Michael McGhee worked as a senior quality systems development manager for the Coca-Cola Company for 22 years before founding the Drug and Alcohol Testing Center of Georgia with business partner Sharon Gilbert-Davis two years ago.
“Our goal is to provide the most accurate drug testing at a price you can afford. Our testing centers provide same-day results with hassle-free collection. We maintain a laboratory environment specifically designed to efficiently process specimens and maintain the integrity of the data associated with such, within a secure environment,” says McGhee.
Read on to find out more about the company’s mission in the community.
Please describe your leadership style as CEO.
After working many years in corporate America, the leadership style that I utilize is more of a coaching style. I enjoy using the coaching style to develop employees for future roles. The coaching style helps employees build lasting personal strengths that make them more successful overall.
What three skills are critical for the future executive that you hire for your organization?
– The ability to use and operate technology: Medical laboratory technologists and technicians must understand how to operate complex machinery.
– To be detail oriented: Medical laboratory technologists and technicians must follow exact instructions in order to perform tests or procedures correctly.
– Dexterity, skilled in using hands: Medical laboratory technologists and technicians need to be skilled with their hands, because they work closely with needles and precise laboratory instruments.
How does having an advanced degree benefit you and your clients?
An advanced degree as a medical laboratory technologist or technician can be obtained through additional education, work experience, or certification. Technologists and technicians may specialize in one of many areas of laboratory science, such as immunology, histotechnology or clinical chemistry. Many medical laboratory technicians advance to technologist positions after getting a bachelor’s degree in medical laboratory technology, also known as a medical laboratory scientist degree. These advanced degrees benefit my business by allowing us to offer our customer a higher level of drug testing accuracy and knowledge within an industry that is always introducing new drugs to be tested for.
How do you utilize technology to benefit your organization?
New technology helps my business stay up to date and current on the advanced methods of evading the drug-testing process. The state-of-the-art testing equipment that we use and the training that all my employees go through helps identify these methods of evasion. Today’s employers want to ensure they have access to the latest and most accurate testing methods. This also ensures employees that they won’t be falsely identified as a drug user when they are taking prescription medication.
Finish the sentences:
Teamwork is important because … it gives us the ability to work together towards a common goal. It gives us the ability to use our individual talents and accomplish one goal together as one.
The best way to recruit great talent is … through some types of social media. In today’s society, social media profiles have become the standard tools for researching and evaluating talent. Now we don’t only look at a candidates’ resume, but we can look at their LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media profiles.
Speaking a second language is important because … it allows you to open up more insight of other cultures and more job opportunities. In this fast-changing world, we see many companies doing business in other countries around the world. Which means that there is a need for people that can speak more than one language.
What social media platforms do you engage in the most?
I use LinkedIn for my business and Facebook for my personal social media. LinkedIn which is the most powerful marketing tool has helped me identify qualified candidates for my business and Facebook which has made it easy for me to connect and share photos with my family and friends online
What professional organizations do you support?
DATIA (Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association), which represents the entire spectrum of drug and alcohol service providers, including collection sites, laboratories, consortiums/TPAs, MROs, and testing equipment manufacturers.
ASQ (American Society for Quality) is a global community of people dedicated to quality that share the ideas and tools that make our world work better. ASQ provides the quality community with training, professional certifications, and knowledge to a vast network of members of the global quality community.
Describe your networking style.
My style of networking is the analytical networking style, which values accuracy and details. Accuracy and precision is important to me and at time I may seem to picky about certain things.
If you were giving a graduation speech to college students, what would the title of your speech be and give three reasons for that title.
I would title the speech, “It’s Your Life,” which would be taken from a book I read called It’s Your Ship, written by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff. And the three reasons why is because the three main points that are discussed in the book I feel correlate with the way graduates need to live their lives today. They need to communicate more, create discipline by focusing on a purpose and listen aggressively.
Name your two favorite vacation destinations to relax and recharge, and explain why you enjoy those locales.
My favorite two vacation destinations to relax and recharge are Honolulu and San Diego. Honolulu has great weather, beaches and a nice array of hotels. San Diego has a very vibrant downtown with nice restaurants, great amusement attractions like the zoo/Sea World and beautiful beaches.
What are you reading and what are your two favorite books?
I’m currently reading Sing to Me, written by L.A. Reid. My two favorite books are: The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., written by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Name three business or political leaders who inspire you.
Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan
Favorite sports team and hobbies?
Favorite sports teams: Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks / Golden State Warriors, Florida State Seminoles. Favorite hobbies: Golfing, deep-sea fishing and traveling.
Two favorite quotes that motivate you?
“A dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” and “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.”
