Tayler Rajtora’s Leadership Grows Through Kirkwood Academy 

At Clickstop, we believe in helping our people grow. Tayler Rajtora’s experience in the Kirkwood Community College Leadership Development Academy is a great recent example of this ongoing commitment.

The Kirkwood Leadership Development Academy includes eight sessions, each lasting four hours, and held every two weeks. What makes the academy special is having a different teacher for each session, which keeps things fresh and interesting, while also having a single facilitator who helps tie everything together.

Tayler, an Inside Sales Specialist on Clickstop’s Accelerator Team since 2022, recently completed this academy. Her drive to learn and grow led her to say yes to the opportunity when her manager brought it up. While she’s not sure about a formal leadership role yet, Tayler likes leading informally within her team. The Kirkwood Academy gave her a chance to explore what formal leadership is all about.

Expectations Exceeded

Heading into the academy, Tayler was focused on learning the most from the instructors of each session. The academy delivered on this and more!

“It wasn’t an expectation going into the academy but I enjoyed meeting other professionals to get their take on different parts of leadership. I knew Kirkwood was amazing and would give me some information I didn’t have in my toolbox yet. As I got into the academy not only did the teachers have a lot of great things to say but so did my peers.”

Tayler Rajtora, Inside Sales Specialist

When we asked Tayler about the sessions or topics that stood out to her, she immediately noted how the conflict resolution session impacted her. The “care-about” model, which focuses on understanding what matters to each person was especially useful. You may recognize this technique from Kayla Micek’s blog last month about her experiences in Kirkwood’s Leadership in Manufacturing Academy. Since the session, Tayler has started using the skills in her work. She’s better at spotting and handling team conflicts now.

“Tayler recently took charge in one of our team meetings where there was some discomfort about the heavy workload,” shared Stephanie Pierce, Tayler’s manager. “She stepped in and created an environment to speak openly, directly, and respectfully, leading to conflict resolution in the group. She handled it like a pro with data, facts, and ideas that truly were a sight to see.”

In addition to managing disagreements within her team, Tayler has also learned to guide others to find solutions rather than just giving them the answers. This has helped new team members develop problem-solving skills, making them more independent and capable.

A Mindset Shift

While Tayler has been able to immediately apply some of the techniques and skills in the sessions, what stuck with her most is a longer-term mindset.

“Leadership is a never-ending journey,” stated Tayler. This was both comforting and surprising for her, challenging her previous belief. “You think leaders have it all figured out when you’re not in a leadership position yet, but it’s validating because there’s always room to grow, you don’t have to be perfect, and you can do it in your own way.”