Tracy's blog

Sunday, March 1, 2020

"Corporate leaders give sage advice to future CEOs"/ "Focus on retaining and rebuilding the trust of your consumers during a company crisis"

I'm posting this in honor of International Women's Day Mar. 8.

Mar. 7, 2018 "Corporate leaders give sage advice to future CEOs": Today I found this article in the Globe and Mail:

Debra Kerby, President & CEO, Canadian Feed The Children

I've learned that facing your fears and embracing joy every day is what creates an amazing career and life. It's critical to learn how to tell the difference between what's important and what's a distraction. Embrace the tough lessons and then let them go – don't stay stuck in what didn't work. Know that no one really has it all figured out. While it's important to seek out different voices and opinions, trust your own. Cultivate the courage to use it. Pay attention to what inspires you. Explore your own gifts and talents and the vast possibility of your "what ifs"!

Tamara Vrooman, President & CEO, Vancity

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Sometimes we think it's a sign of weakness to admit we don't know everything, but it's really a sign of confidence to know that we can benefit from the wisdom of others. Had I asked for more help when I was younger, it would have enhanced my learning and accelerated my progress – and ultimately it would have made many of my decisions that much easier. With the pace of change today, mobilizing the opinion and talent of others is more important than ever. Perfection doesn't exist – no one can do everything without help.

Melanie Dunn, Global President & CEO, Cossette

Build and nurture your networks from a young age. I was very active in student associations at my university and always sought out internships. This gave me access early in my career to many different people and companies and it was really the beginning of my business network. In fact, many of the people I met in school are still in that network today. Overall, it's important to stay flexible. Today, it's less about having all the answers and more about your ability to adapt. Success comes from being able to constantly assess and reassess situations and adjust as needed.

Elana Rosenfeld, Co-Founder & CEO, Kicking Horse Coffee

Determine and then follow your core values, because while lifestyle and desires may change over the years, core values should not. Regardless of what's happening around you, your internal compass is genuine – and following it is imperative to help create the career, and the world you want to experience. This self-awareness is a key piece for those who want to be leaders. While careers begin as personal journeys, they evolve into creating opportunities for others. No matter how smart you are or how much experience you have, emotional intelligence is imperative to successfully help others achieve their full potential.

Leah Lawrence, President & CEO, Sustainable Development Technology Canada

This is an era where technology is enabling rapid change, and we need to consider how to approach issues differently. That will happen with a more diverse workforce: young people bring a whole new approach and open-mindedness to tackling sustainability issues. I also think any career path you choose will be better if you have an understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Regardless of your chosen career path, it's important to surround yourself with positive people who energize you and encourage you to be your best self. There will always be difficult times, and what will carry you through are those who tell you confidently: "It's going to be okay."

Jayne Stoyles, Executive Director, Amnesty International Canada

Leadership is a balance between being bold, careful, decisive, consultative – many things. When you're young, it's easy to become impatient to climb the "career ladder." Yet gaining the skills required to lead requires a variety of experiences – and those take time to acquire. It's also important to be authentic: to genuinely care about your work, your company and the people that sustain it. A leader's job is to create the right environment, and to strive to make a true impact. While balance is essential, you need to work hard, because meaningful change rarely happens when you're watching the clock.

Laura Kilcrease, CEO, Alberta Innovates

Living in three different countries has been tremendously helpful for my career. It's not easy to leave familiarity, but if you can succeed in doing so, you'll be empowered to embrace change – a key leadership quality. Abroad or at home, be eager to experiment, to make meaningful connections that build trust and respect, and to follow your passion and excitement. There are no limits for young women today – but there are also few guidelines. Finding mentors who are frank, honest and willing to share their knowledge and experience will be more important than ever for our next generation of leaders.

Lisa Kimmel, President & CEO, Edelman Canada

When I was just starting out in my career, I had a point of view, but I wasn't always comfortable sharing it. Now that I'm a leader and a mother, I feel strongly that it's my responsibility to champion the confidence of girls and women. I'm a big believer that every conversation is power – and I've seen the positive impact of proactively talking about the importance of speaking up, even with my own 11-year-old daughter. It's up to leaders to promote a more inclusive and empowering culture – both inside and outside the workplace – to help women be and feel successful.

Carol Stewart, President & CEO, Kellogg Canada Inc.

It's important to realize that career paths aren't usually linear, so don't be concerned if you don't have your entire journey mapped out from the start. Where you begin likely won't be where you end up. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself as a CEO when I was 21 – but opening myself up to new experiences led me in a direction I hadn't initially considered. I always tell my daughter, who's 23: Push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Anything is achievable if you're empowered to learn new things, if you advocate for yourself, and if you're passionate about what you do.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/canadas-female-corporate-leaders-give-sage-advice-to-futureceos/article38223707/

My opinion: I like this article, because it was inspirational.

Aug. 3, 2018 "Focus on retaining and rebuilding the trust of your consumers during a company crisis": Today I found this article by Melanie Paradis in the Globe and Mail:

Melanie Paradis is a strategic communications adviser and director at McMillan Vantage Policy Group.

The data has been breached. The effluent is in the water. The #MeToo accusation was made. The product has been recalled. Worst yet, a workplace fatality has occurred. Your company is in crisis. At risk is your most valuable asset: trust.

Canadian consumers dole out a lot of trust every day. We trust that the groceries we buy won’t make us sick. We trust that the bank we use will keep our data secure. We trust that our boss isn’t sexually harassing the intern and that our drinking water won’t become contaminated by an industrial spill. That’s why corporate crises often become such big news stories, because the violation of our collective trust is a shocking thing.

The avoidable and preventable often happen, despite your best efforts. While you should of course undertake every effort as a company to safeguard and sanitize your practices to prevent a crisis, do not become lulled into a false sense of security about your ISO or industry best standards. If you trust that your trust will be tested, you can prepare accordingly.

Nothing is unhackable. No engineering infallible. The unsinkable indeed sinks. Anything that can go wrong will. And when it does, everyone will be watching what you do next. Your customers, employees, shareholders and regulators will immediately be waiting to see what you do with the trust they placed in you.

The first step of a crisis is to acknowledge you are in a crisis. Here, you communicate three things: What happened, what are you doing about it and how do you feel? This method applies just as much to a personal crisis, such as telling your children you lost your job, as it does to an oil spill or a mall collapse.

Early in a crisis, you likely won’t have much information to share, but you will need to at least share those three things. And fail to respect that third item at your peril. Too often, the difference between a well-managed crisis and a corporate disaster is executives overlooking the importance of empathy in maintaining trust.

How you feel in a crisis is what makes you relatable. Your willingness to express yourself vulnerably and authentically will immediately strike a chord with your audience and shore up their trust. Perhaps something like: “I feel devastated that the privileged data our customers entrusted in us has been compromised, and I will not rest until we get to the bottom of this to ensure it never happens again.”

Lawyers and communicators will argue about how much personal accountability an executive should take in a crisis. But ultimately, you must ask yourself: Will anyone trust you if you don’t?

When the news cycle changes 72 hours later and the calls from reporters and angry customers or shareholders begin to die down, many companies make the mistake of thinking they have survived the crisis. But a breakdown in trust, a spark of doubt, whether it be with your customers or a spouse, is corrosive.

In the aftermath of a crisis, you must redouble your efforts to build, maintain and restore trust. It will not happen overnight. But with a clear plan to consistently communicate, centred firmly around trust and empathy, most companies can overcome virtually any crisis.

What can you do right now? Map out what keeps you up at night. Talk through worst-case scenarios with leaders from each of your departments, because they may see threats you don’t.

Make a plan for each scenario and drill regularly. Too often plans collect dust on shelves, but they are only as good as the practice you put in.

Make empathy your new mantra and think long and hard about what you will say when the worst happens. It’s worth the investment because the one thing you can’t buy back is the trust you stand to lose.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-focus-on-retaining-and-rebuilding-the-trust-of-your-consumers-during-a/

"It's time women stop asking permission to be in power"/ "Sponsorship- a key to unlocking women's potential"

I'm posting this in honor of International Women's Day Mar. 8.

Mar. 7, 2018 "It's time women stop asking permission to be in power": Today I found this article by Roz Winegrad in the Globe and Mail:

Once a hotel line chef, now vice-president of owner and franchise services in Canada for Marriott International.

Editor's note: ROB Careers articles this week are being published in conjunction with International Women's Day, March 8.

More than 30 years ago, with a degree in history and a culinary school education, I applied for a line chef position at a Marriott hotel in small-town Kentucky. I was ambitious, and knew I wanted to go far in my career.

But in the 1980s, as a woman working in a male-dominated environment, I needed tools that would help me develop as a manager and leader. I made that known to my superiors. Through mentorships, networking and leadership training, all provided by Marriott International, I grew to become responsible for 176 hotels across Canada.

In 2007, Canada became the first country in the Western world where women outnumber men in the work force.

Yet, as Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in his 2018 federal budget announcement, women still make only 69 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts. What's more, 40 per cent of companies in Canada have no women in executive roles.

Marriott International is turning that number on its head with a 40-per-cent-female Canadian leadership team. This culture of equality starts at the top, as Arne Sorenson's leadership team is also 40-per-cent female. Years ago, Marriott International recognized the power of women in the work force, and in 1989, launched a Women's Leadership Development Initiative to formalize a comprehensive women's agenda under one strategic umbrella.

As a result of this and several additional programs that followed, representation of women at all levels of the company has increased.

If you're smart, honest and hard-working, you can choose any career path you want.
Supporting women at all levels of the organization is Marriott's utmost concern and is part of our core values as a global organization. With International Women's Day this week and 2018 as the Year of the Woman, here are some tips to help you reach your leadership goals:

Network: Surround yourself with people who inspire you. My mentors challenged me to open doors I thought were closed and when I did, great things happened. I have lots of long-lasting friendships with male and female associates who have become part of the family of great mentors that have helped me along the way.

Marriott's company-wide programs – including 'evenings of engagement' and networking sessions – allow for women and minority leaders to interact with senior members and discuss leadership and career development.

Be bold: Find ways to make sure people know about your accomplishments. Marriott's Emerging Leader Program is an inclusive leadership development program to ensure the identification and development of talent.

Push yourself: Get comfortable being uncomfortable and try working in new areas that vary your abilities. As women, it's of paramount importance that we take on new roles and be unafraid. We need to have more confidence and lose the feeling that we have to be perfect – it's okay to learn as you go.

Early in my career, I had the benefit of taking part in a management-training program. For a while, it led to a promotion every six to eight months. That experience put me on a path to success undergoing different training opportunities that I still take on today.

Find a way to integrate personal and professional: A younger me, dedicated to my goals, put work ahead of my social life. That's something I've changed over the years.

Embracing a work-life "integration" began the next chapter of my life in a whole new way. I was working at Marriott headquarters when I had my son. Our office had a full-service daycare that meant I was allowed to be a mother while at work.

Having the opportunity to have lunch with my son in the middle of the day meant that I never missed out on the chance to have a career and be a mother. As women, we are always finding ways to keep our personal and business priorities at the forefront and we need to feel comfortable managing both together.

Be you: Be authentic. Throughout my career, I always struggled to figure out the best management style. Should I be tough, act like one of the guys, be demure?

By trying to be someone I wasn't, I created my own glass ceiling. When you lead authentically, you come across as more powerful, believable and trustworthy. These are core fundamentals to good leadership and ones that changed my life and career.

These values help guide my team's business decisions and reflect the way Marriott operates as an organization. It's crucial that we, as women in power and leaders in the hospitality industry, play an active role in promoting women as leaders. It's why I feel so strongly that we must try in all areas of the workplace to promote diversity, inclusion and support for our future leaders.

It helps to have supporting leaders. Don Cleary, president of our Canadian operation, helped us launch our "women supporting women" hospitality gatherings in Canada, an important part of our culture and a strong business imperative.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/its-time-women-stop-asking-for-permission-to-be-in-power/article38217159/

"Sponsorship- a key to unlocking women's potential": Today I found this article by Naomi Titleman Colla in the Globe and Mail:

Founder of Collaborativity Leadership Advisory and the former chief human resources officer of American Express Canada.

Editor's note: ROB Careers articles this week are published in conjunction with International Women's Day, March 8.

Did you know that …

There are more CEOs named John than female CEOs in total?

Just 2 per cent of venture-capital investment goes to women?

While we've made significant strides since the suffragettes of the early 1900s, we have ways to go. One way we can move the dial is through the power of sponsorship.

Sponsorship – often confused with but very different from mentorship – is one step beyond advocacy: It's someone being your champion, putting their reputation on the line for your career advancement.

Different from mentorship, the sponsor/"sponsoree" relationship is always between a senior leader (someone with influence over career decisions) and someone more junior. Also, sponsorship is not asked for – it must be earned.

Sponsorship often happens behind closed doors, and sometimes we don't realize we have sponsorship until we reflect back on pivotal career moments that would not have been likely based on merit alone.

According to 2016 research commissioned by Women of Influence and American Express Canada, women with sponsors are almost twice as likely to believe that reaching the C-suite is attainable (61 per cent versus 32 per cent over all). Empirically, knowing that someone has your back and is advocating for you behind closed doors increases risk taking and confidence – making you more likely to put your hand up for that stretch assignment or role.

Why, then, do women still seem to deprioritize this very important relationship? According to the same study, only 8 per cent of women acknowledged having a sponsor. Is this because they are too humble to admit they have one? Or is it because they don't think sponsors are important? Both are a problem.

Men are far more likely to have sponsors than women are; they are also more likely to adhere to Richard Branson's advice: "If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you're not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later." So, generally, women are doubly disadvantaged when it comes to attaining senior positions.

Knowing that the working world is not always a meritocracy, organizations need to be more forthcoming in opening the dialogue around sponsorship and why it is such a critical component of the diversity agenda.

Formal mentorship (matching) programs may work to develop a specific skill or achieve a certain goal.

But sponsorship match-making is akin to online dating – in order to take the leap and actually put your own reputation on the line (or in the dating analogy, committing to your match), the relationship should happen naturally, otherwise success is pretty much left up to chance.

Recognizing that sponsorship is so important in closing the gender gap in leadership positions, here are some things to consider both as sponsors and as sponsorees:

Sponsors

Let them know: Sponsorship should be part of your job and performance goals as a leader. Let those you sponsor know so that they can feel confident knowing someone is in their corner.
Don’t take it personally if your sponsoree leaves your organization – and don’t abandon them! First, they may boomerang back to your organization at some point or become a valued customer. Second, they need you even more as they explore new territory and need to maintain confidence.
Participate in #gosponsorher– a movement to help move the dial on women’s advancement. Going public about your sponsorship will give your sponsoree a boost of confidence and also serves as a fun challenge to other leaders.

Sponsorees

Don’t put all your eggs in your current basket: It is important to have sponsors both within and outside of your organization – and more than one in case you or your sponsor leaves your current company.
Sponsors are not all created equally: The wrong sponsor can be worse than no sponsor at all. If your sponsor’s voice is not highly valued, think about whether they are the right person to be advocating for you.
Not everyone earns a sponsor: If you do not have a sponsor, it could be because you haven’t earned one – yet. Think about how you could earn sponsorship (e.g. from a leader or mentor) through hard work and strong performance.
Help them help you: First, acknowledge and appreciate your sponsors. Keep your sponsors abreast of your career aspirations and “sound bites” they can use so that they are on the lookout for and advocate for the right opportunities for you and present you in the best light.

In honour of International Women's Day 2018, let's move the dial. Male and female leaders alike – who have you sponsored this year?

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/sponsorship-is-an-important-key-to-unlocking-womens-career-potential/article38204533/