50 Leading Women: Susan Swan Smith

In honor and celebration of our Women’s Division‘s 50th Anniversary, we will be spotlighting 50 Leading Women making an impact, raising their voice, and leading the next generation of women in the workforce and Plano community.

Introducing, Susan Swan Smith, Director of My Possibilities Foundation. Anyone familiar with North Texas Giving Day? Our community can thank the leadership of Susan Swan Smith for North Texas Giving Day’s success & impact, as it has become the largest one-day online giving event in the NATION. Prior to her start at My Possibilities Foundation, Susan spent a decade serving as the Chief Relationship Officer before becoming the Chief Giving Day Officer for Communities Foundation of Texas. Her legacy is evident in the work that Communities Foundation of Texas continues to do and the growth of their incredible team. Susan is a recent graduate of Leadership Plano Class 38 and continues to lead with a true servant’s heart in & around the Plano community.

1. Describe your leadership style and how you lead others.

My leadership style can be messy. I believe in systems and processes that support a team’s work and in clear delineation of responsibilities and expectation, once you’ve got those down you can be much freer in how you tackle problems and achieve goals. I lean heavily on Coveys “Characteristics of High Trust Leaders” in leading myself and my team. Talk straight, demonstrate respect, right wrongs, show loyalty, deliver results, clarify expectations, listen first, keep commitments, extend trust – and expect them from the team I lead

2. How can women develop their leadership skills in the workforce?

By taking risks. We all watch women further along in their career for examples and watch men for ways we do not want to function – but eventually, you’ve got to get out there and try some things, see that you can fail, and the world does not end. Then try again.

3. What are the most important decisions you make as a leader?

Where to invest my energy and our team’s efforts; then how and when to adjust based on progress and changing circumstances. To pursue excellence not perfection

 4. What has been one of your biggest joys as a leader?

Seeing a team, I’m a part of reach a big hairy audacious goal 😊 – and knowing that we got there with hard work, some conflict, some challenge, and a lot of grace.

5. What has been your greatest career disappointment? What did you learn from it?

Wow…over 30 years there have been a number of them.  One I can share is having my responsibilities at Communities Foundation of Texas halved. I had been over Development, Marketing, Communications, and North Texas Giving Day. It was too much and was affecting my physical and mental health. Nonetheless when our CEO moved to have me focus only on Giving Day it was a blow and took significant time to get used to. What I learned was that I had time and energy to devote to one super team with one overarching and hugely important goal – raising tens of millions of dollars for thousands of nonprofits in North /Texas – one of my most satisfying professional experiences ever.

6. What strategies could be used to promote inclusion in the workplace?

It begins with the intention to be inclusive – and defining inclusion broadly – race, age, gender, disability. Then identifying steps to be taken in hiring, onboarding, professional development, mentoring to bring a more diverse population to your organization and work.  Conversely, you’ve got to take steps to TAKE your organization and work TO a more diverse population.  It takes intention, time, and effort far more then money to make it happen.

7. What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?

Don’t wear heels – you will regret it. Know your truth, hold your head high, and deliver.  Plus, Teddy Roosevelt’s famous saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

8. What advice can you give to the next generation of female leaders?

The same as I would give my 25-year-old self plus KEEP PUSHING – we are not there yet, but there are many more of us to support each other than there were a generation ago.

9. Who inspired you and why?

• My parents – both for the values they instilled in me and for showing me the pitfalls in their lives to avoid in mine
• Jeanne Whitman, SMU VP and Head of Hockaday – a great mentor, collaborator, and friend, inspired me with her shear brilliance, with her integrity, humility, and humanity. With her ability to fill in her gaps with others’ abilities, and her ability to create an environment that allowed others to be their best selves. From Jeanne I learned the value and importance of KNOWING someone has your back COMPLETELY.
• My Possibilities’ HIPsters (Hugely Important People) – their lives are nowhere as easy as ours, yet they fight hard every day to achieve their dreams and never let go of their simple joy in the world.

10. What do you want to be remembered for? 

• Raising a loving family (with Ken of course)
• Making a difference in the world
• Helping others recognize and develop their leadership potential and opportunities
• Setting an example for effectively managing lifelong, chronic depression