Name: Trista Hang Chau

Title: Communications

Organisation: Department of Motor Vehicles

A marketeer, a communications major with lots of creative ideas, and a dreamer. Hard worker and pay attention to details...it's the small things that matter when it comes to making a huge impact. One that speaks out in verbal and nonverbal gestures. Needs that extra push to go beyond my potential.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Trista's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

As a leader, I find myself wearing all different types of hats. Being able to communicate effectively, dealing with communication problems, resolving conflicts between coworkers, motivate employees, how to adapt to management changes, delegating effectively, customizing leadership development and adapt to changes while working under pressure.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I did not become a leader overnight. I still have a long way to go. You work hard and learn the skills and become better and good at what you are doing each day. Being a leader takes on a lot of responsibilities and dedicated hard work! Taking chances and opportunities as it comes to you.

Having to being able to challenge yourself and push yourself but know your limits and in this you will be able to see your strengths and weaknesses from experience. For myself? I did not think I could ever become a leader.

There are many times that I take charge at work while my managers are no present during a situation with customers that are upset at the situation and not being resolved. However, I do step in and take charger and help assist the customer together to resolve the matter. That is when I do recognize that I am a leader.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

First, I would identify the time of day when I am most productive. Then, I would set priorities for the next day. And continue to work on difficult tasks first. Later, I review and group similar tasks together. And schedule breaks in between. Lastly, making sure that I keep myself accountable for the steady pace.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

To me? Leadership is not about you; it's about those you lead. The more you focus on the development of those around you, and the more you help your people recognize and then grow into their full potential, the more success you will have as a leader.

This book has been influential in shaping the leadership styles of many people, including business executives, politicians, and educators. It also has helped people like me to develop a more proactive and positive mindset, to set clear goals, to prioritize their time effectively, and to build strong relationships with others.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

The book has been influential in shaping the leadership styles of many people, including business executives, politicians, and educators. It has helped people to develop a more proactive and positive mindset, to set clear goals, to prioritize their time effectively, and to build strong relationships with others.

One of my favorite book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

1. The book is a self-help guide that provides practical advice on how to become more effective in both personal and professional life. This book is based on the principle that true success is a result of personal effectiveness, which is achieved by developing good habits.

It overs the seven habits that Covey outlines in the book are: Be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand, then to be understood, synergize, Sharpen the saw. Lots of good and informative information that broadens your pov.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

If I had to choose one piece of advice to give to a young leader, it would be this: Be humble and open-minded. Humility is the ability to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, and to seek feedback and guidance from others.

Humility helps you avoid arrogance, complacency, and overconfidence, which can lead to poor decisions and alienate your followers. Humility also helps you appreciate the contributions and perspectives of your team members, and to empower them to grow and excel.

Open-mindedness is the willingness to consider new ideas, opinions, and evidence, even if they challenge your existing beliefs and assumptions. Open-mindedness helps you learn from your mistakes, adapt to changing situations, and innovate solutions. Open-mindedness also helps you respect and understand the diversity and complexity of your followers, and to tailor your leadership style to their needs and preferences.

Being humble and open-minded does not mean being weak or indecisive. It means being confident and courageous enough to admit what you don't know, and to seek out what you need to know. It means being curious and creative enough to explore different possibilities, and to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity. It means being respectful and empathetic enough to listen to and learn from others, and to value their input and feedback.

By being humble and open-minded, you can become a more effective, authentic, and inspiring leader. You can also foster a culture of humility and open-mindedness in your organization, which can enhance its performance, innovation, and collaboration.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I think as a strong-minded person who I become has a lot of what was experienced early in my youth. If I told you, my story? You would cry along with me. But one thing I do know and understand about a leader is to NEVER give up hope!

This all comes into play with work hard, suffer losses, meaning losing people in your life, you lose out on the chance to experience life itself, being able to grow and learn from other great people, being able to choose and making the right choices in life, and late-night losing sleep, then I would not be where I am today!

Not only does life challenges you every day, but also your work, friends, family, strangers you meet on the streets, everything molds a person into who they are and the strong would be the leaders of today! Thank you.