Quote about change: "Learn to pace. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you."
Have you ever wondered what it takes to pivot from a successful career in a for-profit sector to lead a non-profit organization? Cara Bahr, the current CEO of YWCA in Saskatoon, did just that and she reveals her motivations, challenges, and accomplishments in this journey. As a certified professional accountant, Cara was deeply entrenched in the financial industry. It wasn't just the job posting that drew her to the YWCA, but a deep-seated value of giving back, instilled in her by her parents. She discusses her leap of faith into the non-profit sector and the unique experiences that came with it.
Transitioning to a CEO role is challenging enough, but Cara faced the added pressures of the global COVID-19 pandemic. She shares how she tackled this new role while battling imposter syndrome and juggling her home life. Hear how she learned to refocus on the internal workings of her organization while maintaining her mental wellbeing. Cara's approach of showing up with mindfulness and positivity, even in trying times, is truly inspiring. She discusses the conscious planning that went into her transition and the power of being a steady anchor during periods of change.
Cara speaks candidly about the discomfort and frustration that comes with leading from the front, and the importance of understanding and fostering relationships. Contrary to common misconceptions, ambition and driven leadership are integral to the success of non-profit organizations. This podcast is a must for anyone contemplating a career transition or seeking an in-depth understanding of the non-profit sector.
Quote about change: "Learn to pace. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you."
Have you ever wondered what it takes to pivot from a successful career in a for-profit sector to lead a non-profit organization? Cara Bahr, the current CEO of YWCA in Saskatoon, did just that and she reveals her motivations, challenges, and accomplishments in this journey. As a certified professional accountant, Cara was deeply entrenched in the financial industry. It wasn't just the job posting that drew her to the YWCA, but a deep-seated value of giving back, instilled in her by her parents. She discusses her leap of faith into the non-profit sector and the unique experiences that came with it.
Transitioning to a CEO role is challenging enough, but Cara faced the added pressures of the global COVID-19 pandemic. She shares how she tackled this new role while battling imposter syndrome and juggling her home life. Hear how she learned to refocus on the internal workings of her organization while maintaining her mental wellbeing. Cara's approach of showing up with mindfulness and positivity, even in trying times, is truly inspiring. She discusses the conscious planning that went into her transition and the power of being a steady anchor during periods of change.
Cara speaks candidly about the discomfort and frustration that comes with leading from the front, and the importance of understanding and fostering relationships. Contrary to common misconceptions, ambition and driven leadership are integral to the success of non-profit organizations. This podcast is a must for anyone contemplating a career transition or seeking an in-depth understanding of the non-profit sector.
Welcome to. So you Want to Move to the Country and Raise Goats? This podcast features stories from people who have gone through change. We hope that their insights will help you better understand and deal with the changes in your life. I'm Peggy Kanick and along with my co-host, catherine Greiva, we chat with insightful people with interesting change stories. We hope you enjoy our podcast.
Speaker 1:Kara Barr is a certified professional accountant with an established career as a financial professional. She always had an interest and focus in community involvement and giving back. When she saw a job posting for the CEO position with the YWCA in Saskatoon, she took a risk and applied, knowing that her values and belief in the importance of community-based organizations might not be enough to get her an interview. She was interviewed and offered the position. It was a big change, moving from the for-profit sector to a leadership role in the not-for-profit sector and assuming her new role at the start of the COVID lockdowns. Taking a risk and rising to the challenge, kara found her groove.
Speaker 1:We're very happy to welcome Kara Barr to the podcast today. I first met Kara actually just when COVID was starting and she had just taken on her new position as CEO over at the YWCA. That was a number of years back and we've stayed in touch and connected. I'm interested in your story, kara, from before that time because I know when you started you faced significant change. But we'll get to that part of your story. Let's start where you started your professional life and move through the changes that you've dealt with.
Speaker 2:Great. I have a very career. So I'm an accountant by trade. I went to the University of Saskatchewan I have a bachelor's degree in sociology because I thought I wanted to be a lawyer and then changed my mind last minute. Then I got my accounting degree and my CPA designation. I started off my career at Federated Co-op and I was in their retail audit function. It was a wonderful job and a great opportunity because I got to travel all over Western Canada auditing co-op stores. I met a lot of great people and really encountered some interesting situations. That's for sure that's where I started my career. After that, I moved into public practice for a brief time, decided I wasn't really into tax or audit, and then I moved into industry. I worked at Cover All Building Systems for a while I worked at IRD and then I was fortunate enough in 2009 to join the team at Affinity Credit Union, where I spent almost 12 years and really built my career in a variety of different roles there.
Speaker 1:It feels like the credit union was really your niche. You really hit the ground running there.
Speaker 2:It is a wonderful organization. The cooperatives in general are great organizations in terms of the people that are there and the work that they do. What I really loved about Affinity is I had the opportunity. They believed in adaptability and flexibility of skillset. I had the opportunity to take on a lot of different roles and experience a lot of different business functional areas. It was really great. I started off an internal audit and then I moved to managing the credit support team. We papered all the credit deals. Then I moved into the corporate social responsibility and community engagement role. So a wide varied career, even with Affinity.
Speaker 3:Interesting, kara, how much of your professional life has really been around accountant right and that whole work, but then moving into corporate relations and community relations and corporate social responsibility, that must have been quite a deviation from auditing retail, for example, or anything to do with papering credit union deals.
Speaker 2:It was significantly different. But I think one of the things that you learn as an accountant, especially as an auditor, is you really learn to develop authentic relationships with folks, because often you're putting folks in an uncomfortable situation. So you really have to be good at connecting with folks and putting them at ease, and so I think those relationship skills were what enabled me to move into the other areas throughout my career and certainly my time in corporate social responsibility. Throughout all of that, I was always engaged in the community throughout my career, so I've served on the boards of many nonprofits and have been connected to the nonprofit sector as a volunteer, so that's why it was a little bit easier for me, I think, to just really jump into the sector after being in financial services for so long.
Speaker 1:So when you were growing up, Kara, were there things that you experienced that sort of piqued your interest in community and in the kind of social service that you eventually moved into? Was that flame already burning back even before you went?
Speaker 2:into accounting. Well, you know, my parents are really good people and they always instilled the values in me of giving back, and so they were very involved my dad in particular in the community. So I observed that growing up and he's a big role model for me and I've always strived to be like him. So I think that's a big part of it. But in addition, I was just always that kid who wanted to join the student council, volunteer for this initiative or that initiative. There was something about it that just brought me a lot of joy, and so I engaged. I loved engaging with community.
Speaker 1:I think you know making that jump from corporate into not for profit is a big jump. So tell us about that. When did you decide that that was the direction you were going to go in? Because I'm sure you could have had a very successful career in the corporate world. But making that, that's a big jump.
Speaker 2:It is a completely different game. I think there were a number of things at play, so I wasn't really sure what my next move was. At affinity, I knew I wanted to gain some executive leadership skills and I also just had this deeper calling that I needed to serve at a higher level, and so I really just had my eyes open for opportunities and I've been sort of looking for about six months and then I saw the posting for the CEO position at the YWCA and I thought, well, what the heck I'm going to apply, and I honestly didn't think I would be shortlisted, because as an accountant, you know, I don't have the background. A lot of folks that move into these roles already come from the social sector, the social profit sector. So I was very fortunate to be shortlisted and to go through the interview process, which I have to say, was the weirdest interview process ever because it was right after shutdown.
Speaker 2:So this was when we were just pivoting to Zoom and doing everything online, and so I had a couple of rounds of interviews. They're all online. I can't judge body language. I don't know if I'm making a connection. It was pretty challenging. It was a very interesting and challenging process, you know, kara.
Speaker 3:I've known you a number of years, and it's been more your community work while you were at affinity, but I never knew you in your role at affinity, but more on the boards you served on and the community involvement. So for me it didn't feel like as big of a stretch or a big surprise just because you were doing the work. So for you to become CEO of the Y, the YWCA, you know, there seemed to be alignment. I'm really curious, though, what it's like to do community work for a credit union, a financial institution, and community work for human services organization. Are there differences? Has it been easier or more challenging one over the other?
Speaker 2:They're different, certainly. So I think that the major difference into moving into the nonprofit sector itself is you're trying to do so much with so little, so there really is a lack of resources available to you, whereas at affinity, first of all, it was a wonderful culture, so the work I was doing was really embraced and acknowledged and there were resources set aside to do the work well, and so I think that's probably the primary difference, the other piece being you had other support teams available. So I have 120 employees at the YWCA and we're unionized, but I don't have any money for an HR function. So that's me, whereas at affinity, I had a whole HR team behind me. I had a whole marketing team. We have a really small marketing and development team. It services we didn't have. We don't have IT services. We worked with consultants. So I think that has been the biggest learning curve is really trying to navigate those challenges, because that came pretty easy at affinity.
Speaker 3:Honestly, yeah, the capacity just isn't there. Is it at the not for profit?
Speaker 1:It's just not no. Did you have intrepidation stepping into that role? First of all, you weren't expecting to get interviewed and you did, and you went through all the rounds and then you had the offer. Did you have some intrepidation about moving from corporate into not for profit?
Speaker 2:I certainly did. I knew it would be different and I anticipated that. I was having a conversation with my husband in the middle of the recruitment process and I remember sitting there thinking I don't know what I'm more afraid of getting this job or not getting this job and so that's how I knew it was where I really wanted to be. I certainly had trepidation going in.
Speaker 2:I've been in a corporate environment that was a very positive, wonderful environment for 12 years, though it really was taking a big leap of faith and I think at the time I think he might even thought I was a little bit crazy for doing it, but he's such a supportive partner that it did make it easier in the long run. The one challenge I didn't anticipate was sort of timing of things that were happening in my personal life with taking on such a big role. So you know, I've got two older children and they were right in the middle of high school as I'm making the transition, and you know that can be a really challenging time for young people and it was hard to give myself fully in the CEO role and give myself fully at home. So I will admit you know there's certainly some guilt with that, but you know, I really did the best I could to show up 100% in both areas of my life.
Speaker 3:I'm sure you were kind of wondering yourself can I really do this, like I've proven myself as an accountant in private business, but can I really pull this off? And I'm sure you were faced with people that likely didn't say it to your face, but we're probably wondering the same thing what does Kara Bar know about running a significant offer profit? So, first of all, did that happen? And if it did, what was your self-talk? How did you bring yourself along? And also, you know kind of face those folks that are there, how did you face those folks that were doubting you?
Speaker 2:Thank you for that. That's a really good question. I think the one thing I've learned throughout my career is that a lot of folks experience imposter syndrome, and I think this is even more prevalent for women. So I think it's natural anytime you take on a new challenge to have those feelings of doubt and misgiving and just concerns in general, and it's hard to work through that. I've had other challenges in life. I was a single mom for quite a few years, with two you know kids that were 16 months apart, and so there's been some challenging circumstances and I think everybody experiences those and I just kept telling myself it's one step at a time. You've got this. You're here for a reason.
Speaker 2:The board of directors that I work with they are a remarkable group of women and I'm not just saying that. I'm very, very fortunate and I've always had their support, and there hasn't been one time in my tenure, the three years, where I have felt doubted or unsupported. So I think that that supportive environment in addition to just saying, take it one step at a time, learn how to pace Pacing was a huge thing for me, Because when you first get into a role like this, you feel like you're drinking from a fire hose. It's a lot all of the time, and so I had to be really conscious of taking time to make sure that I had enough time to think, that I had enough time to plan and I had enough downtime, Because if I was empty, there's no way I could serve at the capacity I was being called to serve.
Speaker 1:And on top of all of that, you started your job right when we went into COVID pandemic shutdowns, right, you were telling me a little bit about that you didn't even get to meet your staff, right? That is a pretty crazy way to start a CEO role. So talk a little bit about that. I mean, when you think about change, that would have been a significant change completely outside of what we normally expect for when we start a new job. And then, on top of all that, the most senior role in the organization.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a really good point. It was a challenging time to start the role. Certainly, a lot of my staff were still working from home, so some of them I didn't meet, you know, for several months. I would meet them via Zoom but not in person, and that's really hard to sort of develop the camaraderie and team in the same way that you could when you were convening folks in person. So that was really challenging. The other thing was offering 24 seven service in an environment where you had so many unknown variables.
Speaker 2:So in December 2020, we were actually forced to shut down our crisis shelter in residence because we had an outbreak and it was right around Christmas time. We were scrambling. It was. It was incredibly challenging and it was, and some folks throughout the organization people were at different comfort levels with COVID, so you had some employees that were incredibly fearful. So now you've got a huge leadership change. You've got COVID happening.
Speaker 2:It really was, in many ways, the perfect storm, but what gave me comfort was that everybody else was going through similar things. So it wasn't just me experiencing it or our organization, it was everybody else, and there was a group of nonprofits that got together every Friday and shared resources and shared strategies, and that was incredibly helpful. There was another benefit to this, so part of my role is that networking pieces being the face of the organization, donor relations and a lot of that is in person work, but that was all pushed aside for a year, so I really got the opportunity to focus on what is happening internally and so I think I joined a different time, at a different time. It actually would have been more challenging, but in a different way, so it was a blessing and a curse, but certainly I learned a lot.
Speaker 1:So it seems to me, just listening to you talk, that you have a combination of resiliency and fearlessness. That's my sense. So where do you feel that has come from? What are the things that you've experienced in your life that have helped you step right in, stand up and move forward during tough times?
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for that. That's a really big compliment. I think it's just sort of all of life's experiences. I also need to preface this by saying that I come from a background of significant privilege, so I have a wonderfully supportive family and they have been with me through some incredibly hard times. So, yes, I've had some hard times. I alluded to being a single parent and trying to navigate that space and work full time and get my accounting designation with two kids under three, but I always had a support network and I had people in my corner. So I think resilience in general is learned from going through some tough times, and some of us are just more fortunate than others in terms of the support that we have available, and so that's why the work that I do is so incredibly important to me, because I see the women and children we serve. I see our clients. A lot of them do not have the support network that I had. So if I can do anything to help them move down that path, then I'm gonna do my best to do that.
Speaker 3:Harry, you're always such an incredibly positive person. Every time I see you, you have a smile on your face, you're polished, you're welcoming, you're confident, and yet just what you've described. Things haven't always been rosy behind the scenes, but it sounds like you put on. You just put on your game face and you move forward. Is that kind of automatic, more natural, or do you really think about it and work at it? And how important is it to do that as we move through periods of change and challenging times?
Speaker 2:So it's definitely a thoughtful approach. It's something even as I'm going into the office every day, I have sort of my list of the three most important things I need to do, but I also have the. I know the leaders that I've experienced who have done a remarkable job are the ones that are the calm in the eye of the storm, and so leadership to me is about service. It's about showing up for your people, removing barriers and really being that safe, steady anchor for them when they need it.
Speaker 2:So a lot of times, like I could be having a really rough day I might've had a disagreement with my husband or a disagreement with my child or they're going through something but it's conscious thought before I enter that space and it's also decompression and conscious thought as I exit and transition back to home. So it's a very I wouldn't say it's a switch, but there's definitely some time where I'm very focused and concentrated on how do I show up as my best self for those who need me, in whatever area of life. That is, and I don't always do it well, like I've had a lot of stumbles along the way, a significant number of stumbles, but all you can do is pick yourself up and move forward. But it has to be conscious. You can't just wing this stuff.
Speaker 1:Why did you learn that, kara? I was never able to do that. For years. It was always this whirling dervish at work and coming home and being a whirling dervish right. It was never a conscious decompression. I'm intrigued. How did you learn that?
Speaker 2:I think by not doing it and realizing what I was doing wasn't working, it's really hard. It's hard to sort of transition from one role to the other. And yeah, it's just, I learned over time through practice. I really pay attention to what is working and what isn't working and how do I adjust and be flexible and modify. And I think if you take that approach with anything in life, so even my employees like, it's okay, we're gonna make mistakes, let's just pick ourselves up, let's pivot. I know that was the word of COVID is pivot and people are sick of hearing it, but it's true, you just have to pivot and keep moving forward, because what's the alternative? There's no alternative.
Speaker 3:Well, you know, and also, as you say, it's not easy, but that mindfulness it just becomes sometimes our best friend, isn't it? Is that we're actually paying attention to what we're thinking and what we're doing, and we don't always do it well, but gee, this isn't working. Maybe I need to change something rather than just kind of keep being on that same treadmill that we're always on, and I think part of your story too, kara, reminds us that, even though when people meet you or work with you, they assume that you know, oh, she's made to CEO, of course she's doing well, we all have struggles and challenges and areas of change in our life that we have to navigate through to get us, and it never ends. I'm sure you're probably looking at change now in your organization and as you continue to lead it into the future.
Speaker 2:Absolutely the only constant in life is change, and I don't know who said that, but it's a, I think, a pretty famous quote. But and I completely agree with that Sometimes one of my fatal flaws as a leader is to understand that not everybody sees things that way and that change can be incredibly difficult for some. So in the past I've had to actually back up. So even when I started in my role as CEO, I came in, got in hold ready to go let's operationalize this strategic plan, let's get moving. And I took the strategic plan to my leadership team who were like we're not sure if this is what we wanna do, and I, you know, there was just some hesitation and a lack of buy-in. And then I thought, oh my goodness, because I was already, you know, 100 yards ahead of them. I was out running.
Speaker 2:And so for me, I really learned that you have to be able to connect with those and meet them where they're at and then work with them to get them to where you know they need to be to serve in the best interest of the organization. And that's true with, you know, family or kids or that kind of thing too. Sometimes they don't move at the pace that you expect them to or want them to, but what do you do to go back and say, okay, how do we move forward? I think momentum and forward movement is so important and there have been times in my life where I've stagnated and I don't like that feeling. It doesn't feel good. I think that's really where the resilience comes from, is the discomfort of stagnation. I mean, you're comfortable being uncomfortable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just wanted to make sure I've heard you right. You said discomfort with safety. Is that what you said?
Speaker 2:Well, not safety, but stagnating. So too much comfort is uncomfortable for me, because it means I'm not growing and I'm not moving forward. But I've learned that other folks don't think that way, and so I can't just assume that they're on the same page that I am, which has created some challenges and some fierce conversations, and yeah, it's a journey for sure.
Speaker 1:Well, does it cause frustration for you as well, or yes, how do you manage that? I mean, it's hard to be ahead of everyone and then have to come back. How do you manage the frustration?
Speaker 2:I think it goes back to that mindfulness piece and I really do like people. I like all sorts of people I like. Relationships are incredibly important to me and I'm sensitive when I've misstepped. I don't like the feeling of when I've misstepped, and so it becomes a little bit easier for me to just kind of regroup and step back and try, and of course I'm frustrated. It's very, very frustrating because there's just so much I want to do and get done. I've always been very ambitious and driven, and so sometimes slowing down is really uncomfortable for me. There are times where you have to go really slowly in order to go quickly.
Speaker 3:You know, kara too, I love what you said about being in a position of leadership, and I think it's so important for leaders today to just understand that we are leading regardless of what gets thrown at us. And it's really hard because we're often leading in times of change organizational change, world pandemic and no, it may not be what exactly we signed up for, but when you're in a leadership position, you've got to figure it out. It doesn't always, as you said, doesn't always go the way you had planned, but that's hard of being a leader is sorting it out and meeting people who are there at and rejigging, but never, oh well, I didn't sign up for this, so I'm pulling back what you've described as a real mindset of being a strong leader.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's certainly hard. I think there are different types of leadership styles that work in sort of different situations, but it's just really important to meet your staff where they're at and to know that you're there to serve. You're there to help make their day go better. In my case, I'm removed from the frontline work. The most important thing to me is that frontline work and what's happening. How are we servicing our clients? Are we making an impact? Are we moving forward? So if I'm a barrier or a stressor, then we're not doing that work. So I think that's how I really view things is how do we move forward together? How do we really accomplish what we're meant to be doing? It's not easy and you're right. People throw stuff at you all the time.
Speaker 2:There are some times I laugh at this and I have a really great team. They're fantastic People who work in nonprofit and I know Peggy, you and I talked about this they're there not because they're paid well, and that's true. Do I think they should be paid more? I 100% think they should be paid more, but they're there because they care. They're there for the cause. A good portion of them are there for the cause, so they're a really dedicated team. But I've had folks that'll come to me and say I'm just trying to think the stuff that comes across my desk. Sometimes I'm like is this something I should be worried about? They don't like the coffee creamer. I'm like I think I'm going to negotiate a contract over here and leave it to you to figure out the coffee creamer.
Speaker 1:I think using words like ambitious and driven in a conversation when you're talking about the not-for-profit sector or human services, I think is really sort of removes an assumption that so many people make about the not-for-profit sector, Because we do need ambition and we do need that kind of very driving leadership in the not-for-profit sector as well. So there's really an alignment there. So people who are interested and have a passion for social services, human services, and they're in the corporate sector there's a fit there for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's always interesting to me, and even now I'll have conversations with folks that have been in business or the corporate world for their entire careers and there's almost like a downplaying of the work that nonprofits do Like. Sometimes I feel like folks are patting me on the head a little bit and saying, oh, isn't that nice, but it's hard and we have the same challenges that businesses do. They're just slightly different. We're still all about the bottom line. I like to refer. For the longest time I heard the con, I referred to nonprofits as social profits and I really believe that. So I think using the terminology nonprofit is probably a disservice to the entire sector because it's just focused on that financial piece and there's so much more than that.
Speaker 1:My apologies for using that term.
Speaker 2:No, I've been using it in this entire conversation. I catch myself. I use it all the time. So, no, please don't apologize, but I do think that we need to shift the conversation about the actual work that's done in the nonprofit sector and the challenges they face and how important that work is, even if you look at it from an employer perspective. We employ a huge percentage of the population in the nonprofit sector and the vast majority of folks working in nonprofit are women.
Speaker 1:So to me, when we're devaluing the social profit sector, you're continuing that view, that system of devaluing women's work Right and now that we have, there is such a need for social profit organizations in this time. There always has been, but it seems that there's an accelerating need, a greater need. So does the YW have plans going forward to move forward with an agenda on change?
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. When I came on board, the board gave me a growth mandate, so we knew we were creating good impact in the community, but we knew we had the ability to do more and we should be doing more. It was our responsibility to do more. So in 2022, we turned away 4,922 women and children. We don't know where they went. That's not okay for this community. We should all be ashamed of that.
Speaker 2:So we've worked really hard to develop a strategy to move forward. There'll be some big announcements here right away, beginning of September, but we have a definitive plan to house more vulnerable women and children as an example. The next thing on my list is there seems to be a big call for more childcare space, and so, as we move into our next strategic planning cycle, that's certainly at the top of my list. How do we ensure that more families have access to good childcare? So it's really about moving forward, meeting community needs and doing the best we can do to make Saskatoon the best community it can be. So we definitely have a plan and I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 3:What are you doing these days so that you personally don't become stagnant?
Speaker 2:That's a really good question. You know, I'm always trying to learn in whatever that looks like. So of course, in the nonprofit sector there's not a lot of professional development dollars, but anytime I can take free webinars or take courses or listen to podcasts I listen to your podcasts all the time and I found it very helpful. It's wonderful. But the other thing I learned is that you should always surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. So I've worked really hard in the last. I don't even know if it's working hard, but I'm very conscious of surrounding myself with people that are smarter than me that I can learn a lot from. So I just was on a girls trip away this last weekend and I went with two of my very best girlfriends who are 100% smarter than me, and I just loved being with them because they, we build each other up. We learn from each other. So I think sometimes learning can be informal in that way, but you have to be very conscious as to who you're spending your time with.
Speaker 3:Well, kara, this has been really good. Thank you so much and, I gotta say, living in this community, I want to personally thank you for putting your resume in, taking a chance on yourself and stepping in as the CEO of the YWCI. There's just been some remarkable work that's already been done under your leadership and it sounds like there's more to come that we'll be watching to see what unfolds for the Y.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, it really has been an honor and privilege to be here, and I'm really grateful to you too for taking the time out of your day.
Speaker 1:If you've learned just one thing about change while listening to this podcast, please subscribe on Apple or Spotify and share with a friend. This episode recorded via Zoom Audio. Producers Peggy Kanick and Katherine Greiba. Executive producer. Kanick Leadership Advisory theme music La Pompeie, written by Chris Harrington, music publisher in Votto Market. For information on this podcast, please visit wwwgetyourgoatca.