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The mission of Prevent Blindness Texas is to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We are leaders and change agents in the eye health space here to empower you!
Hey, it's your eye health experts, Prevent Blindness Texas, and welcome to Eyespiring, a conversation about all things vision and life. Hi, and welcome to Eyespiring. I'm Heather Patrick, CEO of Prevent Blindness Texas and your host. Today we have Kristen Schlatre from Rice. Wow, been a day already. Lots of different places Lots of different places. Lots of different places but we're gonna get into that. We're gonna get into that. But before we do, let me give you just a little background, and then I'm gonna have Kristen tell you all about the road she took. So she serves as the assistant dean for professional and corporate programs and director of the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Rice University. That's a lot.
Heather Patrick:In this capacity, she is responsible for implementing the strategic direction of these educational portfolios that are industry specific to serve individuals seeking to improve their knowledge, skills, and credentials along their path to career success. But that's not where she started. So it's always fascinating to me when we do this, hearing where people were and what they thought they were gonna do and how their path progresses and where they end up. So tell us a little bit about your path, where you started, and then we'll get into where you are.
Kristen Schlatre:Sure. Well, thanks so much for having me. I really appreciate this opportunity. I think kind of my path was a little bit circuitous and it honestly started with where I chose to go to college because I chose to go to the University of Houston because I was going to be a pharmacist.
Heather Patrick:Really?
Kristen Schlatre:Right? Right. You know all of these fanciful dreams when you're a teenager and you just kind of are starting to look and think about where you see yourself growing and becoming and making you know really heavy decisions based on some things that turned out not to be the truth. So freshman chemistry and I had a parting of the ways and surprisingly, to be a pharmacist, you kind of have to be really, you know, connected. So I was on a full scholarship to the University of Houston and really just was like, okay, so what else can I do here?
Kristen Schlatre:Didn't really spend a lot of time thinking about what I liked, just kind of looked at that point at what still worked with my degree plan, which is absolutely not advice I would give anyone in terms of making choices like that. But ended up in the College of Business, which is now the Bauer College of Business, and enjoyed that experience. And over time took a couple of different jobs kind of in different portions of the business curriculum and had what I would term a madman esque experience at a commercial real estate firm. And so really at that moment then was like, I've made a horrible mistake. Horrible mistake.
Kristen Schlatre:And really hadn't thought beyond the concept of using a marketing degree for advertising or it was very difficult for me to see what I could do with my education, but again needed to finish in a certain amount of time due to my scholarship. So I was having a conversation with actually some of my sorority sisters about woe is me, what am I going to do, and had a really good connection with someone who was in a program called the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, which is a program that supports undergrad students and now post back who are interested in going into really the nonprofit sector, either as a service delivery provision, fundraising administration, and tries to prepare those individuals with really concrete skills, experiences, and educational components that truthfully make them an attractive candidate for entry level positions.
Kristen Schlatre:So really trying to get people who are taking some of those maybe soft skill degrees, maybe in psychology, sociology, some of those other places where you might immediately think about grad school before you transition into a career path and then just helping individuals really see this as a path. That was a transformative experience. Truthfully was really what put me on the path.
Kristen Schlatre:And my internship at AIDS Foundation Houston was under the leadership of Sarah Selber, who I was just in awe of her as a leader and how she moved through the space. And as part of the internship, spent time with all of the different departments that were part of that organization. So got to see how the different leaders really operated with their volunteers, with fundraising, with program development, and everyone was excited about their work. They were happy to be there. They were thrilled for each other in terms of successes.
Kristen Schlatre:And I was like, this is my place, this is where I want to be. And so that was kind of the real behind the scenes exposure to mission driven work. So then again kind of moved through some other things, did actually participated in the Teach for America program and taught elementary school. And what I will say is that also was a transformative experience for me personally and professionally and realized direct service was perhaps not my calling. But what I learned truthfully was that you can be as an individual as prepared as possible for your actual work and your contribution.
Kristen Schlatre:So I could have the perfect lesson plan, I could have the perfect materials, I could have my day all set up, and then I had students that showed up that had life happen to them that morning. And then it derails things. And it derails things not only for them, it derails things for the entire classroom. And so really looking at the social service component of education and how we desperately needed support in that area beyond the scope of what I as an individual could do. Really looking at those pieces.
Kristen Schlatre:Then I started looking at macro level, so not the micro, but the macro level of systems change and started becoming more interested in that, and decided that graduate school was probably going to be my next step. And so went to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and so have a dual master's, so a Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies and a Master of Public Affairs in Nonprofit Management. And so that's kind of the marriage between the art and the science of nonprofit leadership.
Kristen Schlatre:It was really cold in Indiana. Truthfully, was very far from home, but honestly the story that I tell people that it was kind of truthfully a massive shock, is that the vehicle that I took with me to graduate school, because I actually moved at that time to be in Indiana, did not have a rear defrost on my car.
Kristen Schlatre:You can buy them without them, right? So it was the most incredible educational experience and got to intern at Girls Inc, which is an amazing organization working with young women, And then also got to work at a family foundation, managing and looking at a portfolio of serving arts organizations and really looking at Indianapolis is actually a major location for philanthropic organizations to be headquartered. So it was a really incredible experience. And so then came back to Houston and worked at a successive series of social service organizations. So United Way of Greater Houston, Communities and Schools Houston, and the YMCA.
Kristen Schlatre:And throughout that whole time was still kind of using some of my background from teaching and was teaching financial management for nonprofits at several universities, and then also was teaching here at Rice in the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. And over time developed a relationship with the founding director who had also gone to the same university for her PhD and her doctorate. And then we expanded, she expanded her team and I came over to Rice with the intent to be here for a period of time to create a master's program that would serve the greater Houston community similar to what we had experienced. And know, things happen and directions change and here I am years later. So that's a long winded answer to your question.
Heather Patrick:But I think it gives great perspective. So when we start to dive into your experience with nonprofits and helping them and guiding them and shaping leadership. I think it gives a great perspective of the pieces along the way that has given you both the perspective and experience to be able to do this. Let's talk a little bit about nonprofit leadership and management. And so if someone asks you, what's the one thing every nonprofit needs to succeed, what would you say?
Kristen Schlatre:That is a really good question. And I don't know that there's truthfully one answer. I think from when you look at different organizations, are always the exceptions, right? There are always the exceptions to here's a best practice, but that organization didn't do it that way and they were successful. I think from the perspective of a one thing, maybe a concept, would be committed, trained and supportive leadership.
Kristen Schlatre:And I think that comes not only from the executive level, meaning staff, but also from your volunteer and board level base. You can have success without some of those pieces in place. There's a lot of people that will describe their experience in moving into a leadership role at a nonprofit as I fell into it. I had no background, I didn't know what I was doing. And they are successful for a period of time.
Kristen Schlatre:For a period of time. For a period of time. But that is not sustainable and it is not something that usually is sustained past that individual's involvement. And that can be again at a founder level, it can be a very strong dynamic leader, it can be at the board level, truthfully. So I think really looking at investing in the path of making sure that your leaders in all of those spaces have the tools, the skills, the knowledge, and the backing and resources to do the work in a longer term fashion, as opposed to kind of the immediate moment.
Heather Patrick:If your younger self could see where you are today, what do you think would surprise her the most?
Kristen Schlatre:I think she absolutely would be surprised to be back in an educational setting, a true academic environment. I think that would be surprising. And I think the other thing that would be surprising is that what I find joy in is participating and facilitating the success of other leaders. And that that truthfully does bring me significant, like I love hearing about our success stories and about our leaders who show up and they are doing the work, but what they need is that confidence that what they're doing is the right thing, and that what they're doing is meaningful. And so sometimes just building that network and helping show that path.
Kristen Schlatre:So I think that those two things would surprise me.
Heather Patrick:So with that, do you think that's your why now? I mean, you've been doing this for a long time and it's a hard I think the nonprofit industry is very challenging. I mean, I think it's absolutely rewarding, but it is a very challenging industry, I think, across the board, and especially the environment over the last several years. What keeps you going? What inspires you?
Heather Patrick:And is it anchored in that continuous learning and helping people to continue to develop and succeed?
Kristen Schlatre:I think the nonprofit sector continually has to reinvent itself. And so the only thing that is constant in life is change. And so I think honestly, the nonprofit sector is uniquely positioned to navigate some of those pieces. It's not easy. It's not easy and it's very easy to sit in a position where I'm supporting others who are making some of those hard choices for their own organization and trying to work and coach with them through their decision making process.
Kristen Schlatre:So it's, I don't envy some of those leaders who are in those roles having to make some of those really difficult choices about service provision and program development, or sunsetting programs, or moving on from a service provision that you've been doing, changing all of those pieces. But I think the sector itself is positioned because of the nature of the work, regardless of which kind of subset that you belong in.
Kristen Schlatre:If you're in the arts, if you're in health and human services, if you're in education, environmental services, all of those spaces, there are different challenges that have been thrown at organizations and individuals over, I guess really even the past decade. And so it's something that definitely is one of those things that could keep you up at night. Yes, sometimes it does.
Heather Patrick:So I think it's important to talk about how the relationship I think nonprofits have to the community. And so as you think about shaping communities, influence communities, supporting communities, what's the right place for the nonprofit sector in making that and helping that?
Kristen Schlatre:I think there's a balance between wanting to support and do the work for a community, and then actually supporting the community doing the work that they choose as a priority for themselves. And that's regardless of what population you're trying to serve, it could be a geographic population, it could be a service provision population, it could be a category of vulnerability that you're serving. I think many times when people think of the nonprofit sector, they think of individuals with the funding to come in and solve everyone's problems. And that is a simplistic viewpoint and kind of one perspective. And that's not, I believe, what it should be.
Kristen Schlatre:Individuals who want to truly see communities flourish should actually be asking the question of what does the community see for itself? And how does the community want that next step to take place?
Kristen Schlatre:And so I think the true collaboration that takes place between funders, community voices, individuals who are pulling in data to try and determine really if you're looking at kind of upward mobility in a community, if you're looking at community organizing, if you're looking at revitalization, if you're looking at health outcomes, all of those things need to come together and actually have equal weight in a conversation and discussion about what the next steps are. I think we have all seen the impact of efforts and interventions and collaborations where the intent is good and the intent is strong. And then the outcome is the second a funder steps away, the second one particular linchpin is pulled, it goes away.
Kristen Schlatre:And so if it's not built into the fabric of what the community sees for itself, then again, that word sustainability, it's not going to be sustained. And that's what you're truly looking for is sustained improvement or change.
Heather Patrick:So along those lines, what do you think are some other misconceptions that people have, Radita, to nonprofits or the industry?
Kristen Schlatre:One of my favorite things, and when I taught our introduction to the art of fundraising, is nonprofit does not mean no revenue. Plain and simple, it does not. The term nonprofit is an economic distinction based on our tax code. But people have somehow put that into their brain as that it's all volunteers, they don't need resources, they don't need funds. They don't need to pay their staff.
Kristen Schlatre:They shouldn't have large budgets. They shouldn't That's not true. You're operating a business. The work of the business is very different than looking at a Fortune 500 company. But the skill sets needed from top to bottom are no different.
Kristen Schlatre:And so when you look at, no one blinks an eye, well, maybe more recently people blink when they're looking at the compensation packages of Fortune 500 CEOs or when people are leaving or their retirement package or things like that. But people will question down to the penny what a nonprofit program director is earning. And some of that is because people really view the resources that are given to the organization is that it should all be immediately into direct service. Well, if the work of your organization is providing a service, then those funds for salary are the service. And you want individuals who are qualified and well trained to be able to participate as contributing staff members.
Kristen Schlatre:You want that brain trust to be in those spaces. You want that experience, and you also want your staff to not be utilizing public services that you are providing because they are not earning a living wage. There's the nonprofit does not mean no revenue, and then I think the other piece is that you have individuals on your board who are very shrewd business individuals who will walk into their business office, into a board meeting for something else, and will make very difficult decisions, they'll measure the risk and they'll move forward.
Kristen Schlatre:And they throw all of that out the window when they're sitting at their nonprofit board meeting talking about budget for the next year. And so we're looking for individuals who have their own industry professional experience to show up and provide that expertise through the lens of the work. So the mission driven component is the work, but but that doesn't mean the principles are different.
Heather Patrick:Right. Yeah, I would even argue somewhat that we're not really all that different from Fortune 500 companies in the sense of they provide services or solutions to the public. So do we.
Heather Patrick:It's how we execute it that may look differently. But at the end of the day, that is what we are charged to do, assess the issue and see if we can provide the best solution to close the gap or move a community forward or whatever they see as the need. And so I really, for me, and I know we kid, but it is still so interesting to me people's perspective on nonprofit. Even to that sense of, I remember when I first started on this was twenty years ago, twenty plus years ago, this whole idea around an expense ratio. And if you didn't have a certain expense ratio, then it was a major issue.
Heather Patrick:And that expense ratio was 25%. And that is really when you think about running a multimillion dollar business, it can be very challenging. So it's been interesting to me. Now that has over the years, we don't talk about it as much, but I still run into people that say, if a nonprofit is spending more than that, then they're not doing a good job.
Heather Patrick:They're not being frugal with their money. They're not doing the right thing with the funds. I think it's always been interesting to me that that is the approach when really at the end of the day, I mean, not that I think we should have crazy expense ratios, but there are certain things that require investment to find solutions.
Kristen Schlatre:It costs what it costs. And if you are overly concerned about one particular facet of how your budget is explored and looked at in one particular category, then you are stifling the creativity of your program teams. You are tying the hands of the leadership of your organization to make decisions that meet the moment. And you're absolutely right, we as a sector actually have done ourselves a disservice because you would see organizations latch on to that number, and then make program decisions based on whether or not they hit that specific ratio that they had either reported previously or wanted to share.
Kristen Schlatre:And so it's a self perpetuating issue where then this was viewed as a good thing and what one particular funding entity thought was a good number to use, so then suddenly everybody's now using it, and then suddenly everybody's moving in that direction. And I think that's the pendulum swing, I think many times when you're looking at funding, is that a particular funding source or entity will kind of put out this is what we're looking for, and then everyone suddenly rushes to then be in line with that and then start sharing that as a metric that is success. Well, that's not necessarily indicative of success. It's indicative of you managing your budget in a certain way, but it doesn't mean that you've actually provided the service that your mission indicates as your priority.
Heather Patrick:Right. Not an indicator of impact.
Kristen Schlatre:No.
Heather Patrick:I think that's the difference. So I do think over the last decade, that concept of investing in impact certainly has come to the forefront in our sector, which I think is a good thing. What else do you think has changed around the idea of investment and philanthropy and funders, especially over the last five years?
Heather Patrick:I think that has been We kind of held steady until the last five years. And I have seen a lot of shift. And I think it's just a lot of change in general in the environment. But what do you see just in the space?
Kristen Schlatre:So I think you know, people love to talk about generational trends and giving, and you can definitely see that through the research actually that's done through Giving USA in terms of where funding is coming from, where it's going, and then kind of generational opinions. And when you're looking at philanthropy, it's not just the concept of dollars. It's also people lending their time, lending expertise.
Kristen Schlatre:Also sometimes just saying that you're associated or committed to a particular organization or cause or mission can actually draw attention and indicate where spending your time is where people kind of sometimes will look for that philanthropic spirit of an individual. And I think one of the other things that has changed is that again, going back to kind of the concept of nonprofit, that was terminology based on the tax code. And it was based on the structures set up for different five zero one organizations. And there's a long list of the different types of entities.
Kristen Schlatre:People are most commonly aware of the five zero one(three), which is where resources donated to that organization are then tax deductible to a certain extent to the individual or entity that provided those resources.
Kristen Schlatre:But there are a lot of other different types of five zero one organizations with their own various and ascendiary structures. So there were funders or funding entities that kind of decided and moved outside of the concept of a foundation. So here in Houston, we're very, very philanthropic structure based community. We have a lot of, we have our community sources of funding, but we also have a lot of family foundations or family entities over time that have really put some structure around their giving philosophies and their process. And so those were kind of the known spaces when people were looking at corporate and foundation support.
Kristen Schlatre:So when you're looking at kind of building your philanthropic revenue portfolio and kind of looking across those sources. More recently, people have started looking outside of those specific structures because they don't want to be, I don't want to put my reasoning on why they made these choices, but in terms of some of the public statements that have been made about structures have been created. So there have been LLCs that have been created that are outside of that structure, because then they're no longer under the scrutiny of the IRS in terms of how they give the amount that they give when it's done.
Kristen Schlatre:I think we're also seeing more recently with some of the Mackenzie Scott gifts that people were astounded that they were doing their own research, making decisions, and then didn't ask for anything in return. There was no reporting, there was no forms to fill out, and people were just incredulous.
Kristen Schlatre:Well, then how do you know that they're doing what they say they're doing with the money? The level of trust is there based on your work speaks for itself. That was always one of my when I worked at one of the social service entities, I was in the fundraising space. And I was like, we need to tell people that we do this. This is part of our job.
Kristen Schlatre:This is our work. We don't get credit for this. And my CEO said, It's incredible what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. And I said, That's true. But we need the funding in order to continue doing this.
Kristen Schlatre:And so there's kind of that circular reasoning, Like no money, no mission, no mission, no money. So kind of those pieces back and forth. And so I think some of the structural components that have changed recently in terms of how resources are funneled through different vehicles to organizations is fascinating. And I think that's only going to continue to shift as generations coming kind of behind us have access to so much more information in terms of their choices for giving, their choices for investing. It's been intriguing to watch.
Heather Patrick:And I think there's an evolution happening. I think it's been slowly happening, but I think that federal cuts over the last two years have just amplified this and expedited the conversation around the idea of building predictable revenue. And that isn't a common phrase in the sector, of really how do we put for services that we can charge for, that we do have a sustainable business model because the competition is fierce.
Heather Patrick:We know that, I mean, the last report that just came out, it's the largest amount of giving, but smaller pool of donors. And to your point, there are different ideas and entities now that are coming forth investment.
Heather Patrick:And that's really what I think is shifting. And people are really starting to understand this isn't just about giving to a nonprofit. It really is how can we invest in long term solutions? And that for us, that's what we're thinking. How do we provide long term solutions so that we can partner and invest in the future to provide the answers and solutions that the communities need.
Heather Patrick:Because it is hard when you start at zero every year to think about how we keep providing solutions. And that's part of, I think, the challenge for the sector overall is we started, most of us started zero, whatever the first day of our fiscal year is.
Kristen Schlatre:So the question I used to hate on grant applications and reports was, okay, so you received this funding this year, what's your plan to sustain it? You're our plan. Your plan. I mean, if you think we're incredible enough to invest in now, why wouldn't you continue doing it?
Kristen Schlatre:And so it's very intriguing, because yes it is, that pressure sits every year to, these entities we can go back to? Are these individuals we can go back to? And to your point for a long time, organizations when you looked at your funding mix in terms of where your philanthropic revenue came from, but then you also had government funding. And government funding was for a long time viewed as a stable source resource. And we have, unfortunately, that lesson was learned very rapidly and to the detriment of many entities that were serving our most vulnerable populations.
Kristen Schlatre:And I think the other side of that is that there are constraints. So you also look at organizations that are attempting to find the revenue stream. And so then you have that, again, back to that thought process of, well, why do you need to charge for your services? Is this something, aren't you a nonprofit? Yes, and we also need to pay the light bill.
Kristen Schlatre:We also have federal income tax and benefits to pay for our employees. So the services that we are providing, we are able to do it either in a different way or to a population that cannot be served through other avenues. But it takes resources, and some of those are financial resources to make that happen.
Heather Patrick:So Yeah. Do you think this is an ongoing conversation and education process as we
Kristen Schlatre:I think it's a continual process. I think that there are some very learned and knowledgeable individuals who are spreading the word and kind of sharing the information. And I think as people get involved and invested either as volunteers with an organization or as board members, it starts to open their eyes over time of, oh, that's what they mean, oh, this is what they mean. And I think there's, I think that it slowly but surely permeates and kind of shifts and changes. And the one thing that I think is massively challenging for the nonprofit sector is that as a whole, the trust factor that is part of it.
Kristen Schlatre:And so when one entity has flaws and one entity that information is shared and they either had poor choices, or there was some kind of bad actor, or something took place, then it suddenly blows up and suddenly it's the entire sector. It's not just that one entity, it's not just that one business that did something, it's the entire sector and then it refocuses scrutiny. The sector is not opposed to scrutiny.
Kristen Schlatre:I don't think any organization that is mission driven is opposed to having someone come in and look at what they're doing and see who we're serving and how we're serving them and help us to get better, help us to That be more is where we want to be. I think the struggle is having sometimes to answer for mistakes that weren't ours that we made.
Kristen Schlatre:And so it's that trust factor is a little bit stronger with when people have that, Oh, well, I know that one time, that one PTO organization that did this and someone, you know, went off with the funds that were raised for XYZ, and that's their personal experience. So then that basically allows their perspective moving forward to you no longer have that innate trust. It has to be earned back.
Heather Patrick:Let's shift a little bit about leadership. And I think this is a really great question. I'm really interested in your answer. What's the one question every nonprofit leader should ask themselves regularly?
Kristen Schlatre:Oh,
Heather Patrick:Yeah
Kristen Schlatre:Every nonprofit leader should ask themselves regularly. Are the decisions that I am making today serving my mission or serving me? I think that if you keep yourself grounded in the work, then the decisions that you have to make, sometimes they're hard. They can be personnel choices, they can be, again, programming choice, all of those things. But I think is the decision that I'm making today serving my mission or is it serving me?
Heather Patrick:Really good.
Heather Patrick:I will also say, and this is over years of working in the industry, but I do believe, and I think it's on the for profit side as well, that culture makes or breaks an organization. And so I think it behooves us to ask the question on a regular basis. Am I building the culture that I wanna build for my organization to move the mission forward? Am I doing the right things to build the culture? I've read a great book, I've read lots of great books, but we were talking about it last night at dinner.
Heather Patrick:One of the concepts really is that in the process saying yes, yes, yes to things, understand what you're saying no to. Because ultimately, I know, right?
Kristen Schlatre:There's only so much you can say yes to. So automatically saying yes to one thing means you've got no somewhere else.
Heather Patrick:Right. And to be very aware of that as you're making decisions as a leader. Thought that was really profound actually.
Kristen Schlatre:That is a good one. That is a good one.
Heather Patrick:What do you think the biggest challenge is for nonprofit leaders that they're facing today?
Kristen Schlatre:I think there are a lot. I would agree with you. Totally agree. I think there are a lot of challenges. I think as a leader, no matter where you're sitting within an organization, right?
Kristen Schlatre:So there are the executive level leaders, but then there's leaders who are doing different things throughout your organization. And I think challenges for leaders across that spectrum of layers of organization is, what is my priority and why? Because you have the funding. Is that my priority today? Is it dealing with a program crisis?
Kristen Schlatre:Is it dealing with a staffing issue? Is it dealing with a So it's the constant flood of information needs, all of those things coming in. So the challenge is really what is the priority and how are you using your time that day? And that feels, that's not a big picture answer, that's more of a kind of tactical like in the day, what is that issue?
Kristen Schlatre:I think from a bigger picture perspective, the challenge to the sector kind of moving forward really is again, kind of reinventing ourselves, which is something that we've been very good at for a really long time, but really looking at what is that next big frontier and are you going to be at the forefront of it?
Kristen Schlatre:Or are you going to be kicking and screaming and being dragged in that direction.
Heather Patrick:Absolutely. So when you think about the future and the leaders that are upcoming in the sector, what excites you?
Kristen Schlatre:They're so enthusiastic. They're so excited and they're so ready. They're so ready for what is coming and what those next steps are. And I think sometimes when you've been in this business for a period of time, you see kind of like you can't stop yourself from thinking, that's great, but I can see three steps down the road where this is not going to go the way you think it's going to go. So many times, and actually on our internal staff team, I have a team member who, she is our idea person, and she is the person who just comes up with the most creative and incredible approaches, like we should be doing this and we should, and my role many times is yes and but.
Kristen Schlatre:Yes and but. And so I think from the perspective of bringing that energy and enthusiasm and new perspective, where it can kind of be that jolt in the arm that, yeah, maybe you did have that experience five, ten, fifteen years ago that made you turn away from that idea or that thought process immediately because of the experience that you had. But what if it's different now? And what if you don't try? And so that engagement level and I guess lack of the barrier of that past experience where you're just willing to try.
Heather Patrick:So when you think about, especially over the last decade, but even the last two decades, what do you think are one or two skills that you didn't necessarily have to have as a nonprofit leader then, but you definitely have to have them now? So many.
Kristen Schlatre:So there are so many things that as just evolving and knowledge constantly, I think something that we probably always needed but never really named. And everyone is kind of sick of this term now because of the different ways that people have had to utilize it. But the concept of resiliency and really recognizing that many of our service provision entities and organizations, you're dealing with very, very challenging and complex issues. There's the secondary trauma of managing individuals, obviously in health and human services, healthcare, all of those populations when you're serving in that space. And previously, those just weren't things that were really talked about.
Kristen Schlatre:And it was just that was your job and then you went home. And I think now people are recognizing that and have recognized that you lose incredible team members because we do not give them the space to process what has happened and what's going on. And again, back to sustainability, like you want to continue providing the quality service, so you have to take care of your people. And so I think really naming and claiming that that's an important factor and that you need to Obviously the services that you're providing clients that you're serving, kinds of pieces, that's your mission, that's focus. Your But if you don't take care of your people, then you're not going to be able to provide those services.
Heather Patrick:All right. What's one of the best books you've read in the last six months?
Kristen Schlatre:Oh gosh, I knew you were going to ask this question. And so, so I actually, I pulled up a couple of things that we're planning to read as a teen. So, let me make sure that it's the correct one. So it's multipliers. So all the best leaders make everyone smarter.
Kristen Schlatre:And that's by Liz Wiseman. Then one of the things that we're considering reading as a team moving forward this year is The Future is Collective. So Effective Workplace Strategies for Building a Culture of Care, and Niloufar, and I'm probably not going to say her last name, Kansari. And that's a more recent book. I think recognizing just as a manager of a team that the things that I find interesting, I want to make sure and be able to share them with my team.
Kristen Schlatre:That it's not something I think many as we were coming up, kind of the concept was you have the leaders and you have your staff team. And I just don't, that's not how we operate anymore. I think some of the strongest organizations that I've observed, everyone has the ability to lead at some point. And so you provide those opportunities. I'd encourage people if you're looking for books or resources, the Management Center is a great resource.
Kristen Schlatre:They have a lot of templates and trainings, honestly, that are available to them, but really looking at how does something like that not only impact you, but impact those around you.
Heather Patrick:Yeah, we have a very big belief that regardless of title, it doesn't really matter where your title is, you have the ability to lead in the organization in some way, shape or form, and we cultivate that. I think it's very important that people have those opportunities and really do understand your relevant of title. Have the ability to influence even when you think you don't. And I think that is a huge piece of our job as a leader is to really help people understand. Leadership has a lot of different components and influence is one of them, you really can influence intentionally or not intentionally.
Kristen Schlatre:Of the best lessons I have actually taken with me are from individuals that I would not want to emulate that leadership style or behavior. So for sure, both aspects.
Heather Patrick:All right, so our last question, this is one thing, if nobody else remembers anything else about the conversation, which hopefully they will because it's been a great conversation, but what is the one piece of advice you would give anyone really in this sector looking to make impact?
Kristen Schlatre:The work is supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be hard, but it's not supposed to consume you. And so you don't have to do it alone. So don't act like it. I think that's I think sometimes people are super surprised about that this is incredibly difficult and challenging work, and it is supposed to be.
Kristen Schlatre:All of the things that we are trying to find solutions for, all of the ways that we are trying to support people living their lives or having a community experience, if those things were already solved, the organization then So and the need would not be it is supposed to be hard, but it should not consume everything about you. So use the resources and the people and the talent you have around you.
Heather Patrick:That's great insight, Kristen. Great insight. Well, thank you so much for the conversation and for being a leader in this space. It is always great to work with you and learn with you and learn from you. So thank you.
Heather Patrick:As always, Prevent Linus Texas is open to looking for volunteers, board members, participants, screeners. So reach out if you have questions and want to join our family, join our mission. We are doing great things. And as always, we want to know what your vision is. Have a great day. Thanks.