This interview series features trailblazing leaders recently appointed to the C-Suite with the focus of getting a first look into their first-hand experience during the first year of their tenure as CEOs. PMWL will be checking-in with these leaders throughout the year to learn more about their role, how everything is going and leadership tips they’ve learned along the way.

On December 2020, PMWL’s Founder, Deanna Mackey, interviewed WMFE’s new President & CEO, Erika Pulley-Hayes, on her experience as a new CEO, having started the role almost 12 months prior.

Below we’ve provided an interview snapshot. Watch above for the full interview experience.

Interview Highlights:

What is your current title? President & CEO, WMFE in Orlando, Florida.

Previous role? Vice President of Radio, CPB

What has surprised you about the role now that you've had almost 12 months under your belt?
I hate to put so much emphasis on the pandemic, but the pandemic really did surprise me. I wasn't prepared or anticipated that we would have this kind of crisis. I think I was here for six or seven weeks before the pandemic hit. Everything was turned upside down pretty quickly. The good thing about that though is that I hadn't been here long enough to become attached to anything. It was kind of like starting, in some respects, from a clean slate. I knew the first priority was to make sure that we were financially sound because the pandemic was declared just before we were going to go into a pledge drive. That was bad timing to do fundraising... At least so it seemed. The decision about whether or not to do an on-air pledge drive was one that carried for a few months and ultimately we ended up doing one later than we had, I had, wanted to but we did do one. It was a struggle to get the staff on board with that. I would say the reluctance of staff to change was a surprise.

Did you face challenges with your corporate support, as many stations did, ultimately losing sponsors as a result of the pandemic?
We absolutely did, Deanna. We think April, May and June were hit really hard. We started to get a little bit of a recovery in July, August and now we are at pre-pandemic levels in sponsorship, which I know is very different from a lot of my peers around the country.

You made a big move to take this job. Both geographically and from a national organization to a station. Can you tell us a little bit about what that experience has been like for you?
It was very eye opening. I think having been at the CPB for 15 years and being a grant provider, working on policy and driving some initiatives forward… I remember being at CPB and I would ask “Why don't they do this?" or "Why don't they do that?" or "Why haven't they done this?" or "Why haven't they done that?" Now I know why they don't do this and why they don't do that because I'm on the other side, because we're small staffed.

A lot of stuff goes on at the national level too but it’s different. I've got a pretty broad perspective ‘cause I know what it is like to be on both ends. I know what it's like to have to be accountable for the federal appropriation, I know what it's like to have be accountable to your community, I know what it's like to have to be accountable to your board. All of those constituents are equally important.

What do you wish you'd known before you went into this job and what have you learned so far that you think is helpful for your future growth?
I wish I had better fundraising skills. I didn't have that skill coming here, I knew it was one that I needed to learn, and still do, and I am working on it, and I'm getting better every day.

What have you learned and what do you think will be helpful for the rest of your career at this point in time?
I’ve learned a different level of prioritization. I am a person that gets things done, I am a doer, and it’s hard to be a doer in this role. You’ve really got to delegate. That's what I've really learned how to do. To let go, to let go and lead.

The discussion about the evolution of the GM or CEO role in our industry, the need to be a fundraiser or face of the station is fairly new. I’d like to hear your thoughts about your evolution in realizing that last year because there’s so few women in these positions and learning about this early and quick is critical to your success.
Never having been at a station before when I first arrived, I felt the need to get a little bit of education in the station operations. I was, some might say, too far in the weeds on some things. I thought it was really important for me to even be able to assess where we were as an organization. Within the first six months I knew that I needed to pull back.

Erika, you and I were talking about the things you learn on the job when you reach the C-level and you were referencing some cultural experiences you've had that surprised you being in this new role. Can you share that with us?
I don't know how many conferences I've been to over the years where, we talked about changing the culture in public media. Coming here with that perspective, I was surprised how much of what was happening here was just a deeply rooted culture.

Stay tuned for next week’s interview featuring WVIAs President and CEO, Carla McCabe.

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