Jonathan Reckford: Habitat for Humanity CEO Fosters Radical Inclusion
Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford is committed to solving the problems so many people face when it comes to affordable housing. After years of successfully working at for-profit companies like Disney and Marriott, Jonathan decided to shift careers as he desired to become more of a “servant leader.” Accepting the job as CEO of Habitat in 2005, Jonathan began to look closely at the issues surrounding the housing crisis that ballooned in 2008 during the economic crash, and found himself asking new questions about how to measure success—the quantity of houses being built had been the goal, but being meaningfully involved in reducing the housing deficits in the geographies Habitat served needed to be the new focus. Since Jonathan’s tenure, Habitat has re-navigated how they help people (to the tune of 9 million served per year) and aside from building homes, they pursue true social change by touching on education, financial management, and vocation as part of their services. Jonathan gives us a personal glimpse into what can happen when we focus on creating solutions over being driven by pride or ego and implores us, much like Habitat’s most well-known benefactor, President Jimmy Carter, said in his famous speech: to defer to the “better angels of our nature.”
Links, Products and Resources Mentioned:
Habitat for Humanity International
Jimmy Carter, former US President
Jack Kemp, former Congressman & HUD Secretary
Interview Quotes:
“A big question that changed for us was “How many houses can we build?” which had been our core metric, to “What would it take to meaningfully reduce the housing deficit in all the geographies we serve?” [This] is a scarier question because, essentially, it forces you to think about changing markets and policies.”
– Jonathan Reckford
“We only have one world. And not to understand the impact if we all take some action in a local community—that cumulative impact of individuals choosing to act is what really creates social change over time.”
– Jonathan Reckford
“When I was focused on solving a problem, or creating something, or building something, or growing something, then good things would just unfold and the next thing would show up. The more I tried to over-manage—and particularly over-manage when I was driven more by pride, or ego, or success—the worse things went.”
– Jonathan Reckford
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