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Our mentoring podcast kicked off the year with a special guest, Jose De Guia, Chief of Staff at Kaiser Permanente’s Downey Medical Center.
From the very first question, Jose was vulnerable, engaging, and inspiring as he described his unconventional career path. He started as a retail manager before pivoting his career to healthcare and becoming the manager of a diagnostic imaging department at Kaiser. He worked hard, volunteered for opportunities, and consistently delivered results. Predictably, Jose was regularly recognized, praised, and promoted. During our exchange, Jose admitted that he had become overconfident, even a bit cocky, about his ability to execute and succeed in each role. He then revealed the arc when a promised promotion fell through. Jose became outwardly angry. His entitlement morphed into resentment, spilling into daily conversations. Jose finally scheduled a meeting with an HR Leader and challenged her, “Can they stop me from growing?” Unruffled, the HR Leader paused and asked Jose, “How did you get here?” He proudly shared his brazen and triumphant career journey. The HR Leader then gave Jose some career-altering advice. She said, “Jose, you need to remember that every day is an interview.” Jose shared his interpretation with our audience, “Every day, we earn our jobs. We aren’t entitled to them. We are privileged to hold them.” In the weeks that followed, I chewed on Jose’s insights, internalizing his wisdom. And, as I was about to meet with one of my team members to review her work on a project, I had an epiphany… every day is an interview for me too! Every day, my team interviews me to serve as their leader. I must earn their trust and commitment through my actions and behaviors. Every day, they choose where they invest their time and effort. I am not entitled to their service or their contributions. It’s a privilege to work with them. This revelation had me consider… how would I show up to this meeting with my team member if she were deciding whether to join my team? I would be:
I don’t always get it right. But every day is a fresh opportunity for me to practice earning my people’s trust and partnership, to demonstrate my gratitude, and to mentor. Every day is an interview, regardless of our role. © 2026. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |