Courtney Spence on Comparing Non-Profit Leadership and Management

In Chapter 8 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How Do Leadership and Management Differ in What You Do?"  Spence shares how both leadership and management play into her Executive Director work in the midst of her organizational growth phase.  She details the vision casting elements of leadership and the one-on-one nature of management in describing the differences.  Courtney Spence returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview.  As Founder and Executive Director, Spence leads non-profit Students of the World to empower college students to use film, photography, and journalism to tell stories of global issues and the organizations working to address them.  Spence graduated with a BA in History from Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How do leadership and management differ in what you do?

Courtney Spence: Leadership is about setting the big goals and having the vision and having the guts to go after it, and having the ability to be confident even in the times when you’re not wholly confident, and I’m not saying it’s an act, I think there is an essential quality of a leader to be honest in the moment and as, you know, we’re going through a time of scale and growth, it is scary, it is exciting but it’s also scary, and I think being able to acknowledge that fully to the people that you’re working with and that work for you, is really important, but it’s also really important to stay really strong emotionally and stay really strong in your convictions. And kind of set that tone as you head upward or westward or wherever that looks like.

Management to me is about – is much more a one-on-one relationship and helping people continue to stay on that path with the organization, and with the leadership that’s been provided, and really making sure that everybody has a say in that and is a part of that, and feels engaged in the big vision, and engaged in how we’re gonna get there. And that they are encouraged when they need to be, but also that, you know, if certain people are starting to fall off, or this isn’t the right journey for them, being able to see that as it cultivates and really anticipate that before it becomes an issue. And I think that management to me is a much more personal one-on-one relationship and leadership is much more of here we are, big family, and we’re headed west, and this is what we’re gonna go do. So they’re very different but they’re very – they’re equally important and equally challenging too.

Courtney Spence on How Recruiting Priorities Change as Non-Profit Grows

In Chapter 9 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How Are Your Recruiting Priorities Changing As Your Organization Grows?"  Referencing Jim Collins, author of "Built to Last", Spence notes how it is about getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats.  She shares how growth requires more specialization in job description and greater demand for positive minded team members who critique constructively.  As Founder and Executive Director, Spence leads non-profit Students of the World to empower college students to use film, photography, and journalism to tell stories of global issues and the organizations working to address them.  Spence graduated with a BA in History from Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How are your recruiting priorities changing as your organization grows?

Courtney Spence: So – I know I talk about Jim Collins a lot but he always talks about the importance of getting the right people on the bus. And, you know, the right people in the right seats on the bus is really, really important and I think that the growth that we have gone through this last half year went from a core staff of 3 that did all things all the time always, all 3 of us, to a staff including volunteers of 12 to 15 where everybody has a defined role and responsibility. Now, granted there’s a lot of fluidity to that definition, we’re still a scrappy, boot-strapping type organization but I’ve recognized the importance of not just getting the right people on but the right people in the right seats.

And the importance of getting people who are really motivated by the vision that you have, and they might differ on how we get to that vision and you want them to challenge you on decisions you make, and you want them to be part of shaping the how we get there, but you cannot, absolutely cannot especially in times of growth and scale, have people on board that are naysayers for the sake of saying nay. You know, you can’t have people that are gonna be challenging and critical because that might be his or her nature, you can’t have people that are challenging and critical because they are scared about the direction you’re going in.

You really need to find people that are gonna be challenging and critical for the ultimate purpose of getting to that vision more effectively and more quickly and more meaningfully than you might know, if that make sense, so I think the – my recruiting and my understanding of who are the people that we wanna add onto our family has really, really matured in the last 6 to 9 months significantly.

Courtney Spence on Learning to See Networking as a Positive Pursuit

In Chapter 16 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How Are You Learning to Make Your Professional Network More Useful?"  Spence shares her personal and professional transition from being internal focused to being more receptive of external pursuits, in particular networking.  Over time she starts to push away from seeing networking in a negative connotation toward something positive.  Courtney Spence returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview.  As Founder and Executive Director, Spence leads non-profit Students of the World to empower college students to use film, photography, and journalism to tell stories of global issues and the organizations working to address them.  Spence graduated with a BA in History from Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to make your professional network more useful?

Courtney Spence: The last 2 months have been very external for me. So we were internal, figuring out our vision, what we’re gonna go do? How are we gonna go do it? Who’s gonna do it with us? And really, you know, the end of 2011 was very internally focused. I didn’t travel as much. I didn’t take meetings. We did retreats and we, you know, we just built our team. And the whole concept was we would build our team so that come January 1, 2012, Spence would get out on the road and start to – not just raise money, but raise partnerships, like as we scale and grow, we want to do it with others. I mean there is such power in collaboration – what we do by nature is collaborative and we’re not gonna go do the big things without really great partners and purpose. So I’m not just out trying to raise donor dollars, I’m really trying to raise partners and bring more people onto our side and our team, and what’s been really exciting about being in that very external phase is that I have started to really expand our network and also started to see ways in which people connect.

I think one of the things I would love to do in the next couple of months is actually visually represent who is the Students of the World community and network, because dots are starting to connect in places I never would have dreamed. And I think there’s something about that kind of synchronicity that’s very encouraging and exciting, but you have to be in the right place and with the right frame of mind to see those connections and appreciate them. I think network prior to this phase that I’m in, network and networking had a very negative connotation for me. I think I really thought of it as a wheeling and dealing and – for some reason, it just didn’t – it didn’t sit right with me.

But I’ve realized it’s about we have something that we think is really important and we wanna go do. And we have to do it with other people, you don’t achieve success alone. And the only way we’re gonna bring the right people on is by being out there and being -- and networking, and by really figuring out who are the people that believe in this and want to be part of it. It’s a very positive thing, it’s not a negative thing, it’s very positive. So that’s been a pretty big transformation for me.

How Turning 40 Years Old Changes Life Perspective - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 5 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "What is on Your Mind as You Turn 40 This Year?"  As Curtis prepared to turn 40, he focused on what he had not done and not achieved.  After speaking with his advisors, who are in their late 60s and early 70s, he finds turning 40 is an opportunity to reflect on the past and take charge of future plans.  With this perspective he regrets less and embraces opportunities more.  Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn.  In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards.  He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

How to Live a Healthier Life at 40 - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 6 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing As You Get Older?"  Curtis shares how he is getting more serious about his health, including what he eats, how he exercises, and when he sleeps.  As he turns 40, he finds he has more energy and, as a result, is more positive, outgoing, and happy.  Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn.  In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards.  He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

Why to Ask About Company Culture in a Job Interview - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 13 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "What Company Qualities Did You Seek When Looking for a New Job?"  Curtis shares the question he now always asks in a job interview.  He shares team sports experiences and how playing basketball taught him the importance of positivity and teamwork and why he carries those lessons closely in his professional life.  Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn.  In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards.  He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

How Positivity Improves Productivity - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 15 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "How Do You Get Yourself Into a Flow State of Productivity?"  Curtis shares how he gets into a zone by working and crossing items off his lists.  This causes him to feel more positive emotions which in turn help him enter a flow state of productivity.  Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn.  In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards.  He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

How to Use Government Experience in Private Sector Job - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 17 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "How Are You Applying Your Government Experience Working in a Private Sector Job?"  Curtis shares how his experience working across local, state, and federal governments has given him the knowledge to help private communities better navigate the political landscape.  He notes how positive and solutions-oriented initiatives are more successful than simply pointing out problems.  Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn.  In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards.  He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

Fabian Pfortmüller on What It Means to Be a Leader

In Chapter 5 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, community builder and entrepreneur Fabian Pfortmüller answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  Pfortmüller shares his leadership learning journey, including taking responsibility, living values, staying focused on goals.  Pfortmüller is co-founder of the young leader accelerator, Sandbox Network, and HOLSTEE, an apparel and design firm that sells meaningful products to mindful shoppers.  Pfortmüller graduated from Columbia University and its school of General Studies. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: What does it mean to be a leader in what you do?

Fabian Pfortmüller: The honest answer is, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. I go through waves. Sometimes I believe I totally figured it out and sometimes I wake up and I realize I really don’t know what it means in the first place. There are certain parts of it that I understand more and more as I become older. One of them is for example taking responsibility for things you start.

So, if something bad happens, if we screw up, I think it’s my responsibility to deal with it. I think that’s what it means to be a leader. On the other hand, I also believe that it has a lot to do with example. It’s -- If energy is low, it’s my role to have high energy and like bring good motivation, good energy back into the team. The same goes for values.

I strongly feel that values are something that are very easily lived in good times but they’re tough in hard times and I think it makes a leader to live values and enforce values when it’s maybe not that easy to live by them and for us at HOLSTEE over the last year we were faced with -- We had very strong growth and we were asked, you know, do you wanna like use a printer that is gonna scale up much faster and maybe use this cheaper paper but, you know, in those moments we’re like, actually we should remind ourselves of what we believe in.

You wanna have like, wanna create sustainable products, wanna create products that have a positive impact for the people that make them, we don’t just wanna scale up and so in those moments, I feel like those decisions they’re about leadership, I believe.

What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder - Michael Margolis

In Chapter 1 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, educator and entrepreneur Michael Margolis answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?"  Margolis shares the challenge of battling chronic fatigue fibromyalgia and how it has affected his personal and work life.  He shares how the positive side of this experience - what has gotten easier - has been learning to delegate as he has built his team.  Michael Margolis is founder and president of Get Storied, an education and publishing platform dedicated to teaching the world how to think in narrative.  He earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Tufts University. 

Finding Your Best by Stringing Together Small Wins

In Chapter 3 of 14 in his 2012 interview, real estate development executive Brett Goldman answers "When Are You at Your Best?"  He shares how he is happiest and most confident when he finds himself atop a series of small successes, be they work accomplishments, social experiences, or simply enjoying a day. 

Brett Goldman is a Real Estate Acquisitions Director at Triangle Equities in New York City.  He holds a BA in General Studies from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: When are you at your best?

Brett Goldman: I'm at my best after I've had small successes. Usually I compile successes on top of successes, and that's when I'm happiest, and when I feel the most confident and I'm able to go out and kind of bravely face the world and know that I can do something, pretty much whatever I wanna do. 

It doesn't have to necessarily be an accomplishment, per se, at work or in my social life or anything. It can just be enjoyment of the day or something like that, you know? I'm very driven by moods and if I can kind of pile one mood onto the next, then that usually gets me going into a more confident and happy and success-prone state. 

Advice on How to Handle Rejection

In Chapter 16 of 16 in her 2012 interview, author and food writer Cathy Erway answers "How Do You Deal With Rejection?"  Erway notes how dealing with rejection comes down to attitude and ego.  She reminds herself rejection is not about her and shifts focus on understanding the party saying no and why it would do so.  Cathy Erway is an author and food writer living in Brooklyn.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How do you deal with rejection?

Cathy Erway:  Rejection is actually -- it is a product of ego. I'm very easygoing, and if somebody rejects me and it's not a huge deal, I really handle it pretty well. Or if something, you know, I -- say I submitted to a poetry contest and I didn't get it, it's really not--I'm not going to be crushed, so I don't really get so worked up.

And if you didn't have a big ego, then you, there's no such thing as rejection, actually. It doesn't exist. It is something that you feel when you're--when somebody says no for whatever reason. You can take that to be, "Oh, I respect the way that person or that organization is thinking," and that's, it is what it is, you know? That's all it is. It's not about me, but let's think about what they were thinking, and that's their choice, okay. So, cool. But if you're thinking of it from only your point of view, "Oh," you know, "the world is -- It's me against the world. And the world is rejecting me." Then of course you're going to feel bad, so it's really about an attitude.

Grandmother Influences on Personal Growth - Yoav Gonen

In Chapter 7 of 11 in his 2011 interview, education reporter Yoav Gonen answers "How Have You Built a Relationship With Your Grandmother and How Has It Shaped Your Life?"  Gonen notes the importance of strong women in his life, especially his grandmothers.  Through counsel from both grandmothers and his mother, Gonen learns to be more confident and stand up for himself.  Yoav Gonen is the education reporter for the New York Post newspaper in New York City.  He earned a Masters of Journalism degree from New York University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.

How Failure Builds Entrepreneur Backbone - Julie Hession

In Chapter 14 of 21 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, food entrepreneur Julie Hession "What Role Has Failure Played in Shaping Your Career Trajectory?"  Hession notes that while starting a specialty food store modeled after Dean and Deluca ended in failure, it provided a positive learning experience and gave her backbone to start another venture.  The experience makes her more street smart, aggressive and confident.  Julie Hession is the founder of Julie Anne's All Natural Granola Company.  Passionate about food since childhood, Hession has developed her career by food blogging, cooking contests, and starting fine food companies.  Hession earned an MBA in Marketing from Duke University and a BA from UNLV. 

Positive Psychology Impact on Environmentalist Career - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 12 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Andrew Hutson answers "What Do You Find Most Challenging About Working in the Environment Business?"  Hutson notes the psychological challenges working in a field focused negative trends around growing environmental problems.  Specifically, it is about staying positive and objective in the face of big problems.  Hutson is a senior project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he advises corporate partners such as Wal-Mart on sustainable supply chain initiatives.  Hutson holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  He earned his BA from Michigan State University. 

Nina Godiwalla on How Meditation Helps High Performers Achieve

In Chapter 20 of 22 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, author Nina Godiwalla answers "How Do You Reconcile Meditation and the Inherent Slowing Down It Encompasses When You Are Dealing With High Performing Individuals That Thrive on Intensity?"  Working with high performing individuals, often Type A personalities, Godiwalla teaches students mind-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques to help them be less fearful and more hopeful and positive.  Even for the most high performing individuals, she finds this helps them to unlock restrained potential and achieve more.  Godiwalla is the author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street".  She is also a public speaker on workplace diversity and founder and CEO of Mindworks, where she teaches mind-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques to help organizations improve employee wellbeing.  Godiwalla holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, an MA in Creative Writing from Dartmouth University and her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How do you reconcile meditation and the inherent slowing down that encompasses when you’re dealing with high-performing individuals that thrive on intensity?

Nina Godiwalla:  So I think one of the things I found -- so in the environment where you say high, there is that mindset of you know either you’re a high performer or you’re someone as if meditation might slow you down but the reality is, is with these high performers, it’s fascinating and research has actually has actually shown this and I’ve been in this environments, the MBA you know the MBA environment, the Wall Street environment, so much of it is run off of fear. 

The culture is run off of fear; it’s like they're so terrified of failing and I put myself in that category too especially when I’m in that environment I mean anything that goes wrong, it’s this environment of perfection and you have to do things right and perfect and you really look down on people that don’t do things necessarily well and I’ve been in those environments and, you know, what is a fantastic example is, you know, somebody that I was just recently talking to, she was rejected from Stanford she had this like complete sense of failure and got into several other MBA programs, fantastic, you know, top programs and she was just like “I don’t get rejected from schools,” and it was just that sense and so she was so focused on this failure, you know in her mindset and it’s that kind of attitude that’s ludicrous I mean so people look at that and they’re like “Oh, please I can’t feel sorry for you.”  But that’s how they operate like in general it’s – they, you know, 10 wonderful things happen to you and that one little thing and you’re so focused on that failure. 

So, my attitude towards that is you will – you can still be above average and these are, you know, type A people so they will do well and they will perform well but they will never be exceptional with that kind of mindset.  They will be – they will stand above other people but they’re not going to blow away the world because the reality is, is they’re still operating under that extreme fear and when things get really difficult and really challenging and something takes out their confidence, they will fall.  So you need people that have a mindset of that they actually can accomplish huge things and if every – if the motivation is all around fear and fear of failure, you’re not going to get very far and I talk about that because they have done so much research on the top MBA programs and they find that, you know, one of the 10 things that bring down some of the best people is their fear of failure.

How to Create Positive Personal Achievement Cycles - Scott Gold

In Chapter 4 of 20 of his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, author and writer Scott Gold answers "When Are You At Your Best?"  Immediately, Gold notes he finds his best when the weather is nice.  He finds good weather gets him outside, moving, and in the state of mind that keeps him productive. He notes how this then creates a positive cycle of self encouragement, a feedback loop which motivates him to do more.  Ultimately this results in both increased productivity and happiness.  Scott Gold is an author and writer based in New York City.  When not writing, Gold moonlights as a bartender at Char no. 4 restaurant in Brooklyn.  He earned a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. 

How to Turn Unpaid Internship Into a Paid Entry Level Job - Lulu Chen

In Chapter 6 of 10 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, fashion stylist Lulu Chen answers "What Advice Do You Have for Young Fashion Professionals to Stay Encouraged From That Transition of Unpaid Internships to Paid Entry Level Jobs?"  She shares how aspiring fashion professionals working unpaid internships need to stay positive and keep trying and building experience.  She notes if the love is there, opportunities will emerge.  Contacts and relationships matter and Chen shares how they are fundamental to making the transition.  Lulu Chen is a New York City based fashion stylist.  Chen earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree studying design and art history from the University of Michigan.