That kind of attitude “is prevalent
among all the really strong executive
directors I’ve worked with,” he adds.
“They know that their ultimate goal is
the success of their community, so if
something isn’t working they have to
be willing to go to some other resource
within the company for help.”
Adds Egerer: “Executive directors
have to have confidence, but they also
have to have courage. They have to be
able to admit when they can’t do some-
thing or don’t know something—and
they have to seek assistance from oth-
ers within or even outside of the orga-
nization when those situations arise.”
An attribute that goes hand in hand
with adaptability: a sense of urgency.
“That’s definitely something we look
for when hiring an executive director,”
says Cunningham. “They’re going to
have to juggle multiple priorities, af-
ter all, since there are always so many
things going on at one time.”
Along with that, the ideal executive
director “isn’t satisfied with the status
quo,” adds maria Oliva, chief people
officer for Des Plaines, Illinois-based
Pathway senior Living. He or she is
“constantly looking at what can be
done better or what can be done dif-
ferently. Our executive directors are
responsible for creating the kind of en-
vironment where people would rather
wait for an apartment in their commu-
nity than go to a competitor down the
street,” Oliva says.
“We can teach them the financial
aspects of the position,” she says, “but
we can’t teach them to genuinely care
about and create great experiences for
the staff and the residents.” ❏
who’s who
Bryan Ochalla is a contributing writer to
Assisted Living Executive. Reach him at
bochalla@alfa.org.
Contact information for members in this article.
› Jessica cunningham, jcunningham@
benchmarkquality.com
› michelle egerer, megerer@silveradosenior.
com
› maria Oliva, moliva@pathwaysl.com
› earl Parker, eparker@singhmail.com
Leadership and vision
