On Challenging Your Leadership Habits: Sylvia Butanda
Leading up to our Winter ‘20 iteration of WORK, we'll feature select interviews with some of our conference's speakers and thought leaders. In this interview, Deputy Executive Director Sylvia Butanda discusses her new role at Latinitas and developing managerial skills. Click here for a look at Winter 2020’s conference schedule.
who:
Sylvia Butanda is the deputy executive director for Latinitas where she manages year round digital media and technology enrichment programs for girls, development and operations. She takes strong pride in her culture and storytelling roots that led her to Latinitas and, since then, has enjoyed the opportunities to positively impact her community.
She is originally from Brownsville, TX and graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. She was awarded the 2018 Out of School Time Champion Award from Learn all the Time Network (LATT) for her work in empowering girls and young women in Central Texas with media and technology training.
What are you currently working on? What does your work life look like?
I’m currently managing programs, operations and strategic partnerships for Latinitas. As a nonprofit leader, my work life consists of wearing many hats at once and managing projects and people year-round.
What goals are you working toward and how do you intend to reach them?
As a new executive, I’m working on leveling up my management skills and stepping out of my comfort zone in finding new and better ways to communicate, resolve conflicts and delegate projects. At work, I’m participating in professional development sessions that keep me accountable with new practices to apply and have committed to serve as a board member for a couple of local organizations in order to continue growing outside of my day to day role.
How do you hold yourself accountable to long-term and short-term goals?
I hold myself accountable by communicating my goals to peers, friends and family—anyone that I trust to share my progress with and can help me keep tabs on those goals. I also benefit from visualizing my goals on organized and color coded maps and timelines and keep these representations in my literal scope of vision.
How do you train your intuition?
I’ve learned to acknowledge situations where my intuition is being put to the test and refer to it as a “key moment.” In that moment, I have to practice doing the exact opposite of what I’m usually inclined to do. The results of applying this exercise in my personal and professional life has led to surprising results. In some instances, I’ve learned that my natural response to situations doesn’t serve me well and doing the opposite worked 10 times better. I’ll always know what feels right for me but when you test yourself, you’ll find that your intuition can be trained.
How do you choose between negative and constructive feedback?
Feedback is generally uncomfortable so choose to absorb the feedback and be better and grow stronger from it.
What's something you've unlearned lately that you're grateful for?
Don’t apologize, stray from or dim your natural light and energy.
Do you have any daily habits that are crucial to your workflow or stress management?
Before diving into my workflow, I always keep my inboxes, communication tools and platforms and calendars available to view throughout the day and make sure to acknowledge all notifications. From there, my workflow becomes easier to visualize and can complete tasks according to level of priority.
About WORK: WORK is a biannual conference, exploring ideas and approaches to creative, collaborative and entrepreneurial work. Hosting 300 guests every summer and winter, this biannual, one-day event's panels, workshops and speaker sessions touch on personal and professional development, marketing, wellness, business management and entrepreneurship. Our next conference pops up on January 11, 2020 at Rowling Hall in Austin, Texas. ✨Click here for more information.
