Nancy Brinker is best known for her contributions in the fight against cancer of the breast. She was born on December 6 th , 1946 and had only one sibling. She was born in Peoria, Illinois to a Jewish family. She is the daughter of a middle-class family. Her father was a commercial real estate developer, while her mother was a homemaker. She has a degree in Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois. Her first job was in Dallas, Texas, where she worked as a junior couture buyer. She also held various public relations positions at various firms before marrying Norman Brinker. Norman was a pioneer in casual dining and an owner of several chains of restaurants. Norman's influence and capital enabled her to pursue various public service roles and were the main contributor to the development and success of Susan G. Komen for the cure. Norman provided not only the capital but also the expertise to enable the organization to grow (Brinker & Rodgers, 2010).
Brinker is the founder and chair of a non-profit organization to help women fight breast cancer and ultimately find a cure. Nancy Brinker inspiration for starting the organization; named Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, is a promise she made to her sister. The organization is named after her sister, who died at the age of 36 from breast cancer in 1980; however, the organization was registered in 1982 (Brinker & Rodgers, 2010). At the time, nobody talked openly about breast cancer. Her first task was to get people talking. So in 1983, she founded the race for cure series. She also managed to partner with businesses that share the same vision to source funding through cause-related marketing. Nancy Brinker is a pioneer in the field of cause-related marketing. Her efforts enable millions to participate in the fight against breast cancer through the purchase of certain products and services produced by companies that share the same commitment.
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Brinker employed revolutionary approaches to tackle the challenges the new non-profit organization was facing at the time. The Susan G. Komen Race for Cure series was a first. The program was able to attract crowds from its foundation in 1983. This provided a platform for Brinker to educate the public about breast cancer and to raise funds for use in the fight against cancer. Currently, Susan G. Komen comprises the largest community of breast cancer activists and survivors in the world. Their mission is to save lives by enabling people with information, ensuring excellent care, and funding scholarships to fast track the development of a cure and better current treatment procedures (Cox, 2019). The organization has spent more than 2.2 billion US dollars to actualize its goals. Her creative approach in the fight against breast cancer has earned her many honours. Among them is the Presidential Medal for Freedom; the United States premier national honour. Brinker is also part of the United Nations effort to fight cancer in her capacity as the Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization. She was selected for this position in 2009 because of her Komen’s contributions.
Brinker credits her success to having good mentors. Her parents made her believe in her capabilities and taught her anything is possible. Her father ones told her, “There are no bad ideas, just people who quit.” Her first job at Neiman Marcus exposed her to merchandising leaders. Her father, who was a real estate developer, also contributed immensely to her development as a leader. Her husband, Norman Brinker, also taught her skills that have contributed to her success. Brinker employs a transformational leadership style. She believes that with a cause, people will do almost anything. Those who work at her organization do not have jobs; instead, they have missions. Brinker believes in asking people to do something she would also do. She inspires people to become part of the journey and destination (Brinker, 2019). By having people understand and believe in what the organization is trying to achieve; she has a high level of commitment to the cause. This is why most of the organization’s workers are volunteers who share Brinker’s dream of a world where people do not suffer from breast cancer.
According to Brinker’s former husband Norman, she is a “world champion networker.” She can easily connect with people and connect with a cause within a short period (Cox, 2019). Brinker believes that the only way to change culture is to help people understand themselves and how their actions influence their environment. This approach has created a dedicated workforce comprising mostly of volunteers. The organization also has a group of dedicated stakeholders, sponsors, and donors who share the vision and are willing to invest their time and money to realize a world without breast cancer. Susan G. Komen is working towards the realization of a breast cancer-free world. For example, the organization is funding several data science projects aimed at accelerating the pace of breast cancer research. The goal is to develop a patient-centric approach where researchers have real-time, real-life information to aid in the treatment of the disease. An example of such a data science project is a projected headed by Alex Cheng at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The project aims to investigate the burden of treatment on patients. By quantifying the burden of treatment, it is possible to identify high-risk groups and make changes to interventions to improve outcomes (Susan G. Komen BD4BC, 2019).
Although Nancy Brinker has provided good leadership in the Susan G. Komen for cure organization, their instances where she was not at her best, for example, in 2012, she stopped funding Planned Parenthood; a move that saw her lose popularity among donors. Although she would later reverse her decision, the damage was done (Myers & Reynolds, 2019). As the organization was struggling to rebuild its image and increase donor trust, it became necessary for Brinker to resign. Brinker resigned as the CEO of Susan G. Komen in the same year; however, she is involved in the operation of the organization and her inputs are valued by those in management (McGregor, 2012).
There are a few similarities between my style of leadership and that of Nancy Brinker. She believes in having people understand and commit to a mission. This is an important element of my leadership style. I believe people are rational beings and given the opportunity and right information; they do the right thing. However, I believe the mission is something that should be developed with the participation of others. By having those who are actually responsible for the day-to-day implementation of a mission contribute to its development. They feel an ownership of the project and are much more likely to commit to the realization of the mission (Chew, 2011). While it is important for a leader to possess the ability to make the decision unilaterally, such as ability should be used selectively. Brinker chose to decide to stop funding an organization without widely consulting with stakeholders. This led to a backlash resulting in the reversal of the decision and her resignation. I believe Brinker should have appealed for more funding before making the resolution to stop funding Planned Parenthood. She should have also been able to stand with her decision if it was well informed. My style of leadership comprises of data-driven decisions that involve all stakeholders. Unless time is limited, seeking as much input as possible before making a decision is always the best cause of action.
References
Brinker, N. (2019). Nancy G. Brinker | Susan G. Komen®. Retrieved November 17th 2019, from https://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/NancyBrinker.html
Brinker, N., & Rodgers, J. (2010). Promise me . New York: Crown Archetype.
Chew, M. (2011). Discover your leadership style . Singapore: Armour Pub.
Cox, C. (2019). Nancy Brinker - Founder & CEO, Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Little PINK Book. Retrieved November 17th 2019, from https://littlepinkbook.com/nancy-brinker-founder-ceo-susan-g-komen-for-the-cure/
McGregor, J. (2012). Nancy Brinker and Komen's leadership shakeup: Right move at the wrong time. Retrieved November 17th 2019, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-leadership/post/nancy-brinker-and-komens-leadership-shakeup-right-move-at-the-wrong-time/2012/08/09/bf748a90-e236-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_blog.html
Myers, L., & Reynolds, T. (2019). Susan Komen CEO Pay Draws Fire as Donations Drop. Retrieved November 17th 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com/id/100803324
Susan G. Komen BD4BC. (2019). Bios | Big Data for Breast Cancer | Susan G. Komen®. Retrieved November 17th 2019, from http://bd4bc.wpengine.com/bios/?category=research-grants
