391. The Pathway from Chief Development Officer to CEO - Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE and Adrienne Longenecker, CFRE

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Overview

Meet Michelle and Adrienne. We have two dynamic leaders in the house🤩 Michelle is Chief Development Officer at OneStar and Adrienne Executive Director at Colorado River Alliance. They’re talking through their own career pathways and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. We’re exploring the potential pathway from CDO to CEO and the barriers that may exist. Tune in for their expert tips to find alignment in your own journey📍

💡 Learn

How to find alignment in your career
The pathway from Chief Development Officer to Chief Executive Officer
How to foster an organizational culture valuing growth

Today’s Guest

Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE, Chief Development Officer at OneStar + Adrienne Longenecker, CFRE, Executive Director at Colorado River Alliance

“One of the best things I learned about being a leader was how to come in and acknowledge the past, while still talking about a better future.”

— Adrienne Longenecker, CFRE, Executive Director at Colorado River Alliance

Episode Highlights

Michelle’s story and journey to where she is today (3:45)
Leadership progression (17:00)
Adrienne’s journey from fundraiser to CEO (24:00)
Culture + employee retention (35:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Michelle’s life (43:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Adrienne’s life (47:00)
Michelle’s One Good Thing: “You cannot use an old map to explore a new world.” -Albert Einstein (50:00)
Adrienne’s One Good Thing: Listen to Book of Love. (51:10)

Episode Transcript

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POWERFUL QUOTES

“One of the best things I learned about being a leader was how to come in and acknowledge the past, while still talking about a better future.” -Adrienne

“Resilience and will come from relationships.” -Adrienne

“What lights you up and what excites you? What excites you at 25 might not be the same thing that excites you at 35.” -Michelle

“Really think about what are the things that move you in that way. One good thing about working in development is that you get to do a lot of things.” -Michelle

“We sacrifice our long game possibilities because we are so focused on hitting these KPIs.” -Jon

“We need to redefine growth.” -Adrienne

“Building a culture of retention as an executive now is a fun new way to think about it. What are your KPIs for the whole organization?” -Adrienne

“I’ve found that building a culture of retention is about connecting our very small staff with opportunities to be involved with key decisions for the organization.” -Adrienne

“Every act of generosity matters. In this role and being a facilitator of that is a sacred place.” -Michelle

“We are goodness conduits.” -Adrienne