Ellen Gilligan, the president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, joins Marquette University president Michael Lovell and BizTimes Media managing editor Arthur Thomas on the latest episode of Leadership Lens. Gilligan discusses what she’s learned about taking on big projects, her own leadership style and how she knew it was the right time to announce her upcoming retirement. Lovell and Gilligan also both share insights from leading their own organizations’ $700 million-plus fundraising campaigns.
Working with partners and tackling big issues
One of the first efforts Gilligan was involved with after coming to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in 2010 was the launch of Milwaukee Succeeds. Lovell and Gilligan discussed how there were many stakeholders at the table to start and Gilligan noted some of the keys to successful partnerships:
“I like to say ‘success has many mothers,’” Gilligan said. “And sometimes the complexity, the big vision requires, now I’m talking to an engineer, to be broken down into things that actually have work plans associated with them that you can actually see from start to finish, that you can’t boil the ocean simultaneously.”
“Big undertakings, you have to have both a big vision but also make adjustments along the way,” she added. “We’ve continued, through Milwaukee Succeeds, to strategically focus, to make adjustments, to listen to the community, you have to adapt all the time.”
Major fundraising efforts
Both the GMF and Marquette have completed major fundraising campaigns in recent years that have raised more than $700 million for each organization.
Gilligan said her role is often one of cheerleading and realizing the effort is a marathon, not a sprint.
“Having a vision for what we can achieve with significant resources, keeping people engaged, energized, supporting the campaign team, supporting the internal team, that’s what I think my role is, and of course engaging with significant donors and other partners,” Gilligan said.
Lovell noted he’s proud of the number of unique donors Marquette’s campaign engaged, describing it as a sign the university created a vision they could believe in and felt they could be part of.
“In our roles, that’s probably the most important thing we can do,” Lovell said. “Again, I talk about being, I have to be the biggest cheerleader for Marquette University. I have to be sending out the positive message, the momentum that we have and just creating an excitement about who we are and where we’re going.”
Knowing the right time to retire
Gilligan announced in October she will retire this coming summer. She joked that before she had her knee replaced her doctor said she would know when it was time have the procedure done. The decision to retire was similar.
“My husband is retired. He has been retired for a couple of years and I think if COVID taught us anything it’s that there are no guarantees, and so the opportunity to spend more time with my family is important to me,” Gilligan said.
But she also said that the opportunity to lead an organization like the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is one of privilege and power.
“I also think that sometimes people hold onto positions like this too long,” she said. “And so for me, I am really committed to making way for new leaders, for new perspectives, for different ways of doing the work, so that’s part of it.”
