The NEXT BIG THING with Keith D. Terry

How to Lead Complex Healthcare Organizations Without Losing Your Soul

• Keith D. Terry • Season 1 • Episode 37

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What does it take to lead a healthcare nonprofit when funding is cut, policy shifts overnight, and lives are at stake?

In this episode of The NEXT BIG THING with Keith D. Terry, veteran healthcare Chief Executive Sharon Smith-Terry shares how she navigated high-stakes leadership roles—from Baxter Healthcare to the Orthopaedic Research Society—with a rare mix of strategic precision and mission-first clarity.

We unpack:

  • Myths about nonprofit leadership vs. for-profit models
  • The real impact of federal funding cuts on health equity
  • How to lead through a crisis without losing your purpose
  • Why fundraising is a core leadership skill, not a side hustle
  • How servant leadership and DEI principles still matter in 2025

Whether you’re in healthcare, leading a nonprofit, or building a values-based business, Sharon’s story will challenge you to lead with courage, clarity, and compassion.

#HealthcareLeadership #NonprofitLeadership #StrategicLeadership #HealthEquity #ServantLeadership #KeithDTerry #TheNextBigThing #WomenInLeadership #AIInHealthcare #DEI #PodcastForChangeMakers #BuzzsproutPodcast #Sharonsmithterry

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Keith D. Terry and JJaed Productions, LLC produced this episode. www.jjaedproductions.com

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the podcast. The Next Big Thing. I'm your host, keith D Terry, a consultant, a coach and a serial entrepreneur. The mission here is to teach, inspire and to motivate. Today's episode is particularly important because we're diving into the world of non-profit healthcare organizations and leadership, a space where mission is everything, the stakes are high and, of course, the resources are often limited. But first let's talk about context, because I believe that context is really important. Right now, nonprofit healthcare organizations across the country are undergoing pressure. Federal funding cuts, stricter requirements for public programs like Medicaid and SNAP are increasing and the increasing political shifts are placing a heavier burden on these organizations that already serve the most vulnerable in the community. And yet our leaders from this side of the pond rise. They're doing remarkable things.

Speaker 1:

But, like I always do with all my podcasts, I like to give a historical context of nonprofit and health care in America. From the 1960s through the 1800s, cheap missions, charity missions like churches and religious organizations, served as the backbone of health care in this country. A lot of people forget that, that it was led by the clergy and moral leaders who had a calling to serve those in the community. Now we shift from the 1890s to the 1920s, reformers like Jane Addams personalized or professionalized rather, public health works. They needed to galvanize civic support, to secure funding from wealthy philanthropists to serve the urban poor. Then we shift from the 1930s to the 50s. Government funding expanded and nonprofits grew through structured partnerships, navigating government grants, infrastructure programs. Skills like public administration became essential. And guess what else? Fundraising requirements like grant writing had to align mission to what the federal priorities were, programs like the Hill-Burton Act. Now we move on to the 60s and 90s, I mean, and 80s. Medicare and Medicaid entered the scene. Nonprofits became engines for civil rights, health equity and systematic change Advocates for underserved populations.

Speaker 1:

Leaders needed policy knowledge, public speaking skills to influence change and this is why I say leaders rise in the nonprofit healthcare organization. They had to have another specialized skill, and that was fundraising, but it became more formalized. Have another specialized skill, and that was fundraising, but it became more formalized. They had to require them to build foundation partnerships and engage in political advocacy funding. Now we shift from that period, from the 90s to 2000. We're coming a little closer to today. Business acumen entered the nonprofit healthcare arena where they had to balance mission and margins became essential. Nonprofit leaders adopted strategic planning, financial management to compete in a market-driven environment. Fundraising became even more specialized. It was institutionalized, where you had major donor campaigns, grant acquisition, board-driven capital campaigns became the norm.

Speaker 1:

But let's be clear. Fundraising isn't just about securing dollars. It's a high-level leadership skill. The best nonprofit leaders aren't just good at asking. They're masters at aligning mission with money, building trust and inspiring people to invest in their vision and quite a specialized skill.

Speaker 1:

The last era, from 2010 to now, during the COVID-19 mental health crisis, nude racial injustice movements, have shaped what we are doing right now. Today's leaders must be resilient crisis managers, inclusive change makers, fluent in tech and data. As you can see, the skill set of a nonprofit organization leader is quite vast. Fundraising became an omnichannel. You know what I mean by omnichannel. They had to master digital platform, corporate partnerships, social media appeals and DEI line funding strategies, and I would say DEI is still not a bad term. A good term because it's not just about race, it's about the inclusion of so many different groups of people. So how do you lead through all of this purpose?

Speaker 1:

Well, today's guest and this is where I get it becomes fun and I shut up. We get to listen to my. It's my guest today. My guest today is Sharon Smith Terry. Let me introduce you to Sharon Smith Terry. Sharon is the former chief executive officer of the Orthopedic Research Society and a trusted advisor to national health initiatives. She brings over 30 years of leadership experience across healthcare, nonprofit, nonprofit strategy, global operations, marketing and public health advocacy. Her career includes major roles at Baxter International, the American Hospital Association, the Neurocritical Care Society, where she's led during the height of the pandemic. She's a Jackson State grad, an award-winning MBA from Roosevelt University and the author of two poetry books that speak to the heart and soul of purpose. Sharon, welcome to the show. Welcome to the Next Big Thing. How are you?

Speaker 2:

Thank you, keith, I'm fine. What a fantastic introduction on healthcare. Thank you for that intro. It helps set the stage for me, so I appreciate that.

Speaker 1:

Okay, Well, thank you. That's what we try to do here. On the Next Big Thing Okay. So with that, Sharon, let's begin you. So with that, Sharon, let's begin you. Know a lot of people don't know your journey. Let's start there. Who is Sharon Smith, Terry, and what shaped you as a leader today?

Speaker 2:

Well, first I was born Sharon C Smith To Allison Minnie Smith. I am the youngest of five children. So in growing up in a home with the youngest of five children, you learn from them and I think that started to set my journey, for who I am. You know, sports was my foundation, college was my salvation and healthcare is my inspiration. So, to sum it up, that's really who I am, but it's important to know that you know it's all about being authentic throughout your journey Understand what it is you want to be, what you want to become and how you want to make an impact on society. And so, just coming out of Zion into college, that was my first step in learning who the world is and my place in it.

Speaker 1:

Okay, and so was there some big event that led you to the nonprofit side. Because of what I know of you, you've always been mission-driven, or is that not true?

Speaker 2:

I've always been mission driven, even from the point where I had the quickest hands in the county playing basketball. I was captain of my basketball team as a senior. We didn't win.

Speaker 1:

Did you say the quickest hands?

Speaker 2:

Quickest hands in the county that's what they named me I'd steal a ball and cross over and go down the court and lay it up on you. That's a transferable skill to my work, because it's all about understanding what the goal is, understanding how to achieve it and then achieving it. But to my journey to healthcare. Let me answer that for you. So after graduating from college, you know my goal was to work in a juvenile field and you know Father Flanagan said a long time ago, there's no such thing as a bad boy, and I wanted to prove him right by counseling them. Couldn't find a job, so ended up at Baxter Healthcare. Where was my introduction to the healthcare field?

Speaker 2:

On a for-profit side, I learned all there is to know about renal disease and that nasty kidney that's such a nasty disease Patients, having patients go through that and looking for a kidney transplant. Until then, doing those exchanges, either in center or in their homes, was really my whole passion for healthcare. Because in talking to patients and understanding what their journey was, either in home or in center, to make sure that they can clean out all those toxins, through exchanges that interrupted their lives either three times a week or three times a day, depending on the type of dialysis they did. So that was my passion. To say gee, I want to make these patients better. At what all costs? What can I do to help? And so, after a few more jobs I had growing in my profession, I ended up at the American Hospital Association. That was my introduction to health care association in 2007.

Speaker 1:

OK, and I would say, you know, the American Hospital Association is pretty big, it's the premier non-for-profit. And so as we talk about, you know, a purpose driven leadership, was there some some special moment that or a mission critical moment that that pulled you into a purpose driven leadership that you now possess?

Speaker 2:

Yes, you know it was all about. It was all about the patients. I will admit I was told in college that was an idealist, and I guess I still am, because I think there could be a cure for every disease if they had the research funding to explore it and find cures. I don't like to see people sick, and when they're sick unnecessarily, that really bothers me, and so my passion is around what can be done to make people well, and in making people well, give everyone who's sick an equal opportunity to participate in clinical trials to receive the medications that they need, no matter what their background, and so there's a healthcare equity piece to this too. That's really a driving force for me, as I saw when I talked to some of the patients and at Baxter and who gets dialysis care and who doesn't, as one quick example, keith, is, if a nephrologist has a patient.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

And the patient know that they have kidney failure and they need to go on dialysis.

Speaker 2:

The nephrologist has a choice I can put them on home dialysis or I can put them on dialysis where they go into a center. There are some technologies now. I understand that in-center dialysis you can also do at home now, but the data has shown previously that for African-American patients, hispanic patients, folks from lower income communities, were always given in-center treatments where they had to leave their home, find transportation and go into a center, sit in that center three to four hours and have their exchanges, versus the care of home dialysis where you're at home, where it's a different treatment, where you have exchanges. You can do exchanges three times a day, depending on your body weight and size and condition of your kidney, really, or you can sleep while dialysis is going on and be hooked up to a machine. Those are lifestyle issues, those are quality of care issues that need to be addressed Okay, and that's why I'm so passionate about health care and not only making all patients well, but making sure that their lifestyle is best quality as possible, as they're making themselves well.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I appreciate that and I want to stay a little bit on you before we start getting into non-for-profits and navigating, and let's stay on your journey. You've worked for healthcare for-profit organizations and healthcare non-for-profit organizations. Thinking of those two big buckets and your own personal journey, you know, did one side influence you more than the other? Did you learn something different on one side or the other? Because what I'm getting at is what influenced your leadership style.

Speaker 2:

What influenced my leadership style was the organization itself and who makes up the organization people. They are a company's greatest asset, whether it's for profit or non-for-profit. So I've worked in an organization where people were not as valued as they could have been and I said to myself if I get that wall office, if I get that decision-making role, I'm going to do some things differently, and that is making people your number one priority, making them feel good about coming to work, giving them tools and resources they need to do their job. You know and that's either on the for-profit or not-for-profit side but what I have found is the difference If you have a talented team, if you have a culture that allows people to come to work and be themselves.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the major difference is in for-profit organizations you've got to get five and six and seven level pools. You've got to go to the manager, the director, the VP, and then the VPs have to discuss it. Then it goes back to the director. They have to discuss it. See what's in the budget. By the time it comes back, it's like could be six months later and you're like what was that idea I forgot? Let me go back to my notes. Versus, on the nonprofit side. It goes up through your manager, maybe the executive director, ceo. They take a look at it, make sure it aligns with the mission, make sure it's what the members want, and you're executing in about two to three months. So it's a matter of seeing an idea, a business need that satisfies that beneficiary whether it's a member, whether it's a patient, whether it's a customer how quickly you can get that out to market to meet the need.

Speaker 1:

Okay, Okay, so now let's peel back the onion a little bit more on non-for-profits. What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about leading non-profit organizations, particularly healthcare non-profits?

Speaker 2:

I like this question because I've been in non-profits for a while now and this comes up a lot. Number one is that non-profits aren't a business. The non-for-profits are what Non-profits are, not a business. Okay, they are a business. They have annual budgets that they need to adhere to and one of the key drivers of success is meeting your bottom line. Now you may call it something different. On the for-profit side, you call it profit. On a non-profit side, you call it a net gain, because that net gain needs to be reinvested back into your members in the way of education and those kinds of things. That's the only difference, but it is a business.

Speaker 2:

The second thing is, from a compensation standpoint, that nonprofit professionals are not paid competitively. That's not true, because most nonprofits do a market study at the end of each year to see what the salary ranges are for a particular field, whether for-profit or non-for-profit. It just relates to zip code. That's the only difference. Then the third is that the workforce isn't as talented and they have lighter workloads. I can assure you, if you worked for a non-profit, you will be like I wonder if it's less busy on a for-profit side, because I'm working 60 hours a week and it's not because you have to, it's because you want to, because many people who work for nonprofits this is another one, and this one isn't a proven one, because you're going to ask me, sharon, where's the data on that? I don't have the data on this one, but I can tell you that people in the nonprofit side are truly passionate about their job.

Speaker 2:

I believe that it is that end user, that beneficiary that's going to benefit from what you offer that improves their life in some way. And then a final one that I would focus on as far as what are some of the misconceptions, is nonprofits don't have the same need for investments as other businesses. So, yeah, we do need the same level of investment in infrastructure, in technology, in people, in innovation, because all these things are needed to meet our mission and vision. You know so. Please, I just implore you guys to rethink about nonprofits, because it is a business. We do need the infrastructure because the investment in nonprofits serve that end user, serve that patient, and every one of us has been a patient or will be a patient at least once in our lifetime.

Speaker 1:

Well, let me ask you this Don't you think that? You know, I do believe it's a misconception. I just think the misconception is diminishing. Now, that's just my perspective. Now you could, I could be wrong. Feel free to push back and shape it, because you're the guest, you're the expert. I do believe that. I do believe people are incredibly passionate to work for non-for-profits because it's mission focused. This organization is the American Hospital Association, serves the issues of the hospital, the heart association, lung cancer you just left the Orthopedic Research Society. That said, I think I want to peel back the onion a little bit on boards because, having served on non-for-profit boards, some at a high level what I mean by high level? Some very big, like Planned Parenthood to you know, the Evanston Community Foundation board, they are non-paid boards. Is there a difference? Do you have a perspective on non-for-profit boards?

Speaker 2:

I do. My perspective is going in as a CEO or executive director and let me just say for nonprofits, when you talk about the difference, a CEO and executive director are pretty much the same. You serve yes, they are At the top of that society. You represent the society from an operational standpoint. It's just a matter of whether your organization wants to call you a CEO or wants to call you an executive director. The nomenclature for most nonprofits is executive director. But they serve the function as a CEO and their job is to ultimately run that organization.

Speaker 2:

When things are great, pat that CEO on the back. When things are not so great, well then, you have to answer to the board, stakeholders, members and everyone else. But I would say, from a board standpoint, you got to have a functional board and a functional board doesn't mean that your board meets quarterly, weekly, monthly, whatever. It means understanding what your strategic responsibilities are from that board standpoint, your fiduciary responsibility, not getting into the weeds of what that CEO or executive director does, but from a strategic level, how are we going to plan these things out? Are we going to focus on DEI as an example? Are we going to offer certification programs for the value of our members? Are we going to do some of these other things? Are we going to partner with other organizations? Those are the strategic things that board thinks about and needs to stay focused on. So, as a leader of the organization, on the operations side, that CEO or executive director needs to make sure that their boards are mission-focused, strategic-driven and goal-oriented at the strategic level. If you do that, then you have a successful functioning.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Well, this next question I really want to ask can you take us into a moment when you faced, you were at a leadership crossroads, when your values were tested, but you had to make a hard call anyway?

Speaker 2:

Yes, you know, and let me use the value of accountability.

Speaker 1:

As a leader.

Speaker 2:

You are accountable to the organization, you are accountable to your staff, you are accountable to the memberships, you are accountable to everything within that organization. So let me just answer the question by telling you just a quick story. Okay, I had a friend who was qualified for an open position. I needed trusted people on my leadership team, so I hired her.

Speaker 1:

You hired your friend.

Speaker 2:

I hired my friend, okay, and after a while I found out the friend was underperforming Because she was a friend. I gave her more leg room to improve. She did not. So at some point. But at the point where I gave her more leg room to improve, I was compromising the company value of accountability. I'm accountable to have the most talented people on my team to deliver on our goals and objectives. So that lingered on for about six months.

Speaker 2:

And trying to make her better, and you are as a leader. If folks are struggling, you got to try to help them along the way. But at some point you recognize that you got to move that person off to off the bus or onto a different seat on the same bus. I knew I needed to move this person off the bus, so I captivized the values for a minute until I realized I couldn't do it anymore. So at the end of the day, the person was separated from the organization. Here's a lesson learned. Number one and it's what my boss told me when I first started is Sharon, when you have a problem with an employee, that's okay. It's what you do with it that matters. And what becomes your problem or stays that employee's problem. It started to become my problem and it started becoming the organization's problem. My lesson learned was I'd rather have a good friend than say that last part again so.

Speaker 2:

I'd rather have a good friend than an employee. Ok, because there's so much talent that you don't have to put your friend in a role and sacrifice the friendship if it doesn't work that you don't have to put your friend in a role and sacrifice the friendship if it doesn't work.

Speaker 1:

Gotcha, Gotcha. Some people would say never hire friends. But I don't believe that's necessarily true. Everybody has to stay accountable. But thank you for that story. Was it a tough learn for you? A tough?

Speaker 2:

learn. I'm just going to say it was more emotional than tough.

Speaker 1:

Okay, okay.

Speaker 2:

You know I've had to let people go before. The emotional part was that I had a personal connection to her and I know leaders hire colleagues, people that they know all the time and let's not sit. I just want your listeners to know that this isn't this emotional female leader who's into her feelings. This is not what this is is. This is about recognizing the need for the organization and making sure the person who wasn't was not performing well enough would be okay, because no one wants to take food off a people's table, but when you're in this role, your first objective, your first allegiance is to the organization, and that's what I realized in that.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so let's you know, let's anything else you want to say about that story or about employees, Because I want to navigate into today's landscape.

Speaker 2:

No, go ahead.

Speaker 1:

Well, you know, you see what's happening publicly. You know, with the recent shifts in public policy funding. You know new challenges, shifts all across the board funding, funding, funding policy changes, policy changes. Is it political, Is it not? But here is the issue. People are still homeless, People still get cancer, People still have diabetes, People still can't pay their bills. There's so many things that people are faced with. I don't see cancer rates going down, diabetes rates going down, obesity rates going down. And so, with the recent shifts in public policy funding and new challenges, you know, nonprofit leaders. How are nonprofit leaders, the sector, dealing with all of this?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's tough, it's a challenge and this was the last thing I faced before leaving ORS. And I recall at our annual meeting in February, the decision that came down to reduce indirects down to 15%. It became pretty solemn at that meeting because the indirects is where is the?

Speaker 1:

fund Indirects, explain what that means to the.

Speaker 2:

Indirects is your administrative expenses related to a grant that you receive, that you use that to pay for researchers, for the work that they do in the labs, gotcha. So you know, and so let me back up and say this and I'll get back to what that means is. Let me just give you just a couple of data points. Keith, you know, as reported by the Associated Press back in March, $11 billion of direct federal support was cut and that eliminated over 20,000 jobs $11 billion $11 billion, okay.

Speaker 2:

Also, according to NBC News, approximately $1.8 billion was cut from the National Institutes of Health you mentioned before. Keith, you talked about heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, all these kinds of things. You know that's healthcare funding, you know. And at that same time, between April 28th and April 8th, 700 grants were cut across 24 NIH institutes. Okay, so that's huge.

Speaker 2:

Go back to ORS. Many of our members within ORS are PhDs. They work in academic institutions. They do research in musculoskeletal health and, for those who don't know what musculoskeletal health, that deals with movement, our joints, our knees, our legs, our arms, anything that has to do with movement in the body, and arthritis. And arthritis is one of those major things that you get. If you have any kind of ligament issue, you're probably going to end up with arthritis. That's where a lot of the research was coming from for ORS members.

Speaker 2:

A lot of that funding got cut, so those academic institutions had to adjust. If we're not going to get the money from the federal government, where are we going to get it from? They have to readjust and figure out new budgets, reshift some things around to see if they can keep these researchers on board. If they couldn't, unfortunately they had to let them go. So much of the research was stifled and in some cases it was unplugged. The research had to cease. So what does that mean? People lose their jobs. Academic institutions have to find other ways to find funding to support it, and so you have a lot of PhDs who don't have jobs, and then you know so okay, so yeah, what does all that mean? People lose their jobs. What does that mean to the patient?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because I was going to ask being balanced. Here is some of. I agree with you 1.8 billion is a lot, 700 grants is a lot, but do you think there's any fat in there at all? Do you think all of those, is that money well spent?

Speaker 2:

before you get to your next point, I can't say because I don't have the data to support it. Who am I to say that somebody's research is fat, when they have taken the time to identify a hypothesis based upon a certain issue and they started to conduct the research? Because, ultimately, it's about saving costs, improving quality of care, improving what surgeons do in the operating room based upon research, the clinical research that they've gained. So if you take this research away, then how do you know what the side effects are of transplant surgery? We know someone who just had a hip surgery. I know someone who had knee surgery. I had meniscus surgery. What's the data on what type of care to give? Can I use a scope to go in or do I need to cut it open if I'm doing a meniscus treatment? What about Achilles? We have athletes now. I mean, we're heavy into basketball season. What if Angel Reese and what if? What if Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, both God forbid, God forbid, shredded their Achilles.

Speaker 2:

They're around the same age, same athletic fitness. Who could heal the quickest? Is there a difference in healing by race? So what if you had two male athletes from the Pistons or from OKC who tore their Achilles? Is there a time difference in healing in men or women? That's the kind of research that's being done.

Speaker 2:

I see or let's take it a step further. If I'm a person who just sits around on my couch and never exercises, but I have diabetes, what is that going to do to me? I'm not getting any exercise, I'm becoming sedentary. That could lead to all other types of diseases heart disease, kidney disease and those kinds of things. So that's where that research but I'm sorry, keith, you got me on a roll here for- a second.

Speaker 2:

So that's all about the research funding, and it's even been a challenge even before the budget cuts Research based upon life threatening illnesses versus research based upon lifestyle illnesses.

Speaker 1:

Aren't both important.

Speaker 2:

Well, a lot of the research has gone towards life threatening illnesses like heart disease, cancer and those kinds of things, but lifestyle issues, which sometimes people see as is you can live if you've got a broken leg, you can live if you've got arthritis and those kinds of things, but they lead to other life-threatening illnesses if they don't get those taken care of in the proper way. Which research helps to find the best technique, the best medicines, the best cures?

Speaker 1:

That's helpful. I never thought that's helpful because I didn't know. Research was gated that way in terms of lifestyle versus life crisis moments. And you're right, one of the hardest things for people to change is lifestyle, you know, so I appreciate the perspective, you know.

Speaker 2:

If I could just make this one point though Okay, research isn't separated by lifestyle or life threatening. It's the person who's giving the research funding. The priority goes to those what they perceive to be just automatic life threatening situations. We got to take care of this heart of this person and die immediately. We got to take care of this brain of this person going to die immediately, but so I'm going to if I only have $10,000 to give. Are you going to give to someone who has a heart condition? Are you going to give to someone who has a knee condition?

Speaker 1:

Out of curiosity, because while Trump and his minions are making it seem like DEI is a bad word, you know, what we do know in this country is that health equity. There are gaps in health care for different groups of people in this country today, and one of the things that I believe and I could be biased is that some of the research can serve as a measure to close those gaps. The notion that African-Americans have a higher degree of pain just drives me insane, because pain is pain, no matter what your melanin content is. So to hear that $1.8 billion has been cut, 700 grants have been cut, anything related to DEI is gone. Any perspective before we keep going on that? Any data points you have that you want to enlighten on that? Or am I just wrong?

Speaker 2:

I don't think it's a matter of wrong or right and no, I can just get into data based upon what I read, but today I don't have any more data points to give you. I will say this, though, that I know that because I sit on a health care council which I won't name now. What I do know is that, while the government has said we can't focus on DEI, health disparities is still a priority. It's massive in certain cases, yes, and the government recognizes the health disparities is a huge issue that needs to be addressed, and there are plenty of researchers who do research on health equity, so those are still getting funded, and so I encourage people that if you're doing research on health equity, continue to do it. When you submit your grants, though, don't put black or white in there, because it won't be funded.

Speaker 2:

You have to find clever ways to write your grant on health equity and stay away from those taboo words that will probably kick your grant back to you with an unsatisfactory result.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so let's peel back the onion a little bit more on health, innovation and faith. You know, I don't know if faith is a part of what you do on a daily basis. You've worked what I would say at the intersection of science, advocacy and community health. How do you ensure that equity is more than just a statement, but of something that's practice?

Speaker 2:

Well, leaders need to be authentic about their desire for equity within their organization. When I say authentic, they really, really, truly need to know what they are saying when they put equity in their mission statement and if they want to support that with diversity and inclusion, own it, stand by it.

Speaker 1:

I would argue that people are running. Sorry, go ahead, let me not interrupt you, keep going.

Speaker 2:

In spite of what the opposition says, I will say this Since the new presidential administration has been in play, many for-profit organizations have dismissed their diversity equity inclusion programs. I further read that many Fortune 100 company CEOs got together and talked about it and in 2024, they noted that was the first time they felt comfortable in talking about their discomfort with the diversity equity inclusion strategies and felt that they had to go along. Because of the George Floyd issue back in 2021, where everybody then was saying, oh my God, we have a crisis here, Like they're just realizing, there's a crisis right when it comes to race relations in this country. They've been here for a long time.

Speaker 2:

George Floyd just brought it to a new level and because of passion, people put missions in place, and I would say you should never build a mission upon passion, because passion fades, Okay, the reality of what your company is trying to do. Go back to your mission statement and let your mission statement drive what it is you want to do for diversity, equity and inclusion, and if there's something in your mission statement that aligns with DEI, then you should keep it in, no matter what the opposition is.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

But more than anything else, be authentic and own it. Don't put it in.

Speaker 1:

If you really don't believe it and you know finally, I would say I would.

Speaker 2:

I would, Because you know what? There's not an all for anything. There is a go-along mentality that they think that that's what their stakeholders and their customers want, so they're going to put it in, but it's not really what they believe. Those companies who really believe it have sustained it.

Speaker 2:

I give Harvard University all the kudos in the world, because they are standing by a mission that they believe in and the world the world should applaud them for all the heat that they are taking and I just hope that they come out on the favorable side of this so that other organizations can follow and not go along because they think that that is the path they should take for the moment and not for the path that they think is right for, just for the good of the organization and the stakeholders and the customers they serve.

Speaker 1:

Are there organizations, in your opinion, that are doing it right besides Harvard? You want to name them.

Speaker 2:

There are. Well, I would say-.

Speaker 1:

In the nonprofit era.

Speaker 2:

I would say up until I left the organization, I would say ORS did. The board made a decision to continue on. I don't know how they're doing today. I've been gone for just about two months, maybe less. I would say that the Neurocritical Care Society, where I came from. They still have their diversity statement up, I would say organizations like for-profits, like Costco. They are holding to their task. But to go back to nonprofits, many of them, though, and they're in a tight spot now.

Speaker 1:

They're in a tight spot Because, let's face it, you know it's not like you got a product that you can sell and it's open in the marketplace. You know nonprofits have to fundraise and the federal government has a big, big budget unless you're, unless you have a tap in with Bill Gates or some other philanthropic organization. And so you know I say this for my listeners you know nonprofits are mission driven and you know right now they are under pressure because the ground is shifting and you know they have to do something that for profit organizations don't have to do, and that's to raise money because they don't sell their. I mean, are there not for profits to sell a product?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you sell, you sell education.

Speaker 1:

I see what you're saying. I see what you're saying. Yeah no-transcript.

Speaker 2:

And then other programs and services face. If you are a 501c3 and you don't adhere to the DEI guidelines and compliances, there is a threat to take your 501c3 status and that will affect your fundraising. Because, most donors donate to 501c3s because of the tax break they get, so take that away.

Speaker 1:

That's the pressure.

Speaker 2:

And then I go back to. They could truly be passionate about DEI, but it's the DEI passion and it's the bottom line and ultimately, if you want your organization to stay open, you have to do what you can to make sure that that happens. And that may mean going back on some of your core values of your organization in order for that to happen. And hopefully, if you do that, it's on a short term and you can go back to it under new leadership.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I, you know we're, you know we're, we're. This is January, this is June, we're six months into a shift now, coming from from the White House. And so I you know this is my own personal perspective I think it's early in the game, but it's going to have a profound effect. It's unfortunate that. You know, diversity, equity and inclusion is made to be a bad word. You know, you got a handicap. That's diversity. You have a religious background. That's, that's a diversity. You can't see, you're blind. That's diversity. To include those people, equity meaning that they're included in this. I mean, it's just a sad day, but let's shift, let's shift, let's shift and talk about it. You know nonprofits and innovation. You know, do nonprofits use creativity and entrepreneurial thinking to help keep themselves going? Do you have a perspective on that?

Speaker 2:

So what are your thoughts on that. You have to be innovative, of course, of course, of course. Innovation is one of the core principles of organizations to stay solvent. You got to really know what's going on in your industry to understand where innovation happens. You got to have people on the team to understand where innovation happens. Innovation is a key to sustainability in challenging times where you have to adjust, and I would say one of those ways to be innovative is to use AI.

Speaker 1:

And guess what?

Speaker 2:

folks. There's more to AI than chat. Gpt.

Speaker 2:

There's so many. I know you do, keith. There's so many, though, ways to use so many AI options that you could use to make your life easier at your organization, where you're working smarter and not harder and still maintain your intellectual property, so I would encourage you to look into that and get an AI expert on your team. If you're talking in any way innovation, talking product development, program development you got to have that AI piece to help it work for you, particularly if you are a smaller organization and don't have the resources of a big organization. Let technology work for you, and that's where AI comes into effect.

Speaker 1:

Okay, okay. And you know, I guess here's where I would say my own personal bias. You know, can a board impact creativity and entrepreneurial endeavors at a non-for-profit?

Speaker 2:

Oh, absolutely your board has.

Speaker 1:

I mean, the reason I say that is that those non-for-profits that are masterful at getting the right board members because not everybody deserves to be on a non-for-profit board because they can make or break the strategic direction of an organization and I say this provocatively, so I open it up to you to push back, to shape my thoughts, because I'm talking about from the board down to the coordinator, around creativity and innovation, because you just said something interesting. I think a lot of nonprofits. Their only mechanism of raising money is fundraising. You just mentioned something interesting Education. Let me sell education. I was under the impression that nonprofits didn't have a product to sell on the marketplace. You just corrected me that they're selling education and I would assume that maybe they're selling memberships too, and that's why I start talking about, about innovation here. You know what are your thoughts on the staff board, the employees, the CEO, the executive director, and creativity and product innovation in terms of sustaining themselves, going forward under this new paradigm of Trumpianism.

Speaker 2:

Okay, well, let's talk about it in the way of dollars and cents. Let's say you have a pie, right, and in that pie you have the revenue streams of a nonprofit organization. Mostly, if you look at many of the organizations that pie, half of that pie is an annual meeting or conference and every year most societies have an annual meeting where they're bringing in their members. They have education in person. It's education and networking and an exhibition hall. Those are the three primary things and research that goes on at an annual meeting. But let's say we remember the pandemic of a few years ago, right, people couldn't meet in person. So if half of your revenue comes in from an annual meeting and you couldn't meet and have that meeting, what do you think happens to your bottom line? I see, okay, now let's take that pie and let's only make that a quarter of the pie your annual meeting, a quarter membership dues, a quarter education and a quarter programs and services and other. So you've got only 25% of the revenue gone in challenging times. But 75% of your revenue is raised from these other revenue streams that include fundraising. But it isn't just only fundraising, it's all these other areas that helps the organization to stay solvent In this time where budget cuts, I would ask them to go to the membership and say what is do you want from this organization?

Speaker 2:

What other value can you get from this organization that we are currently providing, that we need to enhance, or that we don't have at all, that we need to add? That's how you make your organization stay solvent and grow, and most organizations have what we call reserves, which is money in an investment account that they can pull into the organization to use to help the organization to grow. So if you don't have any money in your checking account, you can pull from your reserves to reinvest back into the membership. For some of these revenue streams that I'm talking about. Separate from that, though, you do need the fundraising arm. That would do some fundraising, not just say, hey, give me some dollars, maybe do some golf outings, some galas, silent auctions All those things bring in a lot of money, but you got to have the expertise, and you might even want to consider some endowments or a foundation, because they also help.

Speaker 1:

You know, spoken like a true CEO. You know you put in perspective, kind of at a high level kind of the levers that every CEO does. You know, because they're looking at product sales, you need a sales team, right. You know you got to do X, y and Z, so I appreciate that perspective on innovation and the different buckets that non-for-profits have to use to stay profitable. You know, I know we say non-profits, but you know what's interesting is non-for-profits have to use to say profitable. You know, I know we say non-profits, but you know what's interesting is non-for-profits should make a profit. They should be able to.

Speaker 1:

You know, you know it's hard to break even every year. Yeah, you have a budget, but I think every organization wants to make more than they say they're going to via their budget. That's just, keith Terry. So let's shift a little bit because I appreciate you have a few more minutes, sure, okay. So let's shift here and talk about leadership, the future, and let's just look into the future. What leadership traits do you believe are non-negotiable for the next generation of employees, and particularly women and particularly people of color, stepping into this sector that you have been working in for years?

Speaker 2:

So let me just say this with respect to women and people of color I carry both. Yes, you do. I'm wrapped in melanin. That can't be changed. It gets darker in the summertime, gets lighter in the wintertime, but it's still my deep melanin. That doesn't change my gender and my sex doesn't change. I am a female, I identify as a female and then, unfortunately, as time goes on, throw in that third one. That's age.

Speaker 2:

Those are the three visible diverse things that people see about you when you walk in a room. They guessed all three. The data shows that. But to your question, none of that matters. It is about the person, it is about the caliber of the person. It's how well that person is prepared, how well that person is trained and how much experience that person has.

Speaker 2:

And I would say the person has to be transformative. They have to be nimble and make some adjustments within their organization related to the needs of the members, of stakeholders and what's provided, some insights from their staff, and be careful not to back into the status quo. We have always done it that way, you know what, but it may not be useful to you. Then, secondly, be a servant's leader. Be willing to change, be willing to bring in your staff and listen to some of their ideas and help them help you with decision making. You don't have to carry the load yourself. Have some of the staff help you with that. Listen to your partners, collaborate with your partners on things that they can bring to the table that your organization don't, and then you can have that co-branded product that really works really well.

Speaker 2:

My husband loves the Snicker Bar ice cream cones. That is a co-branded product between the Snicker Bar company and ice cream. Pull that together and you got you a nice little dessert, right. That's cold and refreshing, right. So that's what I'm talking about here. It sounds very simple, but you know what. At the end of the day, it is because we know how to do this. Also, don't forget your stakeholders, like your investors, those who give you funding, those who sponsor your events, those advertisers and your board of directors are all key to doing this and be willing to listen and comprehend, research, act and accomplish. If you do all of those, you will be successful. And I'll say finally, be inclusive, not tolerant.

Speaker 2:

Let me repeat that Be inclusive, not tolerant. Not tolerant. Okay, be equitable, not satisficing Meaning you're just doing it to get by, just to make sure you fly under the radar screen, but you don't mean it. And then, finally, be authentic, not yielding. And when I say that, don't just say what somebody wants you to hear, or don't just say what somebody wants you to do, especially if it's counter to your mission.

Speaker 1:

Be authentic and do what you need to do for the benefit of your organization and the people who work, okay, okay, well, you know, if you could here's my last question If you could leave one message to my listeners about what it truly means to lead with purpose in a divided world today, what would you say to them Be?

Speaker 2:

true to yourself, Know what you have to bring to the table. You need to show up, show out and showcase you, and then I will end with this For me, as far as my brand is concerned, it's about what people say about you, what people think. I'll say it again what people think about you when you enter the room and what people say about you, what people think. I'll say it again what people think about you when you enter the room and what they say about you when you exit. And if both of those are favorable, then your brand is intact.

Speaker 1:

Ooh, we could have another show on that one here, because you know at the end of the day. Well, let me just stop there. Let me give you the last word. Yes, and I just want to thank you, Sharon, for being on the show. Any closing remarks you want to make before I take us to the close? This is your time.

Speaker 2:

Sure, keith, I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to talk about this topic that is passionate to my heart and I just want to say out there for my healthcare colleagues be strong, stand on your mission as long as you can. I know that there are a lot of distractors coming at you, but as long as you're doing the right thing for yourself, your organization and for the people who work for it, I think you can sleep well at night. So cheers to sleeping at night.

Speaker 1:

Okay, you didn't plug your book. You have two books, right? Can you just quickly tell me the?

Speaker 2:

names of your books. Sure, it's poetry. I started off writing poetry as a kid, as a youngest child. You know you can't always say what you want to say to your siblings because they'll beat you up because you're the youngest. So I wrote things down on paper and I put it into a rhythmic form and that's how poetry was formed for me. So I have two books one called Pleasure Poetry that was my first, and the second is Poetry. That was my first, and the second is Poetry and Prose, and you can get access to them. Both of them are on Amazon or you can go to my website, which is wwwcoffeesmithcom. That's C-A-U-F-E-Y-Smithcom.

Speaker 1:

Thank you Well, sharon. Thank you for being a part of the next big thing. Your journey and blueprint for servant leadership, strategic excellence and staying true to your mission, no matter what your obstacles, was profoundly heard today, and I want to thank you. Thanks for listening to the Next Big Thing. I'm your host, keith D Terry. If you've enjoyed this episode and you'd like to support this podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media or leave a rating and a review. Please share it with others, post about it on social media or leave a rating and a review To catch all the latest from me. You can follow me on my YouTube channel at Keith D Terry. If you want to recommend a guest, please email me at info at terryperformancegroupcom. This has been produced by your host and Jade Productions.