. 

Tell a story of a time you took the lead -- what was your motivation?

This goes back to early in my career. It was a pivotal moment for me. 

I worked at an ESL school in San Francisco that had a very family friendly atmosphere. The website was too corporate and not family friendly at all, so I took the lead and approached my director about it. I told him that I could fix the site and improve the branding to better fit the school's actual personality. He gave the go ahead for me to redesign the website to match the culture.

Even though that was 7 years ago, it still resonates as a big moment for me. I wasn’t afraid of taking it on because I knew I could do it. 

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