Whatever apprehension there was fell to the wayside after she
met Madsen and joined the Leisure Care team. “I fell in love with them, their story, who they stood for, what they were doing… I said to myself I want to be a part of that,” Gall said. “Even then, though, I also told myself I was not going to stay
for more than six months. This is how it worked in advertising, you do a client site assignment for six months and see how it goes. Little did I know I would wake up 28 years later and never want to do anything different.”
Finding the Perfect Mentor Gall and Madsen said their pairing, young worker on an executive career track and seasoned senior living exec, worked well from the start, with Madsen respecting Gall for her love of the work and “pure joy” in her character. At the same time, Gall noted that Madsen made such a huge
impact on her by not only training her for her jobs within the com- pany, but also by showing leadership in advising her on everything from how to conduct meetings, how to handle technical aspects of an assignment, and how to live to the Leisure Care “three-thirds” way of operating where employees are instructed to put family, community, and work as equal priorities.
Learning Every Role A large part of the mentoring revolved around Gall trusting Mad- sen, like when she was asked to drop the PR work and instead work as the human resources lead. This led to her meeting every Leisure Care employee, re-writing every job description, and understand- ing the importance of compensation in the lives of staff members. Her moving from job to job also reflected well on her own idea
of what a worker should do for a company. “I am a farm girl from eastern Washington,” Gall said, explaining that hard work is in her bloodstream and playing a utility role for a company also comes natural to her. “When I went to work for Leisure Care, I said I would do what-
ever it takes. I found someone I trusted with my career and knew he was not going to steer me wrong. It is all about building trust and then taking a leap of faith. I would do everything to not let them down.” Madsen runs Leisure Care to not only provide great care and ser-
vice to residents, but to enjoy life and spread a community spirit of fun. In Gall, he said she met the law of attraction for his company, which is built on hiring like people. “This is not like-minded people, but people alike in heart and
character. Who they are is important and I think for sure that is what I saw in Tana,” Madsen said. “I saw someone happy. I think of our company as I do Disn-
eyland. I like to have fun. I like to be happy, and I want people around us who have that energy. I knew she had the work ethic. I also was raised on a farm, and this was the passion in what I saw in Tana.”
Managing vs. Leading Not everyone manages well, and not everyone can lead. But both Gall and Madsen caution younger workers in the senior living space that each skill is unique and not necessarily related. Gall said many things Madsen has told her or shown her over
the years have molded her own management and leadership style. An example or two is how when on a site visit in Utah early on in her operations job with Leisure Care, Madsen said that they would check on the housekeeping carts, a seemingly trivial thing to do, but so basic that it stuck with her, with the notion that quality care starts from the smallest of endeavors. “There are other Dan-isms, too. Like when we were looking in
on a commercial kitchen one time during a visit and the operations person said ‘yes, the kitchen is getting cleaner,’ after hiring new staff. Dan said back that it is not getting cleaner, it is either clean or it is not. Things like that shaped who I am.”
“You don’t become an executive because of your title, it comes from your behavior and your lifestyle. You can get good at managing stuff, but that does not mean you are leading.”
—Dan Madsen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Leisure Care
Madsen noted that in his role as mentor to Gall and the many
others who have filled that role with him, he focuses on leadership skills, like what does it mean to be an executive, how to handle meetings or work dinners. “You don’t become an executive because of your title, it comes
from your behavior and your lifestyle,” Madsen said. “You can get good at managing stuff, but that does not mean you are leading.” Gall said this was clear at Leisure Care when she came to work
in a foul mood one time. The offices were all glass, and everyone could see everyone else. So, when in her space, Madsen popped in and asked what was bothering her. Not knowing even why she was not in a good mood, Gall recalled she simply said she was in a bad state and would get over it. “He then told me to go have my foul mood at home and he sent me home,” Gall said. She was shocked, but Madsen said clearly and without anger or
future recourse “that you have an influence on this organization and I don’t want that influence being this mood.” Gall said that was all about leadership not management. And she took the lesson to heart, mentor to mentee.
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