The Sixth Level is grateful for Elaine Russell Reolfi and the numerous events she has spoken at and shared how she uses The Sixth Level in her daily life. See her in depth responses below and THANK YOU Elaine!
- What is the most recent leadership challenge you have faced?
The most recent leadership challenge I faced is probably the last thing you’d expect me to say: being physically incapacitated by an injury at a very important time in the organization. Let me begin by saying that I’ll be fine. I had a break, a surgery, some illness just for added challenge … all of which I’m recovering from. But I have three observations on the experience.
- First, organizational performance cannot be person dependent. We are so fortunate to be an organization with clear alignment on strategy, annual business plan and goals. And a week before I went down, our program managers all got together to regroup on those goals and discuss the immediate priorities for the next few months. That put our team in a position to deliver on our mission regardless of whether I’m at my desk or not. Our senior leaders stepped in seamlessly to support our program managers in continuing to move forward. The whole situation turned in to an opportunity for me to get out of the way and let others do even more, which will have lasting benefit.
- Second, I’m a private person but sometimes you have to be vulnerable. I did an employee address straight from my reclining chair to tell them what happened and make sure every employee felt engaged in our short-term goals. I just showed up the only way I could in that moment, and that’s ok.
- And finally, there’s the mental health impact on a busy person who is suddenly immobile and exhausted and unable to do all the doing that a person like that does. I talked to half a dozen friends and colleagues who have experienced the frustration and anxiety and restlessness and defeat in similar situations. It’s real. I am fortunate to have a few docs on our team – a counselor and a psychiatrist – who offered me wise words and lots of humor. I think we also found our next CommQuest Hope Discovered podcast topic.
- What was your first job, and what did you learn from it that you still apply today?
I grew up in my parents’ garment lettering store, and the business sense and hard work I picked up there made me the professional I am. But my first “real” professional job was in college working in personnel and communications at a Ford Motor Company plant that was phasing down to closure. The impact on the employees, their families and the community taught me the human considerations in making and executing business decisions. The phasedown taught me about project planning and considering every detail. The opportunity to work with an amazing team of experienced professionals – including my boss Flo Fenton who was the first woman at the plant to move out of the secretarial ranks in the ‘70s when more opportunities opened up for women – provided insight into how to handle difficult situations. In the decades that followed, I went on to work in manufacturing and lead plan closure announcements myself, all with much greater empathy and much more skill because of the experience. In The Sixth Level, we talk about the toggle between analysis and empathy. My experience at Ford laid the foundation of that skill, which I’ve used in every job I’ve had.
- What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve done outside of work, and how did it change your perspective?
My daughter and I travelled to a national park in Thailand and stayed in a treehouse for a week. There is something about Rachel’s ability to think big and act boldly that makes me forget how adventurous I’m actually being: we just go! I remember my well-travelled boss at the time saying, “You don’t want to travel to Southeast Asia and stay in a place that is $25 a night.” But the treehouse turned out to be amazing. We hiked through jungle, saw snakes, canoed, made coffee over an open fire and met fascinating people. I’ve travelled around the world, but that was the first time doing it without the safety net of my employer or to visit family. I think the most important perspective that travel has given me is that we’re all just people. We may live in different places and speak different languages and eat different foods, but we have more in common than not.
- What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned from a mentor or colleague?
Ward “Jack” Timken was an executive at The Timken Company and president of the Timken Foundation. He is nice and approachable and always goes out of his way to say hello and talk. While at The Timken Company, I received a request to sponsor a nonprofit event and my boss sent me to talk with Jack. Although going to his office on executive row would normally be intimidating, Jack was the nicest guy in the building and the topic was about an objectively good cause, so I thought it would be an easy meeting. He immediately began asking me a series of progressively deeper questions about the organization’s mission, how much of their expenses are administrative, how else they raise money, and the impact of their work. He quickly snapped me in to an understanding that being an effective nonprofit worthy of community support means running a tight and effective business. In fact, efficiency and sustainability is even more important when resources are limited. I was unprepared for such an intense business discussion related to a simple sponsorship request. I think Jack fully knew that and saw it as a teachable moment. That unexpected lesson served me well in later leading the company’s charitable foundation and chairing a community foundation, as well as making my own giving decisions. But I couldn’t have imagined 25 years later, it would become particularly important as I lead a nonprofit organization myself.
- How does The Sixth Level show up in your life?
The Sixth Level has been showing up in my life since long before I knew what it was or that it had a name. Sure in school, I may have been the person who was going to make sure the group project earned an A even if I had to do it all myself! But the workplace is different, and I quickly learned that all my analytical thinking and goal orientation also required teamwork to really be successful. Engaging others in the goal is key. And to engage others, you have to understand them and their intrinsic motivation even/especially if they think differently. So stakeholder and team member engagement became a real part of my project planning and execution. That’s only become more important as I’ve taken on more responsibility in my career. In fact, my chapter in The Sixth Level is about my first few years as a CEO and offers a new definition of accountability that engages people from the start in transformation.