Dr. Jeanne Bailey, CEO, Social Entrepreneur
As CEO for over six years at United Family Medicine, a community clinic in Saint Paul, she was described by her board chair as “compassionate and fearless.” She considers it a privilege to serve in this leadership role in an organization that provides primary care for those with limited access to health care. A true social entrepreneur!
Prior to heading up United Family Medicine, Jeanne was the co-founder of the Institute for Women Entrepreneurs at St. Catherine University, working with women to leverage ideas into opportunity.
Takeaways from your childhood and life?
Jeanne in her own words….
A girl can never have too many purses….. As a little girl, I carried several purses with me wherever I went: a little girl-sized red one holding money and gum, the usual purse things, such as an adult-sized shiny black bag filled with paper, pens and books, and sometimes a third purse, full of dolls, doll clothing and ribbon, each one devoted to my diverse little-girl interests. These full satchels symbolize my diverse interests. I did not know that some day these purses would become a metaphor for what I value most: continued growth and learning.
I’m always looking for alternative solutions—”making it so” is what I call it. If someone has a great concept or process, it just isn’t good enough to say ‘what if’ – how can we find a way to try this and see if it works? If we don’t, I grieve that we may not have checked it out. I guess I ask why a lot. When I was little I would drive with my Dad and ask questions, I’ve always had that natural curiosity. I’m really resilient too; I always see another option that we just haven’t figured out, yet. People would say I’m always hungry for information. I think that started very young, and I received very positive messages from my parents. When I went to school to be a nurse, I found the school that required the shortest amount of time and got my degree so I could do exactly what I wanted. Before I was born my mother traveled all over the state during the depression to little towns, and she would help struggling farmers by setting up offices for financial and social aid. Her sense of adventure and imagination was part of who she was. At the age of 65, she started a new career as a newspaper proofreader and recipe columnist! Dad was an inventor—probably a Dreamer on the Creatrix Assessment, but they both were clearly role models for creativity and taking risks.
I always believe there is a better way to do something. I believe there is a solution ‘out there’ and I have to find it. For me, it’s a mixture of curiosity, information and experimentation, working through alternatives, trial and error, and being sensitive to the way I work. If new ideas are not explored, I see it as a missed opportunity. I think I work on helping people see the wisdom of ‘doing it’ differently and use questions as a way to get the thinking started.
I think my favorite job was creating the Institute for Entrepreneurs at St. Catherine University (St. Kate’s). Clearly over the years, I’ve enjoyed creating new jobs, new roles, seeing a need and saying let’s do it!
Jeanne’s advice for being more innovative and stretching your innovative capacity….
• Believe that there is always a solution and you just have to find it
• As innovators, we tend to have an idea and surprise people, and then it is an uphill battle—I’ve learned over the years not to surprise people, but bring them
along and create some consensus. That is often antithetical to an innovator’s natural tendencies.
• There is always something new to learn.
• Be courageous and decide the value yourself.
• Be clear about what you contribute and help others to do the same
• Be patient, help others catch up but be clear about what you want.
• Incremental innovations may not be what you want, but are worth paying attention to.