Leading, Learning and Preparing for Luck

I recently went one on one with Michele Hall-Duncan, President and CEO of enCourage Kids, an organization that serves over a million kids annually and is focused on making hospitals better places to get better. Michele began her career at enCourage Kids as a volunteer and joined the program staff full-time in 1996. Having been hospitalized for a serious illness as a child, Michele felt a deep connection to the mission and quickly rose within the organization. Michele is a Trustee of Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation; serves on the Advisory Board of one of the nation’s leading anti-bullying organizations, STOMP Out Bullying; and is a board member of the New York City chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, where she also serves on the group’s Professional Advancement Committee.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your best advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experience, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Michele: Hi Adam, and thank you! It’s a pleasure to speak with you! I started on this path as a volunteer for the organization. I grew up in Flint, Michigan, and after graduating from Michigan State University—go Spartans!!—with a BA in Advertising, I moved to the east coast and was working at a public relations firm. I found the work exciting but I wasn’t particularly passionate about it. My son was a little over a year old when I decided to start volunteering at a children’s charity. I loved being a volunteer and feeling like such an integral part of fulfilling the mission of helping sick kids. I was volunteering for the foundation for about four years when the division of the company I was working for was sold to a competitor. Rather than uproot my husband and young son and move to the company’s headquarters in Dallas, I decided to stay in New York City. I began to volunteer at the Foundation’s office more frequently, while I plotted my next career move. After about four years of volunteering, an opportunity arose to temporarily fill a position for three months while someone was on maternity leave. That was 23 years ago! I don't believe in setbacks. I believe that there are many teachable moments in our careers that allow us to analyze how we did something and how we could have done it better. I've had many of those moments and have used them to propel myself, my team and my organization forward.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Michele: Over the course of my career, leadership has had an ever changing definition for me. Leaders are charged with having a vision, convincing others their vision is actionable and inspiring others to follow them. A good leader is able to hold fast to his/her vision while simultaneously considering the needs of everyone in the organization. An effective leader also listens. It is so important to hear what the people around you are saying. Your team sees the world differently from the way you do. Each individual on your team has insight that can and will be useful to your journey as a leader.

Adam: Who are the greatest leaders you have around and what have you learned from them?

Michele: I believe it's very easy to spot a great leader. A great leader is a person whom people love to follow. A great leader is someone who can be trusted and in whose vision others are willing to invest their time and efforts.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Michele: When trying to build a team, I believe that you must really look at the unique skill set that each member brings and then you must also manage how that team works together. You have to assess the team dynamic on a continual basis and both monitor and appreciate the growth of each individual. It’s so easy to only pay attention to the squeaky wheels and to ignore and sometimes overlook your quieter team members. I also believe in team building exercises. I hate when my team begins to build silos around themselves and I think that it is a challenge of every leader to continually break those silos down and try to put in place measures to keep them from building up again. I maintain an open door policy and try to walk around the office as often as I can to create opportunities for interaction with all members of my team. Sometimes, the conversations will turn into impromptu meetings, which can derail my plans for the day, but it’s important to allow the chemistry to happen and follow where it leads. Encouraging an atmosphere of collaboration and creativity is critical to building a strong team.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Michele: My three best tips for executives and leaders would be first, to block out time every day for yourself so that you can organize your thoughts and handle the tasks that are important for that day. Second, to make sure that you understand each day which tasks help you move your mission forward. And lastly, to continuously educate yourself about your industry.

Adam: What are the best lessons you have learned on leading a non-profit organization?

Michele: The best lesson that I have learned about leading a nonprofit is that a nonprofit is a corporation. It is a corporation that is truly no different than other corporations except for its tax status. For-profit corporations have to answer to shareholders and nonprofit organizations have to answer to the constituents that they serve. Nonprofit organizations are concerned about market shares, return on investment, budgeting, marketing, and keeping up with best industry practices. It is definitely not an easy job.

Adam: As a board member of the New York City chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, you have more insight into fundraising than most of us. What are your best tips on raising money, whether it is for a non-profit or your own business?

Michele: Raising money is all about relationships and relationship building. The nonprofit landscape is extremely competitive. You must truly build relationships with your donors and have them invest in the mission as much as you and your team do. This requires storytelling, having touch points with your donors on a consistent basis, and making sure you thank your donors and then thank them again.

Adam: What would you like everyone to know and understand about enCourage Kids?

Michele: Encourage kids is making hospitals a better place to get better for kids and families. What we try to do is help everyone in the hospital who is on the front-line -- the Child Life Specialists, the doctors, the nurses -- with the things that they need that insurance doesn’t cover, to help those hospitalized children and their psychological well-being. We have been doing this for 35 years and we are a true leader and an impactful partner with hospitals across the country. We've invested over 50 million dollars to help medically challenged kids, their families, and hospitals, and we're excited to do even more.

Adam: You are on the advisory board of a leading anti-bullying organization. How can we stop bullying?

Michele: I don't know that we can ever stop bullying, but I do know that we can change our response to bullying. When kids are bullied people need to listen to them, and move to address the situation immediately. So often, kids don’t tell their parents because they are not sure if their parents can help them. They don’t tell the authorities at their schools because they are not sure if they will be helped. We as adults have to make it clear that we will not tolerate bullying and we will do our best ensure that the children in our lives are not bullies.

Adam: What advice do you have on combating bullying in the workplace?

Michele: Wow, that's a tough one! I think in most instances, bullies either need attention or are experiencing an emotional situation that needs to be addressed. As a leader, first of all, you must make sure that your team understands that the work environment must be a safe space for everyone. That said, when bullying does occur, you need to address it, and address it swiftly. If you don't, your team can lose faith in you as a leader, and you may also open yourself up to human resources and legal issues. Bullying in the workplace should be addressed immediately.

Adam: What changes do you believe would improve our healthcare system?

Michele: I would like to see increased equity, access, and parity in our health care system today. A healthier nation is a better, more productive nation. We also need to continue to place preventative health care at the forefront, to ensure that people are able to head many preventable diseases off before they begin.

Adam: What can adults – and leaders in particular – learn from children?

Michele: Children come into this world as accepting, loving, fearless, and curious human beings. Imagine what life would be like if adults approached each other like kids on the playground, with openness and inquisitiveness and an anticipation of having a positive interaction. Wouldn't that be amazing!

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Michele: Currently, the best advice I have received is to stop trying to multi task. It really doesn't work and you wind up with a plethora of uncompleted tasks and feeling quite frustrated.

Adam: What is one thing everyone should be doing to pay it forward?

Michele: The one thing that everyone can do to pay it forward is simply setting an intention to do so. Escalate random acts of kindness. It can be as simple as making sure that you give someone a compliment today, or putting a quarter in the meter for someone whose meter may be about to run out, or writing a check to your favorite nonprofit. I once was at a Starbucks drive-thru and when I got to the window, the barista told me that the person ahead of me had paid for my order. She asked if I wanted to do the same for the person behind me. After glancing discreetly in my rear view mirror to make sure that I wasn’t buying coffee for seven people, I agreed. I now randomly pay for people’s coffee when I can. It’s the best feeling.  

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Michele: My favorite life lesson quote is “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” My mother was the first person to tell me that. She was probably trying to get me to finish my homework. But it’s an edict that has served to guide me faithfully throughout my career. I have a tendency to run through scenarios in my head. I believe that mental preparation is vital to success. Practice what you will say in a board meeting or on a conference call. Keep your bio updated. Have your business cards at the ready at all times. Being prepared means that you are a chess player in life — not a checkers player. Stay ready and open to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.