Sandra Jitianu has built a career spanning over 20 years through curiosity and openness, something evident in the diversity of roles she has held: from HR and management consulting to coaching and event organization. Through these experiences, Sandra learned that success in management stems from active listening and quick actions—a painful lesson she experienced when she lost a valuable colleague whom she failed to support in time.
Sandra approaches every interaction with the premise, “I’m OK, you’re OK,” a principle that helps her explore alternatives and drives her toward immediate action. She is also constantly guided by the question: “What can we do now?” and is relentless in seeking people’s intrinsic motivation, offering them trust and autonomy.
For young professionals, Sandra’s advice is to stay curious, learn from those they admire, and not be discouraged by the (temporary) lack of experience.
C&B: You’ve held various roles in your career, from HR and management consulting to coaching and event organization. How has this diversity of experience helped you develop your leadership style?
Sandra Jitianu: Variety keeps me energized. Without it, I would probably wither. Each experience has shaped and refined me. From consulting projects and coaching, I learned to truly understand what the person in front of me really wants. From event organization, I realized people are satisfied when they feel they’re learning something. And working with students taught me to be comfortable with who I am.
C&B: You mentioned that a painful lesson was losing a valuable colleague because you weren’t able to provide timely support. What did you learn from this experience, and how has it influenced the way you now support teams?
Sandra Jitianu: Since that incident, I make time as soon as I find out there’s a problem or dissatisfaction with someone I work with. I have a conversation to understand their concern and look for solutions to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
C&B: The principle “I’m OK, you’re OK” is central to your approach. How does this mindset help you build strong relationships and manage teams in a balanced and collaborative way?
Sandra Jitianu: I start from the premise that everyone has a good reason for what they do at any given moment—the best reason from their perspective, which makes sense in their context at that time. Viewing things this way makes it much easier to approach others with curiosity and a desire to understand, especially when their actions surprise you.
C&B: You emphasize active listening and quick action. How do you guide your teams to adopt these principles and respond effectively to challenges and opportunities?
Sandra Jitianu: Usually by setting a personal example. When problems arise, I look for ways to turn them into opportunities for growth, even in the long term. When opportunities come up, speed of reaction often makes all the difference.
C&B: How do you approach the process of uncovering people’s intrinsic motivation, and how do you encourage them to use it to excel in their work?
Sandra Jitianu: Whenever I notice a spark in someone’s eyes during a conversation, I realize it’s about something that’s dear to them or something they have a strong interest in. Many times during coaching conversations, I’ve caught onto this thread and gently pulled it, exploring what energizes the person and reignites their curiosity and passion for action. When you highlight what you’ve observed and they become aware of it, their eyes light up even more. But this doesn’t just happen in coaching—I see people in all kinds of professions doing their work with joy, and it moves me deeply. They radiate a mix of calm, drive, goodwill, competence, and soul that sometimes even brings me to tears. And if you help someone become aware of the impact of their work by expressing your appreciation, their motivation usually grows.
C&B: In any situation, you’re guided by the question, “What can we do now?” How do you use this principle to facilitate quick and effective decision-making in managing your teams?
Sandra Jitianu: I’ve realized that we never have all the information needed to make a decision or take action. If we wait until we do, it’s probably already too late.
C&B: Autonomy is essential in your leadership style. How do you provide your teams with enough trust and autonomy to complete their tasks while maintaining control over the final results?
Sandra Jitianu: I’ll admit this is something I’m still working on. I enjoy being autonomous, but I still struggle with the perfectionist saboteur who finds it difficult to give others the freedom to act and accept the results of their work without intervening to “improve” them. Usually, though, if I set the direction, agree on where we need to get and by when, and establish some checkpoints along the way, it works out.
C&B: At SMART HR, you spoke about the Growth Mindset. What is the most important message you wanted to convey to leaders about the power of management based on learning and quick action?
Sandra Jitianu: Thank goodness for mistakes; otherwise, it would take much longer to learn.
It’s essential how we, as leaders, view the mistakes of those on our teams. The way we react will determine how much courage they’ll have next time to explore, share their thoughts, and be creative—in other words, how well our teams will perform in terms of psychological safety and innovation.
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