A three minute podcast on Carolyn’s leadership journey•When I started my leadership journey, when the Manager’s Development Program began, my two main goals were improving my influencing skills and taking more time to promote my work and the work of my team•I set a goal for myself to take some time on Friday mornings to reflect on how I could better support my team and our projects, which I promptly forgot. But I’m glad I re-read my initial goals, because reflection is effective and I hope to put it into place starting this week.•I was fairly certain that I didn’t want to move beyond the manager level in government, because every director I’ve known is overwhelmed, works overtime every day and on weekends, and I often see them take leave to recover. That isn’t what I want for myself – while I think the role of director would be challenging and fun, work-life balance is more important to me.•When I started this program, I was the acting manager of 6 employees, and I found the DISC profiles very helpful in helping me understand myself and how to navigate my team and my superiors. I now feel very comfortable with the DISC profiles, and will continue to use the techniques I learned to influence up and down.•When my acting position finished and I went back to my role of senior advisor, I realized how much I missed managing a team. I really love developing my team members and watching them grow and progress. I love the feeling of having a high-performing team who succeed because of my human-centered management approach, and not despite it. I think this is where I was able to influence: I see some of my old team members leading their own teams now, and they’ve told me my way of managing inspired them to also take on a human-centered approach.•I was told that I brought a sense of calm to the team, and others mentioned how calm my team was.•As my leadership journey continues, I’d like to work on expanding my network. I’ve taken the first step and have a mentor, who will help me with this.•I’d also like to use what I’ve learned about influencing and the DISC profiles to promote the value of a learning culture, and how it can be achieved at the House.•I said in the beginning that I wasn’t interested in progressing past the level of manager. I’m now wondering if I could become a director who demonstrates work-life balance, for herself and her team. Someone who demonstrates the importance of wellness, as our organizations so often promote. Is it possible to become a director and have a high-performing team and work-life balance? I will ask my mentor!