Leslie Motter shares what keeps her inspired to create impact, and it's about to get inventive

"The best leadership advice is the simplest: authentic leadership is not about you. It’s about the people you have the privilege of leading." In this installment of You've Got This, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish America Leslie Motter outlines how her past career experiences in HR and finance brought her to the nonprofit organization, the importance of hope, and her best advice for leaders. Enjoy her answers below, along with announcing our next guest, author and Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s d.school Jeremy Utley .

Victoria: "Can you share with us a bit about your background and how your career journey through financial services and operations resulted in you joining?Make-A-Wish?"

Leslie: "I started in human resources many years ago. My master's is in organizational behavior, and I spent about ten years at Aetna Financial Services in various roles within human resources, strategy, and operations. I then joined Prudential and later Vanguard. That's when I got a call from American Express's then-CIO, whom I'd worked with at Aetna years earlier. They were working on a significant technology project that needed fresh eyes, and I was intrigued. I spent 11 years at American Express, with my last position as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Phoenix Service Center. As part of that responsibility, I had the privilege of helping influence where we gave philanthropically in Arizona. I sat on several non-profit boards, including Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, UMOM New Day Centers and the leadership council of the Thunderbird School of Global Management. As a board member, I learned how challenging it can be to get the right leader in the right role at a nonprofit and the importance of nonprofits dedicating funding to leadership development as for-profits do. So, I worked with American Express and Thunderbird School of Global Management to develop a social sector leadership program. Think of it as a mini-MBA where we’d invite nonprofits to attend a week at Thunderbird for learning opportunities in finance, marketing, brand—you name it. ?One of the organizations we invited to join was Make-A-Wish, and I was able to get to know the mission.

A few years later, Make-A-Wish America asked if I was interested in joining the national office staff as the Chief Human Resources Officer. Once I started, I was hooked. It was so much more impactful than I realized. I had some idea of the impact of a wish on the child, parents, and siblings. What I didn't realize, however, was the impact on the larger community, medical providers, schools, and churches—it's such a beautiful web that it touches.

When I think back, my passion has always been in the nonprofit space. Even in my early 20s at Aetna, I always jumped at the opportunity to get involved in pro-social initiatives and efforts. It's why I've been with Make-A-Wish America for nine years, and I'm incredibly grateful to be able to lead the organization into its newest chapter as president and CEO."

Victoria: "What do you wish more people knew about the work?your organization?does?"

Leslie: "I think it's important to note the true impact of a wish. It’s not just a nice to have, it’s a must have. When families are dealing with the traumatic stress of unplanned hospital stays and painful treatments, a wish can give children a chance to reclaim a piece of their childhood and a sense of control. It's empowering to a child who doesn't get to make many life decisions anymore. Now they're given a chance to dream, be inspired, think about if they can do anything, meet anyone, or go anywhere. Hope can be a very powerful medicine.

When it comes to Make-A-Wish, there's a common misconception that children must have a terminal prognosis to be eligible for a wish. That’s not the case.?In fact, many of our children with life-threatening illnesses tell us later in their lives that their wish gave them the strength to fight their illnesses and have a better chance of recovering. It’s a sentiment we confirmed when we conducted the Wish Impact Survey earlier this year. The results shed light on the long-lasting impacts of a wish on children and the wish community long after the wish experience. Our alumni community is a tremendous inspiration. It's incredible hearing some say that the wish changed the direction of their life from that point forward.

I also want to clarify how wishes are funded. As an organization that doesn’t receive annual government funding, we are lucky to have generous supporters that help us grant wishes daily. However, for every wish granted, three more are waiting. Today alone, 40 kids will be referred for a wish—added to the list alongside thousands of other kids who are waiting for their wishes to be granted. The holiday season is a crucial fundraising season, and we encourage the public to join us—and a few of our corporate supporters that activate this time of year—like My First Reading Club on Amazon, WishPies at Walmart, and Subaru Share the Love campaign—in helping bring joy to wish families."

Victoria: "The work that you do inspires others. How do you personally stay motivated and inspired?"

Leslie: "When you think about the mission, it's not hard to stay inspired and motivated and to want to do more for our wish families and our local chapters. When I hear stories from wish parents who spent countless hours beside their child in a hospital bed and missed moments with younger siblings because of the devastating effects of a diagnosis, it puts everything in perspective.

I am inspired by the conversations I have with Make-A-Wish parents, like the family in Colorado whose wish child leaned on TV shows like The Voice to get through hospital stays. His favorite judge was Blake Shelton, and when it came time to choose his wish, he chose to meet his idol. That moment gave the family a sense of normalcy back into their lives for the first time in months. The entire family was lost in the moment and could take part in the experience of the wish coming to life. There's no feeling like it. Knowing the powerful impact of a wish drives everything we do as an organization and serves as a big inspiration to me as a leader."

Victoria: "Speaking of leadership: what’s your best advice for those who may be looking to grow their impact as a leader?"

Leslie: "The best leadership advice is the simplest: authentic leadership is not about you. It’s about the people you have the privilege of leading. It’s about the organizations that have demonstrated faith in you to put you in a leadership position. When you lead by keeping the people you serve at the forefront of every decision you make, you can create an environment where staff members feel appreciated, respected and motivated to bring their full selves and their best efforts to the mission."

Follow Leslie on LinkedIn.

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Our next guest:?Jeremy Utley

Great ideas are essential to success in every field—but how can you overcome creative blockers so that you're able to come up with the crucial ideas that can unlock new opportunities or solve existing problems? Our next guest, Jeremy Utley, brings his years of experience as Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s d.school and co-hosting Stanford’s Masters of Creativity podcast to the topic. With that in mind, here's what I'll be asking:

• What experiences along your career trajectory inspired you to focus on this topic?
• In your new book IDEAFLOW: The Only Business Metric That Matters , you argue alongside your co-author Perry Klebahn that input is more important than output, and quantity more important than quality. Can you share some common instances of ways people inadvertently block the creative process, and approaches you'd recommend overcoming those hurdles?
• What key advice would you have for those looking to break through and find their next great idea, whether personally or professionally?

Curious about your specific idea questions? Join in the comments below —and thank you for being a part of the You've Got This community.