SITE 新任临时CEO Rebecca Wright 谈好奇心对领导力的重要性

Skift Take

The new interim CEO of the incentive industry’s major association, SITE, Rebecca Wright will initially focus on questioning, listening, and learning.

Rebecca Wright, Skift Meetings' September Woman Leader in Meetings and SITE’s new interim CEO, is no stranger to the incentive industry — or to the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence. A former chapter leader and president of SITE Chicago, she joined the SITE team as head of chapter engagement in January of 2020 before being appointed interim CEO in October of 2020, a role she held until November of 2022. She has also worked at one of the industry’s top agencies, Creative Group.

“I’m really excited to be back,” she said. “I love this organization and have been involved in multiple layers — so I bring many different perspectives to the role.” 

Skift Meetings sat down with Wright to learn more about her views on managing volunteers, engaging younger members, and leading SITE into its next phase.

What are your plans for leading SITE forward?

It’s a good time for us during this transition to step back and reflect. All organizations should do this every few years and ask: Are we headed in the right direction? Are there other things we’re not seeing that we should see? Are we doing something that doesn’t have the value that it used to before?

So that’s going to be my focus through the end of the year. I’m doing a lot of listening and reflection and then will be able to share that with the board.

I also bring a fresh perspective. I look at things differently, and I’ll be able to ask some questions and get everybody thinking about that so the future SITE is relevant and providing value to the members and to the industry.

What have you learned about leadership during your years working with volunteers?

I attend the Global Leadership Summit every year, and their tagline is “Everyone has influence.” I think volunteer leadership shows how everyone does carry that influence in what they do — everyone is making a difference.

I always tell people if you want to learn about leadership, your greatest lesson is leading volunteers. In corporate leadership, there’s an expectation that the team is going to follow your direction. But the reality when you are working with volunteers is that everyone has good intentions, but there are different capabilities, motivations, and levels of commitment. You need to set expectations up front to make sure everyone understands what they can contribute and to create accountability.

Sometimes you could end up having some difficult conversations with your peers, and that can be challenging. You have to learn how to approach conversations from a safe space, a positive space, and to understand the other person’s viewpoint.

Is it important for an association leader to have had varied experience to understand all their different stakeholders?

You have to be able to understand all the different perspectives. I focus a lot on collaboration and bringing voices in. 

I never think that I know it all. Maybe that comes from where I’ve been or who I am, but it’s so important to be open and try to put yourself in different shoes.

How would you describe your leadership style?

Leadership, to me, is bringing people together in alignment under a common vision and trying to pull out their best in order to get there. I try to be inclusive and collaborative and to make sure that everybody has a voice and understands how their work matters. I also make sure everyone understands what we’re trying to accomplish, and that there are clear outcomes.

It also means that you might have to make compromises along the way and to be transparent and keep everyone up to speed on where you’re going and ensure that they know they’re part of the journey.

Who have your mentors been in your career journey?

I haven’t had a mentor per se, but I would call out Janet Traphagen. I had the opportunity to work under her at Creative Group. She set the example of a true leader. She’s always poised and calm, and she’s incredibly transparent.

She made sure that leadership was a top priority with everyone, and the leadership skills I learned there certainly shaped my career. 

She’s compassionate but not afraid to make tough decisions. She looks at the organization from a high level and knows that there will have to be difficult decisions to be made and sometimes they’re not the decisions she wants to make, but in that role sometimes that’s just what you have to do.

Looking back, what advice do you wish someone would have given you early in your career?

To be curious. At a younger stage, you think you have to prove yourself. You think you need to have all the answers.

Keep listening and absorb and analyze what you hear in order to make the best decisions on how to move forward. You don’t have to know everything to get people to move in the right direction.