…What’s most important for a nonprofit CEO is to have a passion for the mission. You cannot fake it. Well, you could. But people will see through it eventually, and you may burn out or even come to resent the work. This is your life, your career. It’s where you’ll spend the majority of your time on a daily basis. Why not spend it doing something you truly care about?
As a part of our series called ‘Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO’ we had the pleasure of interviewing Stacey Malcolmson. Stacey Malcolmson serves as the CEO and President of The Senior Source, one of Dallas’s most established nonprofits which focuses on enhancing the well-being of older adults and caregivers. A Harvard Business School alumna with leadership experience at organizations like Habitat for Humanity and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Malcolmson has driven transformative programs in financial literacy, technology, and senior advocacy during her six-year tenure. Outside of the office, she is an avid runner and has run a marathon on every continent, embodying a spirit of perseverance and adventure.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
When I was a little girl, my grandmother would take me to visit residents of a local nursing home. We would bring them bananas and Hershey’s chocolate bars to brighten their day. That experience stuck with me until one day, years later, I got a call from a recruiter about the opportunity to lead an organization whose mission was to improve the quality of life of older adults. I leapt at it.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
Several months before the COVID-19 pandemic began, I saw an example of a recession plan for an organization. Since I’m a planner by nature, I recruited some donors and past board members to help create one for our nonprofit, The Senior Source. After hours of discussion and weeks of effort, the plan was solidified and approved in February 2020. And then, the entire world changed.
Fortunately, we have not had to use our plan, even despite the bumpy economy that followed the pandemic. But I consider that story a lesson in two things. One, timing is everything. And two, there is so much inspiration and room for improvement on best practices to be gained by looking at what others are doing. Whether they’re in your field or not, it’s wise to lift your eyes up and see how others are tackling the future. Chances are, you’ll learn something.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early in my career, I ran the annual giving program for a renowned, Forbes-ranked, private research university. We mailed approximately 30,000 postcards to alumni all over the world announcing our student calling program. You can imagine my shock when an alum called to report that the phone number on the postcard was not the university’s number, but that of a pornography site. That was a really bad day! At least now I’m able to laugh about it, and I triple check phone numbers.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
While I have had many close friends and mentors along the way, I’ve also benefited from watching and following other nonprofit leaders I admire.
Once, I complimented a leader I admired for their ability to work a room. I expected a “thank you, it’s taken years to hone this skill.” But they simply responded by telling me to stay true to my strengths. Over the years, I’ve come to realize my strengths lie more with one-on-one relationship building. It’s interesting how the people we admire often have skill sets different from our own. And it’s not a bad thing to want to be like them. But we cannot forget to play to our own strengths, as well. After all, someone is probably looking at you, thinking “I wish I had their talents.”
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
These kinds of decisions become that much harder when you’re running a nonprofit. Everything you’re doing is good, so it is difficult to cut things out.
The Senior Source used to have a fee-for-service program that helped adult children who were caring for their aging parents from afar — typically, the adult child lived in another city. What we found is that our caring staff were spending so much time with these clients that the organization was losing money on what was supposed to be our only profit-generating program. It was an incredibly painful decision to end that program, but we still refer clients seeking that type of assistance to a former employee involved in the program who now works independently. Fortunately, The Senior Source has a wealth of free tools and information available that any family caregiver can take advantage of. From helping families consider and compare nursing homes for their loved one, to navigating the massively confusing Medicare enrollment process, to helping older adults find community to alleviate loneliness and depression (something more than 40% of seniors struggle with), we remain the ultimate resource hub for the needs of older adults and caregivers. But as a nonprofit, we’ve had to find creative ways to maintain that status.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
In the nonprofit world, a CEO has one primary goal: to ensure the sustainability of the organization while driving future initiatives that align with its core mission.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?
The myth that there is only one personality type that makes for a successful nonprofit CEO. That’s not true. I bring an MBA and a business-focused mindset to The Senior Source, while some of my CEO peers lean on their vast social work or clinical experience. Both backgrounds can be very useful in running a nonprofit.
What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
After working as a senior leader in various nonprofits, there weren’t a lot of surprises — thankfully! But I did ask a lot of questions about financials. You don’t want to start a leadership job by being blindsided by a massive hole or unsustainable business model you have to dig out of. The more you know, the better.
Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
What’s most important for a nonprofit CEO is to have a passion for the mission. You cannot fake it. Well, you could. But people will see through it eventually, and you may burn out or even come to resent the work. This is your life, your career. It’s where you’ll spend the majority of your time on a daily basis. Why not spend it doing something you truly care about?
I don’t believe there is such a thing as a cookie cutter nonprofit CEO. My advice would be to know your own strengths well and build a team that has diverse and complementary strengths.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?
One of the first things I did when I arrived at The Senior Source was create staff committees that were empowered to make decisions that directly affected them. I didn’t want all decisions coming from the executive team.
For instance, we created a “Return to Office Committee” during the pandemic dedicated to discussing and recommending how we would return to the office after a nearly 100% virtual working experience. Not only was our return rate incredibly successful, it also created buy-in among our entire staff.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
One of the realities of American culture is that we are youth obsessed; no one wants to think about aging. The consequences of that can be devastating. The most heartbreaking client stories are the ones when families are torn apart because a will or dying wishes were never discussed, or when retirees walk in our doors having run out of savings for lack of planning, or when caregivers call us in emotional crisis over determining how to care for their parent who has recently developed dementia.
I’ve used my marketing skills over the last six years to help people not only talk about aging, but also to plan for it. It’s a difficult and long road to dig out from crises that could have been mitigated or even avoided with a little foresight. If we are lucky, we’re all going to age. Better one or two uncomfortable conversations than years of misery.
Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
- The buck stops here; you are the last person in the accountability line. If someone on my team makes a mistake big enough to make it to the Board of Directors, I take the blame for it. They don’t need to know who was responsible. I am the one to make amends and rectify errors.
- People want to see you succeed as a nonprofit CEO, so don’t be afraid to ask for their help. I have built and kept donor relationships and friendships for almost two decades, and I have a network of supporters who want to help the agency (and me) succeed. Everyone loves to be asked for their opinion and their help!
- Build a network of other CEOs who can be a great sounding board on issues you cannot share with your colleagues. Truly, leadership can be lonely, so have an appropriate community you can turn to when you need it. I joined a female nonprofit CEO group called “It’s Lonely at the Top.” Here, we share successes and challenges, as well as laughs and tears.
- Enjoy and embrace learning about the more “dull” but critical parts of running a business, like building maintenance and insurance. One of the best things about becoming a CEO from a focused position, like Chief Development Officer, is the variety of responsibilities. It’s a nice break from calling donors all day every day to negotiating the best health care insurance plans for my staff.
- Your staff are watching every move you make; being authentic to your values will go a long way in building trust. My team knows my likes and dislikes, my sense of humor and even my family. I learned to open every staff meeting with jokes, to host birthday lunches and bake their favorite cakes. When I’m wrong, I admit it and I maintain a commitment to being transparent in my decision making. These intentional actions help me bridge the divide between my background and experience and theirs.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
You’re never too young to have a will. I was inspired to get one in my early 30s when a friend said if something tragic happened to me, a will could be one less worry that my loved ones would have.
Also, ask your parents if they have a will, how they want to spend their last decades, and what their end-of-life wishes are. Warren Buffett recently said that parents should share the details of their will with their adult children. And I wholeheartedly agree.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Hope is not a strategy.” I can hope people will support The Senior Source with their time, talents and treasures, or I can get on the phone and ask them. As a runner, I can hope for a fast marathon time or I can train for that time. The latter works better 100% of the time.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them
I am an avid reader. Two books that are relevant to me right now as a Gen-Xer are Peter Attia’s Outlive and Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal. Both have changed my exercise routine from focusing solely on running to incorporating heavy weights and balance and flexibility. They have also made me rethink the aging process, for myself and others. When I can identify challenges or foresee issues with getting older, it’s easier and less emotional to address them now. I’d rather be doing that when I’m healthy than when my cognitive or physical capabilities decline.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Stacey Malcolmson of The Senior Source: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.