What have been your most significant leadership experiences? What challenges did you face, and what impact did you have?

One significant professional leadership experience was my role as the business manager for one of the largest manufacturing centers in the country; my job was to serve as a conduit between our clients and lenders to obtain financing at a healthy term and rate. As I gained a deeper understanding of the financing market, I discovered we were unable to obtain financing for an alarming number of eligible customers due to their past poor credit history. I saw an unmet need for alternative financing for them as well as a potential to gain additional clients. Thus, I led an effort to establish our own financing operation to fill this gap.

The biggest challenge in operationalizing this initiative was the high level of collaboration that needed to transpire for the venture to be a success. Our team analyzed various business models to better assist our organization in entering the financing industry. To gain capitalization for the effort, I worked closely with our CFO to produce a pro forma, which was then used to persuade lenders to fund the initiative at a highly competitive rate. Along with our architect and contractor, I performed extensive property research to find an economical option to house the operation and strategically recruited, interviewed, and staffed the operation.

Although the initiative was successful on many levels, what was most important to me was the impact the operation had on the local community: through helping those make a major purchase, we assisted in rehabilitating livelihoods in an economically depressed area. By “Thinking Bravely”, I realized a need that had a positive lasting impact on my community.

My most significant personal leadership experience was leading an event with Children’s Services to instill hope for 50 local children during the holiday season. My organization provided the funds, facilities, and volunteers to take the children on a “Holiday Shopping Spree” to buy gifts for themselves and loved ones. Organizing the collaboration between the two organizations was the biggest challenge, primarily because both entities operate in entirely different industry spaces. To overcome this hurdle, I worked closely with the Children’s Leadership Team, establishing a common ground with our organization. We decided to make all of decisions through the lens of “what is best” for the children, which motivated both organizations to focus on what was truly important. This tactic allowed us to streamline pertinent decisions, but more importantly kept the focus on the children resulting in a much more impactful event.

Not only did the event create a great deal of community awareness for Children’s Services, but it also had an immediate impact on the children and volunteers involved. I believe it inspired others to take a proactive approach to positively impact others, especially during difficult times. Children’s was ecstatic with the success of the event and we have since set forth plans to make it an annual occurrence. By “Thinking Bravely,” I led the collaboration of two organizations to produce an impactful event for children and hopefully alter the lives of many more.