Craig McCoy on His Path to President of Mercy Springfield Communities

On taking the lead during a crisis: “I wouldn't have wished that on anybody. But at the same time, I think the silver lining is being brand new and walking into something like this forces a team together really quickly and to work collaboratively really quickly. You get to see how a team is going to perform under pressure.”

On his career path: “Coming out of college, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. There was a guy who I had helped lead a middle school youth group at my church who was the director of EMS [emergency medical services] for the county. He had talked with me a lot about his background being the EMS director, and I got really interested in that. When I started working in EMS, I loved being a paramedic, but I realized that I wanted to do something administratively. I had a bachelor's degree in business before I went to paramedic school, so I was a little bit of an anomaly within the service. The last two years that I worked there, I went back to school at night and got my master's in health care administration and began looking at what I’d want to do. When I graduated, I had an opportunity to join with one of the for-profit companies in a CEO training program."

On his favorite lesson: “I think in the early part of my career there were a lot of times where I could have poured more into other people. That’s a big focus for me now as I work with other people—how do I understand what they want to achieve in life? What are their goals personally and professionally? How can I help them achieve those goals?”

On where he finds inspiration: “My faith is of utmost importance to me. Things are not going to go the way that we want them to on any given day. So, from a faith standpoint, I believe firmly that I'm where I'm supposed to be at exactly the time I'm supposed to be there. It's a matter of staying focused on my faith and how I live that out.”