Interview with Ellen McClain, Chief Financial Officer

By September 26, 2017JumpMaster Interviews

Listening to Ellen McClain describe her approach to being a leader is like watching Tim Duncan shoot bank shots. Her words flow effortlessly, like someone who practices every day to make the difficult look easy. She is a dedicated, self-aware and comfortable servant leader.

Before jumping into an executive role in the not-for-profit community, Ellen had a successful career as a finance professional in the media industry. After completing her MBA at Harvard Business School, she worked in finance for Granite Broadcasting, Hearst and The New York Racing Association. Currently, she is the CFO of Year Up, an organization dedicated to closing the skills gap for thousands of young adults across the country. In 2013, she was chosen by Ebony magazine as one of the 100 most influential African Americans.

Without any need to be the loudest person in the room,the message she sends and the example she sets are clear and obvious. Like many effective leaders, she views her role as a manager as that of a coach;

“It’s really important to lift people up, be positive and help them see the potential in themselves…for me it’s not the high level messaging, it’s more one-on-one engagement and living by example.”

She shared wisdom that any leader would find valuable;

“I have learned that when you are in a visible leadership position, people pay a ton of attention to what you do, how you show up and what you say – they really see a lot. So I focus on my own behavior to try and bring out the best in people and encourage them to work together…”

Self-awareness, clarity and vision are the key contributing factors she cites in her successes;

“Part of progressing as a leader is being able to understand yourself…you get to a point that life has to be more than just your own personal pursuits and your own dreams. It’s much more gratifying to help other people achieve their dreams. It’s not just what looks good on paper or what the outside world would like, it has to feel right in your gut.”

Jumpmaster research is revealing a wide variety of methods that lead to serial success. Ellen’s way, defining success by her ability to help others reach their goals, is servant leadership at its core. It brings purpose to a Jump and more significantly, it enables leaders to emerge regardless of a title or authority. We expect it will emerge again in future interviews.[/wr_column]]

Listening to Ellen McClain describe her approach to being a leader is like watching Tim Duncan shoot bank shots. Her words flow effortlessly, like someone who practices every day to make the difficult look easy. She is a dedicated, self-aware and comfortable servant leader.

Before jumping into an executive role in the not-for-profit community, Ellen had a successful career as a finance professional in the media industry. After completing her MBA at Harvard Business School, she worked in finance for Granite Broadcasting, Hearst and The New York Racing Association. Currently, she is the CFO of Year Up, an organization dedicated to closing the skills gap for thousands of young adults across the country. In 2013, she was chosen by Ebony magazine as one of the 100 most influential African Americans.

Without any need to be the loudest person in the room,the message she sends and the example she sets are clear and obvious. Like many effective leaders, she views her role as a manager as that of a coach;

“It’s really important to lift people up, be positive and help them see the potential in themselves…for me it’s not the high level messaging, it’s more one-on-one engagement and living by example.”

She shared wisdom that any leader would find valuable;

“I have learned that when you are in a visible leadership position, people pay a ton of attention to what you do, how you show up and what you say – they really see a lot. So I focus on my own behavior to try and bring out the best in people and encourage them to work together…”

Self-awareness, clarity and vision are the key contributing factors she cites in her successes;

“Part of progressing as a leader is being able to understand yourself…you get to a point that life has to be more than just your own personal pursuits and your own dreams. It’s much more gratifying to help other people achieve their dreams. It’s not just what looks good on paper or what the outside world would like, it has to feel right in your gut.”

Jumpmaster research is revealing a wide variety of methods that lead to serial success. Ellen’s way, defining success by her ability to help others reach their goals, is servant leadership at its core. It brings purpose to a Jump and more significantly, it enables leaders to emerge regardless of a title or authority. We expect it will emerge again in future interviews.

Written by David Pachter—founder of JumpByDesign, helping leaders accelerate achievement and the Executive Chairman of JumpCrew, helping companies scale revenues through targeted social marketing and sales. @DavidPachter

David Pachter

Author David Pachter

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