Robert began his career in the mental health field working directly with adolescents in a mental health and substance abuse residential treatment facility. He worked his way up to a leadership position, where he enjoyed “wearing a lot of hats” and doing different things, including IT, facilities, and marketing. In his role, he discovered a passion for IT, and later applied to be an IT Manager at Guild.
Robert applied to that job at Guild because “Guild offers so many different services to help the community.”
Robert worked in his IT Manager role at Guild while serving in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Behavioral Health Specialist, helping soldiers who are suffering from stress-related to operations and combat. After finding success in his position at Guild, he was promoted to Guild’s Director of Operations where he oversees IT, Facilities, Marketing, and Operations.
Making Things Easier
Robert enjoys working in the nonprofit field and serving the community. He appreciates the “ethical nature” that Guild carries through its organization, from decision-making to a supportive work environment.
When asked what he enjoys most about being the Director of Operations, he responds that he appreciates working as part of a team to support the staff who are dedicating their time providing services to the community.
“My ultimate goal is to be proactive and implement processes that make things easier for the staff that are working with clients,” says Robert. He also enjoys getting to know and working with different Guild teams.
Robert’s Leadership
Throughout his career, Robert has learned that different work settings and different people require different styles of leadership. In the army, his leadership is more authoritarian. However, in the nonprofit field, Robert leads more democratically and gives his teams the autonomy to work through their tasks. He frequently collaborates and asks for input from his teams. Robert values getting his teams involved with decision processes to help them think critically and learn from his team members.
“I always strive to lead by example, and I would never ask someone to do something I am not willing to do,” he says. Robert works hard to build the trust of his team members while supporting their career aspirations.
Remote Work, Adaptation, and Growth
As the Director of Operations of a public health organization during a pandemic, Robert’s teams have had to deal with a lot of uncertainty and changes.
However, Robert is proud that the switch to working remotely wasn’t as difficult as it could have been, due to the changes the IT department has already made in the past couple of years. The IT department had two new staff start in March. The IT team quickly familiarized itself and supported moving Guild staff to remote work.
Robert is also very proud of his team for completing a full rebrand and new website launch while working remote. This was led by the Marketing Department and was supported by IT and Facilities.
The Facilities Department has done an awesome job coordinating the distribution of PPE for staff and purchasing sanitizing supplies to keep staff and clients safe. Facilities has done all this while preparing for two new facilities.
Robert is looking forward to the opening of Guild Crisis and Recovery Center, Scott County. The project started over a year ago before Robert left for his deployment. Robert was excited to see the progress that was made when he returned. Additionally, Robert is excited that Guild is expanding its services to Scott County.
Outside of work, Robert enjoys watching sports with his wife, playing sports, connecting with friends, and traveling.