Jessy Clark - Swallow Hill Music
Thirlby Co. Leader to Learn From: February 2023
February 1, 2023
Since July of 2017, Jessy Clark has served as the Chief Operating Officer of Swallow Hill Music, a Denver-based 501(c)(3) organization that strives to positively impact the quality of people’s lives through music. In her role, Jessy is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations of Swallow Hill, including their concerts, classes, and community outreach efforts.
After leading her organization through the pandemic and a CEO search, Jessy has gained invaluable experience and learned more about what roots her in her role. “Honesty, integrity, and consistency,” Jessy shared. “Sometimes you can’t give a team all the information they want, but if you root yourself in these principles you are better off as a leader and as a team.”
Read on to learn more about Jessy's leadership style, her love of Bonsai trees, and how she used a CEO search to fuel her work today.
OUR INTERVIEW WITH JESSY
What was the most important lesson you learned in your role during the pandemic?
Be patient and be kind. That’s how we got our team through the pandemic. At work, you have to make challenging decisions that affect people you care for. Dynamics can be really challenging when a work community feels so intimate. You have to comfort people while reminding them that it’s all our jobs to move the organization forward.
What would surprise people about being a COO?
A lot of people think of the COO role as very technical and execution oriented. It is, but some people don’t think about the amount of time COOs spend on people and culture. It’s all about getting the right people in the right seats. The COO role isn’t as tangible as people think it is. It’s not just a numbers game - it’s a human factor game.
Last year, you had the unique professional experience of leading your organization during its CEO vacancy, and throwing your hat in the ring for the role. After learning you did not get the CEO position, you decided to stay at Swallow Hill as COO and support your new leader. What have you learned from that journey?
I love my job. There is something so romantic about being CEO. For some people it’s the right fit, but for me it wasn’t.
During the time I applied for the CEO role at Swallow Hill, I wouldn’t have been looking for that role at any other organization. I was interested because I love Swallow Hill and wanted to see it succeed. When our former CEO left, I put a lot of pressure on myself to apply for the role. I thought - what impression would I have left on our staff and community if I didn’t apply?
Now, I’m totally okay with not having been selected. In the end, going through interviews and the whole process helped me learn a lot about myself both personally and professionally. I love the COO role and am not sure when I will stop doing it - probably when I’m rich enough to retire!
What are your guiding principles in leading people?
First, I feel like compassion is supremely important. It can also be an achilles heel. But I’d rather make mistakes while being compassionate than not have compassion.
It’s also important to have fun. In the nonprofit sector in particular it’s a different world than the corporate sector, and resource management is challenging and restricted. But we are all doing good work, so it should be fun.
When it comes to making decisions, I focus on honesty, integrity, and consistency. Sometimes you can’t give your team all the information they want, but if you root yourself in these principles you are better off as a leader and as a team. I try to ask myself - how are we moving things forward for the organization, and how are we getting people’s individual agendas out of the way?
Last, I try to maintain a genuine curiosity in my work. It’s easy to become complacent when you’ve done a job for a long time, but the reality is that every management situation is different. If there is a better way to do it, that needs to be taken seriously.
How would you define confidence?
Confidence sits squarely with how comfortable you are with yourself. It has nothing to do with anything else. You can’t rely on other people to create your confidence.
What have you learned about vulnerability, in the context of leadership?
I have probably been more vulnerable in the last three years than I have in my entire professional career. I realized that by pretending that this chapter has not been uncomfortable, or that I was fine working through what I did personally and professionally, people would have seen through it.
There wasn’t anyone who wasn’t negatively impacted by the pandemic - it is is okay to outwardly express concern. It doesn’t do you good to pretend you have all the answers.
How would you define your mission or purpose in life?
I want to be part of making the world a better place. It’s kind of a mess right now. I always try my best to treat people with respect and kindness. I don’t have crazy ambitions - I don’t have to be an astronaut to do great things! I remind myself that we all leave wakes when we walk through the universe. You want to make sure you’re not a speed boat on a no wake lake.
What is your greatest superpower as a leader?
Probably my sense of humor. We should all take ourselves a little less seriously.
What is something that might surprise people about you?
I am fascinated with Bonsai trees. I think they are the coolest things. It is mind boggling that something that little can be so old and beautiful.
What advice would you have for someone who is struggling or feeling stuck right now in their life or career?
First and foremost, you are not the first or last person feeling stuck in their life or career. And some of the most powerful people in this world are there or have been there. If you have people in your life who you trust, they are going to be the ones who help you build a path forward.
Next - consider asking yourself - what difference do you want to make in the world? What excites you? What scares you or challenges you? Also, if you don’t love your job, can you love the environment you’re in?
What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
Shut up and listen more. There are lots of really smart people in the world - and not necessarily the people you think of first.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Surround yourself with good people - at work and in your personal life. A group of good people can get more work done than one really brilliant person.
About Jessy Clark
Jessy Clark has spent her entire career in cultural organizations in Denver, all of whom are proud members of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Jessy joined Swallow Hill Music as its Chief Operating Officer in July 2017. She came from Butterfly Pavilion, where she most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Operations since 2015, beginning her career there as Vice President of Visitor Experience and Operations in 2012.
Prior to Butterfly Pavilion, Jessy was the Director of Programs at The Wildlife Experience for more than 10 years. Jessy holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and Biology from Central Michigan University.
Jessy was born in Denver, and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She is a Yooper at heart, and loves the outdoors and spending time in quiet places. She met her husband and best friend at the Denver Zoo (where he is the lead penguin keeper), and they’ve been together for more than 15 years. In her spare time, she loves traveling the world, spending time with family and friends, playing a little golf (not well), and hitting the slopes.
Connect with Jessy on LinkedIn.
About This Feature
Leaders to Learn From is a standing feature in The Thirlby Company’s monthly newsletter that recognizes leaders in our community who embody our company’s core values. You can learn about our other honorees here, or subscribe to our newsletter to receive this feature and more inspiring content in the future.
