Feb. 17, 2023
By Hailey Kurtenbach
As we celebrate Presidents’ Day by recognizing the contributions and achievements of the past and present leaders of our nation, we want to take a moment to shine a spotlight on the person who has been guiding our organization to greater heights – AUW President and CEO, John Fink.
Following 40+ years in the broadcast industry, John joined our team in June 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His leadership, passion, and commitment to our cause have been instrumental in driving Aloha United Way initiatives forward and making a positive impact on the lives of those we and our nonprofit partners serve.
As he approaches his three-year anniversary, we asked him to, "think about" his experience and share how he's shaped the position as much as the position has shaped him.
How has your role at Aloha United Way been similar to your previous leadership roles/organizations?
Being a leader of an organization requires certain fundamentals, which I brought with me when I came to AUW after many years in managerial/leadership roles.
Good leadership certainly requires good followership. We have attentive, tuned-in, smart, passionate people at AUW, which has made my job and transition into this role much more seamless. It’s always easier to lead when the team cares about and believes in the entity’s mission, and that is certainly the case at AUW.
Leading AUW, much like my previous experience in TV, has been about setting a mission, staying the course, and then finding ways to accomplish that mission regularly, even through 1,000 days (yes, that’s right) of a COVID dilemma.
How has it been different, and what lessons/skills have you had to learn along the way?
Running a TV station or being a nonprofit board chair as I’ve done in the past is much different than being in charge of day-to-day operations at a nonprofit agency. I’ve learned how to be more patient and how to delegate better. Since my area of knowledge surrounding the nonprofit world is not as specific as is needed at times, I leave it to our department managers and staff who do their best every day to work the magic.
I’ve tried to utilize my business and personal contacts, along with my experience in the market over many decades, to identify others in the community who want to (and can) help support our mission in various ways. I am always impressed by the willingness of the business community and the thousands of workplace campaign coordinators and workplace donors to step up and chip in, year after year.
What does it mean to you to lead an organization that’s 100% dedicated to helping people?
I’ve always lived by the philosophy that “those who can… must.” It means if you can give, help, mentor, and make things better in whatever way you can — then you must.
I truly believe it’s one of the reasons we’re in this world to begin with. I believe in having and finding passion in what we do. I believe that great things happen when no one cares who gets the credit. At the end of each and every day, we must first answer to ourselves. Have I done right? Did I try (and actually work) to make things better?
Even when times are tough (as they have been since March, 2020, with COVID), I hope that our staff realize the positive difference they are making through their work efforts.
What advice would you have for other leaders who are considering joining a nonprofit organization?
Find an entity or board that you believe in. Find something you feel passionate about. Hire and retain good people, and after clearly defining expectations, let them do their thing. Lead by example — we have far too many “leaders” who are actually managers, caretakers, or administrators. We need more leadership driven by bold thinking and accepting accountability for their actions.
And also, just know that it’s never too late to move from one area of business (media/local TV for me) to a completely different area (like the nonprofit sector) and STILL find your passion. To find out if this type of transition might be good for you, get active now on one or two nonprofits’ boards and get a feel for what the work is like.
I’ve been involved on local nonprofit boards for decades, so I had a good sense of what I was getting into – albeit I jumped in during COVID, which was “unique” timing, to say the least.
What are three predictions you have for the O‛ahu community in 2023?
- More funding through the legislature this spring will be forthcoming to help our ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population, which now consists of more than 625,000 local citizens statewide.
- The UH football team will play in the EasyPost Hawai`i Bowl in December!
- The sun will rise tomorrow — so stay optimistic, because as long as the sun rises, you’ve got a chance… at whatever it is you care about.