Senior Leadership Meeting Focuses on NYCHA’s Influence
NYCHA held its final Senior Quarterly Leadership Meeting (QLM) for 2016 at the Brooklyn Law School on December 6. The designated theme—”Increasing our Influence”— had added significance on the heels of the presidential election and the nomination of Dr. Ben Carson for the Secretary of HUD one day earlier.
“In light of the changing political climate, NYCHA is in a position to be a significant influencer, not just in New York City but across the country,” Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye said. “Today we are focused on understanding and increasing our influence, so that we can take charge, speak up, and reach our audience.”
Closer to home, NYCHA must also influence employees to adapt to new ways of working, vendors to meet higher service expectations, and external stakeholders to accept business not as usual, “so that we can meet our strategic objectives,” the Chair added.
The Chair’s remarks also reflected upon successes during 2016 and challenges looking ahead to the new year. General Manager Michael Kelly discussed how assessments from the last QLM informed the approach to the day’s meeting.
The morning session included tips from Chief of Staff Jackie Primeau and VP for Strategic Initiatives and Senior Advisor to the Chair Karina Totah on using PowerPoint to influence policy and outcomes, followed by a presentation by Community Engagement & Partnerships’ four departments.
Afternoon highlights included an introduction to NYCHA’s 19 Regional Asset Managers, who are spearheading decentralized NextGen Operations by overseeing and mentoring property managers at 57 developments; a 2016 financial update by EVP for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Karen Caldwell that showed a $20 million surplus forecasted for the end of the year; and six “lightning” PowerPoint presentations on various topics.
The full-day meeting concluded with a candid conversation between Chair Olatoye and Deborah Wright, Chairwoman of the Board at Carver Bankcorp, Inc. In response to the Chair’s question about how to lead an organization through change, Ms. Wright responded: “Teamwork and the combined skills of the team are more important than any individual, including the leader.“ In closing, Ms. Wright, a former NYCHA Executive Board Member, commented: “I’m personally very proud of what you are doing. It’s hard to explain to the world what you’re up against. NYCHA is an institution people don’t understand. Stay with it. Congratulations on what you’re doing on behalf of the people of New York.”
