CEO, Inspiration, Nonprofit

Placed Leader Insights: Advice from Celena Sarillo

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In late 2023 I had the privilege of attending Yardstick Management’s Social Impact Institute in Colorado. The Institute was a gathering of social impact entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders who are all focused on creating social good in their various sectors and industries.

One of the attendees was Koya Partners | Diversified Search Group placed leader Celena Sarillo, a truly remarkable leader who is currently the CEO of the American Red Cross of Illinois and Interim CEO of the American Red Cross of Greater New York. Celena spoke about her work and her approach to leadership, which is centered around compassion. I’m sharing her advice here, and hope that others find it as inspiring as I did.

Compassion is empathy plus action

This is how Celena defined compassion. Empathy plus action. How does she demonstrate that to her teams and the hundreds of thousands of people who volunteer for the Red Cross? Here are three tips she shared that I plan to incorporate into my day-to-day interactions:

1. Model the behavior and commitment you’re seeking. Don’t ask team members to do something you wouldn’t do. Learn and practice strategies to modulate your emotional response when things get stressed or heated so you can communicate calmly and clearly. Give people the information, resources, and support they need to do their best work.
2. Demonstrate gratitude as loudly and broadly as you can. Frequently say thank you and share appreciation with people, both on a one-on-one basis and publicly. Celena Sarillo shared her practice of “thanking it forward,” which is a moment she builds into every team agenda that is essentially an open invitation to anyone who wants to say something appreciative or recognize someone else. You can do this in a live meeting or in the chat function of a virtual meeting.
3. Be vulnerable. Let your team know when you’re having a bad day or something is difficult or challenging. Admit when you make a mistake. Share more about yourself outside of work, whether it’s a show you’re watching or something you did over the weekend with your family. These are such powerful ways to demonstration compassion and to give your team members the space to be compassionate to themselves and each other.

Leaders like Celena Sarillo, who is working to ensure that the Red Cross is there to help people in the worst of times, are inspirations to us all and remind me each and every day why all of us at Koya Partners | Diversified Search Group do what we do.

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Molly Brennan is Global Managing Partner and Nonprofit and Social Impact Practice lead at Diversified Search Group. She is the author of the 2019 report The Governance Gap: Examining Diversity and Equity on Nonprofit Boards of Directors. Her focus areas include leadership, retention, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.