Living Like a Leader Series: Jaime Dunagan

July 21, 2020

Leadership. From high school sports teams to politics, and even family dynamics, leaders – for good or bad – shape every aspect of our lives. Regardless of the situation, good leaders serve through inspiring others and creating an environment where people feel valued and fulfilled.

Organizational leaders, in particular, are responsible for setting the tone of an organization. This includes sharing a clear company vision, establishing the overarching corporate objectives and long term goals, and cultivating a positive company culture that motivates employees. Good leaders are able to create a company culture that will encourage all the members of their team to develop their skills and contribute to the overall success of the organization.

Wrapping up our series on Living Like a Leader, we interviewed Jaime Dunagan, Director of Marketing and Business Development at John Lynch & Associates. Early on in her career, she very quickly discovered what leadership is not. However, Jaime has since risen through the ranks in her career, and most recently shares how she overcame a personal issue that was holding her back. You can read her story here.

She also expressed to us how highly collaborative the leadership team is at John Lynch & Associates. “John and Katie trust their team members to innovate and bring their individual areas of expertise to the forefront, which is what makes our company able to help our clients in such a profound and unique way compared to other consulting teams.”

Every leader has their own style and habits that play a role in their success. Jaime shares her daily routines and gives us some insight into how she balances both her home and work life while managing her time and energy.

Question: What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

The first thing I do when I get up is drink 24oz of water followed by another 24oz by the time I arrive to work. After my shower, I head down stairs for a cup of coffee and my daily devotion and prayer. At least once a week I make my kids breakfast and am blessed with the ability to drop them off at school every morning. I would say the most important thing we do in the morning is pray as a family before everyone heads out the door.

Q: What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at work?

I say good morning to our team, grab a fresh cup of coffee, and hit the ground running!

Q: What kind of work do you like to get done before lunch?

I don’t have anything specific that I like to get done before lunch. However, I do prefer to structure my day with heavier tasks/projects in the morning and save my creative thinking and design projects for the afternoon.

Q: What is the hardest part of your day?

I say this with all sincerity – I don’t have a ‘hardest part of the day’. That isn’t to say that there are not aspects of my position that are not difficult or challenging. I just really love my job. I love the people I work with. I love that as an organization there is a collective understanding of the bigger picture and that is what we focus on.

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your day?

The most rewarding part of the day is that I GET to go to work each day. I am blessed with a great position, an amazing team of people, a synergistic executive team, and a nurturing company culture. I am honored to be a member of this close-knit group of people.

Q: What’s the last thing you do before leaving the office?

Generally the last thing I try to do before leaving the office is organize my desk in preparation for the next day and I check my work calendar to see what is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Q: Do you work at home?

Yes. With our company in growth mode, putting in the extra hours on a short term basis will result in long term gains. Not to mention, creativity doesn’t always happen between 8-5pm. That said, I also work on finding a good balance between work and family time.

Q: How do you unwind at the end of the day or on weekends?

My husband and I are in a season of our lives that involves a lot of ‘chauffeuring’ kids to various activities such as clubs, practices, and games so there isn’t a ton of down time right now. We also serve as a family at church on the weekends and hang out on occasion with friends and family.