President, Planned Parenthood
Federation of America
During her 12 years as
president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards has
tripled membership to more
than 10 million and elevated the
organization’s voice in the fight
for women’s rights—all despite
political headwinds. Here’s how
she has used the fervor unleashed by partisan debate to
amplify her mission.
Talk, Listen, Learn
When Planned Parenthood first
started offering a text-chat service, Richards recalls, “a young
woman texted us late at night
and said, ‘I have no one to talk
to.’ And we texted back and said,
‘ We’re here to help you.’ And then
she told us her story. She really
did need to see a medical professional immediately, and we were
able to make that appointment.
And I’ll never forget—we texted
at the end, ‘Do you have everything you need for now?’ And she
said, just like a teenager would,
‘You have been a lifesaver,’ with
a little smiley face emoticon. And
then a couple minutes later she
texted back, ‘But will you still be
there later tonight if I need you?’
That, to me, is what Planned Parenthood is all about.”
Don’t Wait to Be Asked
Richards is encouraged by the
various ways people have rallied
to support the cause of women’s
health. “On Etsy, people are making so many things for Planned
Parenthood: T-shirts, candles,
buttons, hats, you name it,” she
says. “People stop me on the subway and ask, ‘ What should I do?’
My message is, ‘Don’t wait for instructions. Just do it, whatever it
is you’re going to do.’ Who knows
what it’s going to take to change
the direction of this country?
It’s going to be everybody doing
their part.”
Invest in People
Being a good leader, Richards
says, “means investing in the
folks who are coming up after
you. This is something I learned
from my mom [former Texas
governor Ann Richards], who was
always encouraging women to do
more, think bigger. At Planned
Parenthood, we invest in thousands of young people by getting them trained to be public
speakers and advocates. That
is probably the most important
mark I hope to leave on Planned
Parenthood: having a whole new
generation of leaders come after.”
Allow for failure
“Permission to fail is part
of morale boosting.
People can’t be afraid
of their jobs or they’ll
never innovate for you.”
George Swisher
Founder and CEO, LiiRN
Don’t settle for
window dressing
“If people are doing good
work and there’s a good
culture, morale comes
with it. If you go through
a rough patch, people
pull together. Parties
and things are add-ons.
Morale doesn’t go up
simply because you throw
a Halloween party.”
Gianpiero Puleo
Co-owner, Ustwo
Be redundant
“You can get a little bored
hearing yourself repeat
things, but it’s helpful to
people if there’s a continual reminder of how
this thing you’re doing fits
into a larger picture.”
Kerri Hoffman
CEO, PRX
If all else fails,
there’s always pie
“We did a pie tasting during our latest weekly
all-hands project management meeting. There is
nothing like scratch-made
pie to boost your mood.”
Camilla Marcus
Cofounder, TechTable;
founder, West-bourne
How great
leaders
keep people’s
spirits up CECILE RICHARDS
DO MORE,
THINK BIGGER
LESSONS IN
OPTIMISM