Leadership Stories

Acting Rather Than Deliberating
An interview with Jacqueline Reed

Executive Director, Westside Health Authority
Chicago, Illinois

Jacqueline Reed, executive director of Chicago’s Westside Health Authority, suggests leaders take another look at the old adage about "having all your ducks in a row." Based on her organization’s experience in meeting challenges and moving ideas forward, Reed advocates a more active approach. In Reed's opinion, effective leaders take risks. Effective leaders do something now rather than wait. Effective leaders practice what they preach. She advises, "Rather than wait until you have your ducks in line, start with the ducks you have and try to get more as you go."

This turn of phrase may sound simple, but it implies a level of risk taking that few organizations espouse. Yet Jackie Reed feels it is sound advice she is entitled to give. Since 1990, when she left the security of her own job to build Westside Health Authority, Reed has demonstrated the power of action as a catalyst for leading change. Reed states simply: "I live what I preach."

For the first two years of its existence, Reed recalls, Westside Health Authority functioned without a full-time executive director. The organization was formed in response to the closing of a community hospital and it grew as Chicago’s westside residents rallied around issues of health, safety, housing, and the availability of local health services. As momentum gathered, Reed followed her instincts and put her career — and family finances — on the line to advance the organization’s mission.

She explains, "When I quit my job to take the position, Westside Health Authority had no money to pay me and my husband was between jobs. I had a son in college and two children still in school. But it was the right thing to do — the right work for this community at the right time. Within three months, we received $40,000 and things began to move."

Today Westside Health Authority can list a reopened hospital, greater availability of health services, community-based training for health professions students, and many community improvements among its accomplishments. Its member groups include churches, health and human service organizations, city agencies, and advocacy groups. And the organization continues to foster research, advocacy, community organizing, and economic development initiatives to improve the health and well being of community residents.

Taking Risks, Taking Action
Discussing Westside Health Authority, Reed tends to minimize her individual contributions and focus instead on her organization’s necessary bias toward action.

"The issue we face is also an issue for the community," she believes. "They never have enough. A mom on welfare can’t wait until she gets her diploma, has child care, has the clothes she needs and a way to get to work before she finds a job. She’s got to use what she has to get the job first.

"If she doesn’t have car fare and she won’t get her first paycheck for a month, maybe she borrows car fare at the beginning and goes on from there. It’s the same way we have to plan in community work. We can’t ask community people to take risks unless we are willing to do the same."

But the risks associated with taking action impel some organizations to seek additional support before forging ahead.

Says Reed, "Many times, people look for statistics and data to reduce the risk. But that can delay taking action. We try to minimize risk as best we can. We make every effort to be prudent investors of time and energy. But we have to take the risk and operate on faith.

"Community organizations don’t have the luxury of time, money, and consultants," Reed insists. "But this country was built by people like us. The first settlers didn’t have soil testing or studies to tell them they were on the right track. If they’d waited for studies, we wouldn’t be where we are today. They survived on faith."

To some extent, Reed emphasizes, community organizations must draw upon the same fortitude.

For that reason, Reed believes that the primary motivation for taking action can be as significant as the action itself.

"Our motivation here at Westside Health Authority is not to prove how smart we are, to get tenure, or get on TV," she says. "Our motivation is to change one city block, to secure needed health services, or to improve a child’s life. We’re concerned about people.

"Things don’t always work out as you planned," Reed admits. "But even if you mess up and the motivation is right, you can justify your actions to yourself and to the community. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you gain — but you always learn something."

Finding Talent, Using Success
Emphasizing the learning that comes from taking risks is typical of Jackie Reed’s attitude toward organizational growth. She says learning new approaches and acquiring skills has been a big part of Westside Health Authority’s success.

"When we purchased the closed hospital," she remembers, "we had very little capital and no experience. But we mobilized the churches and drew on their resources to get started.

"I had never bought property and didn’t know anything about it. But I found an architect who was excited about the project and he taught me everything I needed to know. Then I found a banker, and he taught me some more. Little by little," she laughs, "the ducks came!"

"Find the talent where you can" and "Use the success you have" are two bits of practical advice Reed offers to other community-based organizations. Certainly, Westside Health Authority has attracted plenty of talent and success in the last decade. But Reed says the talent within the community — and the experience gained from listening and working in the community — have reaped the greatest rewards for all associated with the organization.

"The best classroom is the community," Reed states. "I have a masters degree from the University of Chicago. We have a PhD sociologist and a PhD medical psychologist working with us, and we all talk about how much we’re learning out of the classroom. Many of the people who come here see this as a sort of graduate school. They want to accomplish something — to make their mark — and move on. This is a fast-paced, high energy, chaotic environment."

But that is part of the attraction of the work, Reed thinks.

"All of our work is at the very edge. Having a vision, getting started, learning as we go — it is all part of the work," she explains.

"We are not using people to build an organization. The organization is used by people to build their vision. If you listen to people, give them an opportunity to have a voice, and then they see their ideas at work and they get credit for it, they know they can trust you. You’ve earned their trust."

Building trust to generate successful efforts is especially crucial on Chicago’s westside.

"If you win, everybody’s happy. If you lose, the failure means more — especially in a black community. We are trying to convey that African-Americans can accomplish things. We are saying: ‘If you trust me with your resources, if you have confidence in me, you can have confidence in yourself, too.’ We have a tremendous stake in winning."