October 19, 2023 • 18 mins
Dorri C. McWhorter, President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, joined Angela for her latest episode. In 2021, Dorri became the first woman and first person of color to lead the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. She prides herself on being a socially-conscious business leader and is committed to creating an inclusive marketplace by leveraging a cross-sector approach of engaging business, civic and community partners. Dorri has a breadth of professional experience across a variety of businesses and industries. Check It Out and Be Inspired!
The Women Inspire Chicago Podcast is sponsored by Potbelly.
Dorri McWhorter
LinkedIn — Dorri McWhorter
Twitter/X — @chicCPA
Instagram — @chiccpa
YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
LinkedIn — YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
Twitter/X — @YMCAChicago
Instagram — @ymcachicago
Facebook — YMCA of Metro Chicago
The Women Inspire Chicago Podcast is sponsored by Potbelly.
Dorri McWhorter
LinkedIn — Dorri McWhorter
Twitter/X — @chicCPA
Instagram — @chiccpa
YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
LinkedIn — YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
Twitter/X — @YMCAChicago
Instagram — @ymcachicago
Facebook — YMCA of Metro Chicago
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I Heard Media Chicago presents the WomenInspire Chicago Podcast, hosted by I Heard
Chicago's SVP of Communications, Angela Ingramand produced by Ihart Chicago's Jazzmin Bennetts.
Angela hosts inspiring conversations with someone inChicago's top women executives. Dorm mcwarter,
president and CEO of the YMCA ofMetropolitan Chicago, joined Angela for her latest
(00:23):
episode. Check it out and beinspired. Welcome to Women Inspire Chicago Podcast.
Dori, you have been a greatfriend over the years and it is
just a tremendous opportunity to chat withyou for a little bit wonderful, So
glad to be here. Well,let's talk about this transition that you've made.
Tell me a little bit about yourchange from the YWCA to the YMCA.
(00:46):
Well, Angela, I know,we had some great work that we
did together at the YWCA, andreally it was after COVID when the YMCA
was looking to get a new CEO. After that transition and just the experience
that they had, we were doingsuch great work at the YWCA. We're
really in a great space and sowhen folks contacted me, I saw that
there was an opportunity to quite franklyhelp more people with the work the YMCA
(01:07):
does because it does have a differentplatform. The YWCA has one hundred and
forty plus years focused on women andsupporting them and their families, and the
YMCA, as the name suggests,of course focus on men, but also
focused on women and their families.And I felt that this could be a
good way to continue to just domore and help more people. Amen,
and so, what in your backgroundprepared you for this president and CEO position?
(01:30):
You know, you just pray itall does There's not one specific thing,
but I do feel that, asyou know, Angelama CPA by background
and so has spent the majority ofmy career in management consulting and accounting public
accounting firms, and with the notionof the work that we do there is
problem solving and understanding how to lookat problems and bring solutions, and so
(01:53):
I fill that with being in thepresident's CEO role. That's my job today
is to understand what the problems arewhere we need to bring resources and find
solutions. I feel that that upbringingin public accounting and management consulting helps me
to look at things differently and buildteams right, and so I get to
now do that on a daily basisby making sure that we know what we're
(02:13):
there to do, get the rightteam in place, and just go do
it. I remember many many yearsago, we were having dinner, and
I think that was the first timethat we had dinner together, and you
were talking about your new role aspresident and CEO of the YWCA of Metropolitan
Chicago. But as I understand,you didn't actually apply for that position or
they didn't seek you out. Youwere actually as a CFO. They were
(02:35):
looking for you on the financial side. Well, actually what happened, I
actually had chaired the audit committee,so I had come into the organization.
So you're right on the finance side, being a board member that was specifically
focused on how do we make surethat our of course, our finances are
in place, and so we're closelywith the CFO on the board for eight
years. We were looking for anew CEO. But what they didn't expect
(02:57):
is that I was going to throwmy name in the hat and say,
hey, I would like to considerthis. And it was really unique at
the time because I was a partnerat the firm. I was at but
not only that. In the cityof Chicago, I was the only black
female partner in the large accounting firms, And so folks are like, what
are you doing and why are youchoosing to make this shift? And I
said, well, I want todo this work. And that work for
(03:19):
me was the mission of the YWCA, which was to eliminate racism empower women.
And I really felt called that thatwas the type of work that I
wanted to do. So in twentytwenty one, you became not only the
first woman, but the first personof color to lead the y MCA Metropolitan
Chicago. Yes, how does itmake you feel interesting because you think about
(03:40):
an organization after one hundred and sixtyyears that you could be the first of
anything. But I also think itjust speaks to many of these organizations that
have reflected our societies over time thatwe still, even in twenty twenty three,
are really experiencing first that there's aperspective that still needs to be at
the table, that we need tobe included in. After that mean,
(04:00):
the first two seconds, it's likeit's time to get to work, right,
Thanks for being the first. Now, you know, my experience has
been more with the y m cA than the y w c A.
I was a part of the BlackAchieves program in Louisville, Kentucky, which
is my hometown, Chestnut Street,y m c A. Yes, I
spent my saturdays there as a facilitatorof the Communications Cluster. Wonderful five straight
(04:24):
years. So okay, look alook at you now, Angela, look
at me, now, look atme now. There is there is hope
in that way. But you know, you build on all of those absolutely,
you know, and you have anopportunity to be able to learn and
grow. And I think it isso important that we do tap into the
resources in our community. I thinkso many people do not always say that
(04:46):
some of the challenges that we havehere in Chicago, we really should not
have those because the resources are bountifulin this city for us to be able
to combat so many of the issuesthat we have. What is the importance
of networking and mentoring? Well,networking and mentoring are very very important.
Partially when we think about networking,it really is about how do you expand
(05:10):
the perspectives around you? Right,And so that to me, networking is
not just randomly meeting people, andit really is about how do you tap
into the wealth of knowledge, thecollective knowledge that's available only if you have
the dots to bring it into you, right. And so that to me
is so important because everyone knows somethingI don't, right, And so the
network, the purpose of the networkis to expand that knowledge base that you
(05:31):
just don't have yourself. And thenon the mentoring side is to really then
to unlock that knowledge and put peoplearound you that are willing to provide that
insight, provide that perspective, providethat advice to the degree you choose to
take it. To me, it'sall about expansion, right, So any
of those become real channels to continuethat expansion, that personal growth and just
awareness in the fast person world inwhich we all live. Do you have
(05:53):
to be intentional about mentoring or doesit come natural for you? I have
to be intentional about everything, Angela, you know, because not intentional it
doesn't get done. Right. Igrow from them, right, because I'm
also learning and hearing things and hearingquestions from people that are like hmm,
that's something for me to think aboutas I'm interacting with others too, as
well as trying to impart or atleast provide insights that to the degree that
(06:14):
they could be helpful for others.I want to do that too, So
you have to be intentional about everything. Let's talk about your defining values.
What values drive you. Authenticity isa big value for me because I can't
act. You get what you getright, and like I am no how
to bury there's no askers coming thisway. But at the same time,
when you're authentic, people know whatto expect from you, and there's that
(06:36):
consistency is important, right because peoplecan plan around that if they know that
you're not going to be you knowwhat doory version are you going to get
today? Right? If you knowthe authentic door, you know what you're
going to get. Also, Iconsider joy of value, particularly if you
think if you define values as thosethose beliefs that then drive your behaviors.
Right, So for me, Itry to find joy in everything that I
do because that enthusiasm that joy sparkswhen you're in a moment, to me,
(07:00):
can totally transform that moment. Ifwe have a choice to move through
life in a joyous way or not. Why wouldn't I if you had an
opportunity to just kind of sit onthe beach and think about your career.
What would be the number one andnumber two driving force behind your leadership success?
First five, I said on thebeach, I'd be sleep, That's
(07:20):
the first thing. But if Iwere to think about I would not be
thinking about my career. But shouldI chose to think about my career.
One is that I had people veryearly in my career believe in me and
challenge me. And sometimes I don'teven know if they believed in me,
but I felt that they needed toget things done, and so they leaned
into me to meet the challenge andI did, and that, to me
(07:43):
made me have confidence and an understandingthat because at the time I was very
early in my career and I wasat Arthur Anderson, and that didn't matter.
They just asked me to do thingsthat would have been considered, you
know, things that would have beenfor a second or third or whatever the
case may be, and I justshowed up and did them. And so
that showed me that if the challengeis there, I can always rise to
(08:03):
meet the occasion. And so thatto me set the course for always striving
to knock things out the park,regardless of what was expected of me,
So, what about detours in yourcareer? Pitfalls? Angela. You know
I don't believe in pitfalls. Ilike to say, no, you don't,
but I know you're going to tellme why, Well, because I
don't believe. I really don't believein pitfalls. I believe in what I
(08:26):
said, don't make mistakes, Idon't fail. I don't I take no.
L's that for me. I callit all unplanned learning opportunities. And
the reason is because even when Ihad moments that were perceived derailed moments,
it's hard for me to even relateto him in that way because I learned
so much at the time that Iwas like, Hey, this is the
way I need to go and setme up and for success in a different
(08:48):
way, in a way that Iparticularly didn't expect it to. I remember
being twenty eight one time talking toa mentor of mine and he's like,
you know, Dorry, I waslooking to change shops and he's like,
you're not getting any younger. Youcan't be changing jobs all the time.
But this is at a time whenpeople stayed in one role for thirty years,
whatever the case may be. Atthat time, someone could have said
I derout my career because I didn'tgo up. I went I took an
(09:09):
opportunity that was more lateral. ButI learned so much in that time that
I don't regret any of that.I felt that it really built my toolkit
and helped me learn and grow indifferent ways. And so for me,
it really is about defining what thatsuccess looks like for me as well as
I just can't relate to pitfalls welland we just learned so much. I'm
like, I just learned you do, and as I'm listening to you,
(09:31):
it really comes down to attitude andhaving really an open mind and a ready
heart whatever that is. I lovethat My goal was always to be a
television news anchor. Can say itgot derailed very quickly because I couldn't commit
and say this is what I wantto be doing twenty years from now.
And so they said, well,you know what, We've got an opportunity
in radio. Perhaps you want totry that. It was forty two years
(09:52):
ago. Wow, what if Ihad said no, right, I can
guarantee you I probably wouldn't even bestill be in the business, right,
So the unplanned learning opportunities that wasan unplanned learning opportunity. Absolutely, and
very quickly I was able to pivotand look at the blessing. Absolutely,
So we have to be mindful ofthat as we move out in our careers
and as we mentor a network becauseso many people and we had an event
(10:16):
prior to this podcast and there wasa learning moment from one of our staff
members. It said I had anemail in draft and I was getting ready
to use the word mistake, Andafter listening to you, Dori, she's
changing that word from mistake to unplannedlearning Opportunity's that is because one house on
the spot, Well, I'm herefor it. But when you think about
(10:39):
too, there's just such a haftrelated to the word mistake, and it
makes people feel bad. But doyou really have to feel bad about that?
If it just turned out like youdidn't expect it to, you learn
from it and you move on.And it's just such a different energy to
move forward in a moment knowing thatyou're taking a learning with you versus the
weight of a mistake. I thinkwe forget they were perfect, absolutely,
(11:00):
and we want to be perfect,and particularly in our professional lives, you
know, we don't want to letour guard down, do you ever let
your guard down. My guards staydown because that's an authenticity piece for me,
right, Like, I just Idon't put it up because I'm just
like, look, I just stayopen. As you mentioned, by staying
open, I feel like I justget so much out of life and just
being able to learn from people,create new experiences with people that just I
(11:22):
find it works better for me todo that, and that's what makes a
difference. So being a woman,has it been a help or hindrance for
you? Seemen? How I've beennothing else? It's been great. It's
been great. I'm going to assumeall of it helped me right as a
woman, that I do bring aperspective or different energy to the moments that
I sit in. I'd rather havethat knowledge and have those experiences to bring
(11:43):
to the forefront than than not right, And so it is important for me
to continue to show up in thatauthentic space. And so for me,
I'm going to use everything I canto make it a positive. Ultimately,
it is a help. What keepsyou awake at night? A lot keeps
me awake at night, mostly becausejust like, Wow, this world it
can be better, and I wakeup thinking about how I can make it
(12:05):
better, right, Like, whatare the things that I can at least
contribute to it. I heard thatthere's a documentary or film coming out starring
Dory mcwatter. Yeah, and oneof the featured stories. I'm so excited.
There's this documentary, a movie directedby Stephen Jillen Hall called Uncharitable.
It's based on the book by dampa Lot of the same name, Uncharitable,
and it's about how we can reallymaximize the benefits of nonprofits by unleashing
(12:30):
them to do what they're really createdto do. And so many of the
beliefs like lack of marketing or lackof paying people, or not giving nonprofits
the runway and the freedom they needto do the things that they need to
do is really a highlight in thisfilm. And so we're featured in there
for the work that I did atthe YWCA just try new strategies to make
sure that while we are a nonprofit, that we didn't let that be a
(12:54):
limitation to us. That we reallyleaned into what are the modes that we
can get our stories out and reallychange our organization, which you've always been
aligned to that you've believed in nonprofitsbeing able to market and spread the messaging
and spread their word not at fouro'clock in the morning, but all through
the day, right, And soyou're a proponent of that already, but
really demonstrating how those beliefs that wehave about nonprofits really do hurt them ultimately
(13:16):
versus help them. Well, they'rereally the foundation of what we do and
certainly the foundation of the work thatwe do with iHeartMedia when it comes to
community engagement is key, absolutely key, and it's our responsibility as broadcasters to
ensure that we use our resources tobe able to disseminate that information. Absolutely,
(13:37):
and you all do that so well. Every time I hear and add
our a spot for a nonprofit atprime time when I'm getting ready to work,
and I'm just like, thank you, Angela. Yeah, we should
not hide it. Let me justwe should not hide it. That's key.
Well, think about the future outlookfor women and leadership. What inspires
you about those thoughts if you haveany Yeah, I'm really inspired because I
(13:58):
do think that women are continuing touse their voice and share their perspectives to
change the environment and saying that theseare the things that don't work, and
these are the things that do workand really bringing that to the forefront.
And so I think women in leadershipare really leading the way, not just
for women, but when women actuallyspeak up, they really change the course
for everyone. Because we saw thisduring COVID, right, that many of
(14:20):
the arrangements that women needed were alsoneeded by men. But women were the
ones that were telling everybody that weneed these types of arrangements to make our
family situations work. Because we sawwomen not only doing their day jobs,
but they were also being school teachers, they were also providing homework assistance,
and the men were doing that tosome degree as well, right, But
women were the ones saying that theseare the type of environments that we can
be most successful in. And soI think that, you know, women
(14:43):
in leadership are really helping to reshapewhat workplace and workforce can look like and
how it needs to operate to reallyinclude all of us. Even though COVID
was extremely devastating for our world,absolutely there are so many blessings that came
out of that time where we dohad to be stealed right and totally reevaluate
(15:03):
everything from a personal and professional level, and we're doing things differently as a
result, we were forced to dothings differently. Absolutely, and when we
look back, you know, Ithink, why did we do well we
did in the first place? Wedo that and it makes sense because that
was just the way, and nowwe've started a new way. What is
your advice for up and coming womenthat have a desire to be in leadership
(15:24):
like Jasmine Bennett, who is aproducer of the Women Inspire Chicago podcast,
her own Brilliantly Black podcast. Shealso hosts her own radio show, Golcha
on our sister station one O threefive Kiss FM. What can you say
to Jazmine? Well, one ofthe things I say to Jasmine, She's
already doing it is not being putin a box. I think that the
up and coming women, we hadso many pathways that we were told to
(15:46):
go down, or we were toldthat these were the ways to go.
The women like Jasmine are showing usby the way, we can have this
and this and do this and dothat because we have so many aspects to
who we are, and we haveso many talents and abilities. So why
would wes on one thing when wecan absolutely do We can't do two things
right. We may do those thingsat different levels, and activate them at
(16:07):
different times. But we have morethan one interest. None of us are
just one thing or the other there. We're multifaceted, many aspects to us,
and I think the new generation ofleaders that are up and coming are
showing us that we can marry thoseaspects in different ways. You know,
I'm an accountant by background. Itwas always a path that you're an accountant
or you're a numbers person or apeople's person, Like what does that even
mean? And so for me,I think that I've found my way to
(16:30):
merge all those things together. ButI think these newer generations on the women
and the up and coming leaders arereally understanding that they can lean into the
many aspects of them who they areand not having to choose one or amplify
one at the time. They chooseto amplify that and not really be defined
by that one thing. I thinkthat's really important for companies. I had
to write a reference letter for someonethe other day, and I ended it
(16:52):
by saying, if you make thechoice to hire this person as a company,
you are showcasing the next generation ofleaders. Yeah, you make the
choice. Chansmin thoughts. I definitelyhave always thought that when people say the
sky is the limit. I've neverever believed in that, even as a
kid. So it's like growing up, it's like I still carry that mindset
because you can do whatever you wantto do if you have that passion,
(17:15):
which we were talking about earlier,Dory. I really like how you put
an emphasis on authenticity and especially withpassion, because something that I really also
believe is that you can't fake passion. You really can't, not at all.
So I do have a quote aboutpassion from Maya Angelo. She says,
love life, engage in it,give it all you've got. Love
(17:36):
it with a passion, because lifetruly does give back many times over what
you put into it absolutely matters.Absolutely. Jory mcwater a passionate and powerful
leader. Thank you so much forjoining us today. Thank you, it
is my honor. Thanks for listeningto the Women Inspire Chicago Podcast presented by
iHeart Media Chicago. The Women InspireChicago Podcast is sponsored by pot Belly.
(18:00):
Feed your group from small to larchwith pot Belly Catering. Pot Belly you
Gotta get It Hot,
I Heard Media Chicago presents the WomenInspire Chicago Podcast, hosted by I Heard
Chicago's SVP of Communications, Angela Ingramand produced by Ihart Chicago's Jazzmin Bennetts.
Angela hosts inspiring conversations with someone inChicago's top women executives. Dorm mcwarter,
president and CEO of the YMCA ofMetropolitan Chicago, joined Angela for her latest
(00:23):
episode. Check it out and beinspired. Welcome to Women Inspire Chicago Podcast.
Dori, you have been a greatfriend over the years and it is
just a tremendous opportunity to chat withyou for a little bit wonderful, So
glad to be here. Well,let's talk about this transition that you've made.
Tell me a little bit about yourchange from the YWCA to the YMCA.
(00:46):
Well, Angela, I know,we had some great work that we
did together at the YWCA, andreally it was after COVID when the YMCA
was looking to get a new CEO. After that transition and just the experience
that they had, we were doingsuch great work at the YWCA. We're
really in a great space and sowhen folks contacted me, I saw that
there was an opportunity to quite franklyhelp more people with the work the YMCA
(01:07):
does because it does have a differentplatform. The YWCA has one hundred and
forty plus years focused on women andsupporting them and their families, and the
YMCA, as the name suggests,of course focus on men, but also
focused on women and their families.And I felt that this could be a
good way to continue to just domore and help more people. Amen,
and so, what in your backgroundprepared you for this president and CEO position?
(01:30):
You know, you just pray itall does There's not one specific thing,
but I do feel that, asyou know, Angelama CPA by background
and so has spent the majority ofmy career in management consulting and accounting public
accounting firms, and with the notionof the work that we do there is
problem solving and understanding how to lookat problems and bring solutions, and so
(01:53):
I fill that with being in thepresident's CEO role. That's my job today
is to understand what the problems arewhere we need to bring resources and find
solutions. I feel that that upbringingin public accounting and management consulting helps me
to look at things differently and buildteams right, and so I get to
now do that on a daily basisby making sure that we know what we're
(02:13):
there to do, get the rightteam in place, and just go do
it. I remember many many yearsago, we were having dinner, and
I think that was the first timethat we had dinner together, and you
were talking about your new role aspresident and CEO of the YWCA of Metropolitan
Chicago. But as I understand,you didn't actually apply for that position or
they didn't seek you out. Youwere actually as a CFO. They were
(02:35):
looking for you on the financial side. Well, actually what happened, I
actually had chaired the audit committee,so I had come into the organization.
So you're right on the finance side, being a board member that was specifically
focused on how do we make surethat our of course, our finances are
in place, and so we're closelywith the CFO on the board for eight
years. We were looking for anew CEO. But what they didn't expect
(02:57):
is that I was going to throwmy name in the hat and say,
hey, I would like to considerthis. And it was really unique at
the time because I was a partnerat the firm. I was at but
not only that. In the cityof Chicago, I was the only black
female partner in the large accounting firms, And so folks are like, what
are you doing and why are youchoosing to make this shift? And I
said, well, I want todo this work. And that work for
(03:19):
me was the mission of the YWCA, which was to eliminate racism empower women.
And I really felt called that thatwas the type of work that I
wanted to do. So in twentytwenty one, you became not only the
first woman, but the first personof color to lead the y MCA Metropolitan
Chicago. Yes, how does itmake you feel interesting because you think about
(03:40):
an organization after one hundred and sixtyyears that you could be the first of
anything. But I also think itjust speaks to many of these organizations that
have reflected our societies over time thatwe still, even in twenty twenty three,
are really experiencing first that there's aperspective that still needs to be at
the table, that we need tobe included in. After that mean,
(04:00):
the first two seconds, it's likeit's time to get to work, right,
Thanks for being the first. Now, you know, my experience has
been more with the y m cA than the y w c A.
I was a part of the BlackAchieves program in Louisville, Kentucky, which
is my hometown, Chestnut Street,y m c A. Yes, I
spent my saturdays there as a facilitatorof the Communications Cluster. Wonderful five straight
(04:24):
years. So okay, look alook at you now, Angela, look
at me, now, look atme now. There is there is hope
in that way. But you know, you build on all of those absolutely,
you know, and you have anopportunity to be able to learn and
grow. And I think it isso important that we do tap into the
resources in our community. I thinkso many people do not always say that
(04:46):
some of the challenges that we havehere in Chicago, we really should not
have those because the resources are bountifulin this city for us to be able
to combat so many of the issuesthat we have. What is the importance
of networking and mentoring? Well,networking and mentoring are very very important.
Partially when we think about networking,it really is about how do you expand
(05:10):
the perspectives around you? Right,And so that to me, networking is
not just randomly meeting people, andit really is about how do you tap
into the wealth of knowledge, thecollective knowledge that's available only if you have
the dots to bring it into you, right. And so that to me
is so important because everyone knows somethingI don't, right, And so the
network, the purpose of the networkis to expand that knowledge base that you
(05:31):
just don't have yourself. And thenon the mentoring side is to really then
to unlock that knowledge and put peoplearound you that are willing to provide that
insight, provide that perspective, providethat advice to the degree you choose to
take it. To me, it'sall about expansion, right, So any
of those become real channels to continuethat expansion, that personal growth and just
awareness in the fast person world inwhich we all live. Do you have
(05:53):
to be intentional about mentoring or doesit come natural for you? I have
to be intentional about everything, Angela, you know, because not intentional it
doesn't get done. Right. Igrow from them, right, because I'm
also learning and hearing things and hearingquestions from people that are like hmm,
that's something for me to think aboutas I'm interacting with others too, as
well as trying to impart or atleast provide insights that to the degree that
(06:14):
they could be helpful for others.I want to do that too, So
you have to be intentional about everything. Let's talk about your defining values.
What values drive you. Authenticity isa big value for me because I can't
act. You get what you getright, and like I am no how
to bury there's no askers coming thisway. But at the same time,
when you're authentic, people know whatto expect from you, and there's that
(06:36):
consistency is important, right because peoplecan plan around that if they know that
you're not going to be you knowwhat doory version are you going to get
today? Right? If you knowthe authentic door, you know what you're
going to get. Also, Iconsider joy of value, particularly if you
think if you define values as thosethose beliefs that then drive your behaviors.
Right, So for me, Itry to find joy in everything that I
do because that enthusiasm that joy sparkswhen you're in a moment, to me,
(07:00):
can totally transform that moment. Ifwe have a choice to move through
life in a joyous way or not. Why wouldn't I if you had an
opportunity to just kind of sit onthe beach and think about your career.
What would be the number one andnumber two driving force behind your leadership success?
First five, I said on thebeach, I'd be sleep, That's
(07:20):
the first thing. But if Iwere to think about I would not be
thinking about my career. But shouldI chose to think about my career.
One is that I had people veryearly in my career believe in me and
challenge me. And sometimes I don'teven know if they believed in me,
but I felt that they needed toget things done, and so they leaned
into me to meet the challenge andI did, and that, to me
(07:43):
made me have confidence and an understandingthat because at the time I was very
early in my career and I wasat Arthur Anderson, and that didn't matter.
They just asked me to do thingsthat would have been considered, you
know, things that would have beenfor a second or third or whatever the
case may be, and I justshowed up and did them. And so
that showed me that if the challengeis there, I can always rise to
(08:03):
meet the occasion. And so thatto me set the course for always striving
to knock things out the park,regardless of what was expected of me,
So, what about detours in yourcareer? Pitfalls? Angela. You know
I don't believe in pitfalls. Ilike to say, no, you don't,
but I know you're going to tellme why, Well, because I
don't believe. I really don't believein pitfalls. I believe in what I
(08:26):
said, don't make mistakes, Idon't fail. I don't I take no.
L's that for me. I callit all unplanned learning opportunities. And
the reason is because even when Ihad moments that were perceived derailed moments,
it's hard for me to even relateto him in that way because I learned
so much at the time that Iwas like, Hey, this is the
way I need to go and setme up and for success in a different
(08:48):
way, in a way that Iparticularly didn't expect it to. I remember
being twenty eight one time talking toa mentor of mine and he's like,
you know, Dorry, I waslooking to change shops and he's like,
you're not getting any younger. Youcan't be changing jobs all the time.
But this is at a time whenpeople stayed in one role for thirty years,
whatever the case may be. Atthat time, someone could have said
I derout my career because I didn'tgo up. I went I took an
(09:09):
opportunity that was more lateral. ButI learned so much in that time that
I don't regret any of that.I felt that it really built my toolkit
and helped me learn and grow indifferent ways. And so for me,
it really is about defining what thatsuccess looks like for me as well as
I just can't relate to pitfalls welland we just learned so much. I'm
like, I just learned you do, and as I'm listening to you,
(09:31):
it really comes down to attitude andhaving really an open mind and a ready
heart whatever that is. I lovethat My goal was always to be a
television news anchor. Can say itgot derailed very quickly because I couldn't commit
and say this is what I wantto be doing twenty years from now.
And so they said, well,you know what, We've got an opportunity
in radio. Perhaps you want totry that. It was forty two years
(09:52):
ago. Wow, what if Ihad said no, right, I can
guarantee you I probably wouldn't even bestill be in the business, right,
So the unplanned learning opportunities that wasan unplanned learning opportunity. Absolutely, and
very quickly I was able to pivotand look at the blessing. Absolutely,
So we have to be mindful ofthat as we move out in our careers
and as we mentor a network becauseso many people and we had an event
(10:16):
prior to this podcast and there wasa learning moment from one of our staff
members. It said I had anemail in draft and I was getting ready
to use the word mistake, Andafter listening to you, Dori, she's
changing that word from mistake to unplannedlearning Opportunity's that is because one house on
the spot, Well, I'm herefor it. But when you think about
(10:39):
too, there's just such a haftrelated to the word mistake, and it
makes people feel bad. But doyou really have to feel bad about that?
If it just turned out like youdidn't expect it to, you learn
from it and you move on.And it's just such a different energy to
move forward in a moment knowing thatyou're taking a learning with you versus the
weight of a mistake. I thinkwe forget they were perfect, absolutely,
(11:00):
and we want to be perfect,and particularly in our professional lives, you
know, we don't want to letour guard down, do you ever let
your guard down. My guards staydown because that's an authenticity piece for me,
right, Like, I just Idon't put it up because I'm just
like, look, I just stayopen. As you mentioned, by staying
open, I feel like I justget so much out of life and just
being able to learn from people,create new experiences with people that just I
(11:22):
find it works better for me todo that, and that's what makes a
difference. So being a woman,has it been a help or hindrance for
you? Seemen? How I've beennothing else? It's been great. It's
been great. I'm going to assumeall of it helped me right as a
woman, that I do bring aperspective or different energy to the moments that
I sit in. I'd rather havethat knowledge and have those experiences to bring
(11:43):
to the forefront than than not right, And so it is important for me
to continue to show up in thatauthentic space. And so for me,
I'm going to use everything I canto make it a positive. Ultimately,
it is a help. What keepsyou awake at night? A lot keeps
me awake at night, mostly becausejust like, Wow, this world it
can be better, and I wakeup thinking about how I can make it
(12:05):
better, right, Like, whatare the things that I can at least
contribute to it. I heard thatthere's a documentary or film coming out starring
Dory mcwatter. Yeah, and oneof the featured stories. I'm so excited.
There's this documentary, a movie directedby Stephen Jillen Hall called Uncharitable.
It's based on the book by dampa Lot of the same name, Uncharitable,
and it's about how we can reallymaximize the benefits of nonprofits by unleashing
(12:30):
them to do what they're really createdto do. And so many of the
beliefs like lack of marketing or lackof paying people, or not giving nonprofits
the runway and the freedom they needto do the things that they need to
do is really a highlight in thisfilm. And so we're featured in there
for the work that I did atthe YWCA just try new strategies to make
sure that while we are a nonprofit, that we didn't let that be a
(12:54):
limitation to us. That we reallyleaned into what are the modes that we
can get our stories out and reallychange our organization, which you've always been
aligned to that you've believed in nonprofitsbeing able to market and spread the messaging
and spread their word not at fouro'clock in the morning, but all through
the day, right, And soyou're a proponent of that already, but
really demonstrating how those beliefs that wehave about nonprofits really do hurt them ultimately
(13:16):
versus help them. Well, they'rereally the foundation of what we do and
certainly the foundation of the work thatwe do with iHeartMedia when it comes to
community engagement is key, absolutely key, and it's our responsibility as broadcasters to
ensure that we use our resources tobe able to disseminate that information. Absolutely,
(13:37):
and you all do that so well. Every time I hear and add
our a spot for a nonprofit atprime time when I'm getting ready to work,
and I'm just like, thank you, Angela. Yeah, we should
not hide it. Let me justwe should not hide it. That's key.
Well, think about the future outlookfor women and leadership. What inspires
you about those thoughts if you haveany Yeah, I'm really inspired because I
(13:58):
do think that women are continuing touse their voice and share their perspectives to
change the environment and saying that theseare the things that don't work, and
these are the things that do workand really bringing that to the forefront.
And so I think women in leadershipare really leading the way, not just
for women, but when women actuallyspeak up, they really change the course
for everyone. Because we saw thisduring COVID, right, that many of
(14:20):
the arrangements that women needed were alsoneeded by men. But women were the
ones that were telling everybody that weneed these types of arrangements to make our
family situations work. Because we sawwomen not only doing their day jobs,
but they were also being school teachers, they were also providing homework assistance,
and the men were doing that tosome degree as well, right, But
women were the ones saying that theseare the type of environments that we can
be most successful in. And soI think that, you know, women
(14:43):
in leadership are really helping to reshapewhat workplace and workforce can look like and
how it needs to operate to reallyinclude all of us. Even though COVID
was extremely devastating for our world,absolutely there are so many blessings that came
out of that time where we dohad to be stealed right and totally reevaluate
(15:03):
everything from a personal and professional level, and we're doing things differently as a
result, we were forced to dothings differently. Absolutely, and when we
look back, you know, Ithink, why did we do well we
did in the first place? Wedo that and it makes sense because that
was just the way, and nowwe've started a new way. What is
your advice for up and coming womenthat have a desire to be in leadership
(15:24):
like Jasmine Bennett, who is aproducer of the Women Inspire Chicago podcast,
her own Brilliantly Black podcast. Shealso hosts her own radio show, Golcha
on our sister station one O threefive Kiss FM. What can you say
to Jazmine? Well, one ofthe things I say to Jasmine, She's
already doing it is not being putin a box. I think that the
up and coming women, we hadso many pathways that we were told to
(15:46):
go down, or we were toldthat these were the ways to go.
The women like Jasmine are showing usby the way, we can have this
and this and do this and dothat because we have so many aspects to
who we are, and we haveso many talents and abilities. So why
would wes on one thing when wecan absolutely do We can't do two things
right. We may do those thingsat different levels, and activate them at
(16:07):
different times. But we have morethan one interest. None of us are
just one thing or the other there. We're multifaceted, many aspects to us,
and I think the new generation ofleaders that are up and coming are
showing us that we can marry thoseaspects in different ways. You know,
I'm an accountant by background. Itwas always a path that you're an accountant
or you're a numbers person or apeople's person, Like what does that even
mean? And so for me,I think that I've found my way to
(16:30):
merge all those things together. ButI think these newer generations on the women
and the up and coming leaders arereally understanding that they can lean into the
many aspects of them who they areand not having to choose one or amplify
one at the time. They chooseto amplify that and not really be defined
by that one thing. I thinkthat's really important for companies. I had
to write a reference letter for someonethe other day, and I ended it
(16:52):
by saying, if you make thechoice to hire this person as a company,
you are showcasing the next generation ofleaders. Yeah, you make the
choice. Chansmin thoughts. I definitelyhave always thought that when people say the
sky is the limit. I've neverever believed in that, even as a
kid. So it's like growing up, it's like I still carry that mindset
because you can do whatever you wantto do if you have that passion,
(17:15):
which we were talking about earlier,Dory. I really like how you put
an emphasis on authenticity and especially withpassion, because something that I really also
believe is that you can't fake passion. You really can't, not at all.
So I do have a quote aboutpassion from Maya Angelo. She says,
love life, engage in it,give it all you've got. Love
(17:36):
it with a passion, because lifetruly does give back many times over what
you put into it absolutely matters.Absolutely. Jory mcwater a passionate and powerful
leader. Thank you so much forjoining us today. Thank you, it
is my honor. Thanks for listeningto the Women Inspire Chicago Podcast presented by
iHeart Media Chicago. The Women InspireChicago Podcast is sponsored by pot Belly.
(18:00):
Feed your group from small to larchwith pot Belly Catering. Pot Belly you
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