Exceed Your Expectations

This past weekend I finally watched the movie "Invictus".  Despite the movie having been released in 2009 I had successively put off watching it until such time as I read the book.  Yes, I'm one of "those people".  In this case I bent my rule as I was 75% through the book before I relented and allowed myself the pleasure of watching the movie.

It is, of course, rather obvious that there is much to learn and discern from the life of Nelson Mandela and the leadership he showed to a fractured, hate-filled, and fearful country.  The fact that a man who had once espoused violence against the apartheid regime of South Africa, spent 27 years of the best part of his life in prison, and could then walk out and not merely renounce vengeance but become an icon of forgiveness is an astounding story.  It certainly would have been easy - and understandable - if he had chosen to simply lead his ANC supporters to a new future.  Instead he chose to become the leader of all 40 million South Africans regardless of skin color or tribal affiliation.

In this case, I found the movie quite consistent with the contents and key events recounted in the book.  If such is the case, what I came to understand about Mandela's leadership was that he was most powerfully effective and impactful not in large gatherings speaking to thousands but rather in small groups and one-on-one encounters.  In those situations he could connect with people at an individual level.  He sought that human connection, to build on authentic relationship and understanding of who sat across from him whether they be adversary or ally.  And it was truly the measure of the man and his leadership that he had an astounding ability to effectively and rather immediately disarm an adversary as well as any ally.

One of the scenes in the movie that had particular impact on me was the first meeting between President Mandela and the captain of the Springboks - the South African national rugby team.  An intimidating meeting for the captain, Francois Pienaar, to be sure.  Mandela immediately set the tone for a deeper conversation by showing authentic interest in the person before him.  This short exchange sets the stage for a more in-depth and meaningful exchange on leadership philosophies.  In this discussion on leadership, Mandela poses the challenge of how does a leader convince his followers, his team, to be better than they think they can be - "How do we inspire ourselves to greatness when nothing less will do."  How can a leader convince his followers to stand tall when all they want to do is rest?    

Mandela did not simply foist an impossible task on Francois Pienaar.  Mandela did not, as so many "leaders" are wont to, throw out shallow exhortations to "do better" or "win whatever the cost."  Rather, Mandela showed that he carried a common burden with Pienaar and that as President he held himself to the same high expectations, and would make the same effort, that he was placing on the Springboks.  Mandela stated clearly and directly that as President he too needed to exceed his own expectations in order to help South Africa fully realize its potential.  He shared his personal burden with Pienaar of having to not only unite a long-fractured nation but also lead it to the potential he saw in it.  In doing so, he also confided in Pienaar that there were days where he felt his efforts had not been enough and that even the President needed inspiration to do better.  As part of realizing the full potential of his nation and his people he believed in the need to leverage every possible avenue to achieve true unification.  In this case, he looked to inspire national unity by converting a reviled symbol of apartheid - the Springboks - to a shared symbol of unity.  In not so many words, he tasked Pienaar to lead his team to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup to be held on South African soil.  This after years of banishment from international competition and objective assessments that did not see the team advancing past the quarterfinals.

The fact that South Africa did not devolve into bitter civil war - and that the Springboks did in fact win the 1995 Rugby World Cup against all odds - is a clear testament to Mandela's unique leadership style.  Unlike what we might expect in the type of circumstances he faced, he was no grand orator in the tradition of Churchill.  He was authoritarian only when necessary, preferring to influence and build consensus wherever possible.  Fundamentally, he presents to me as an extraordinarily thoughtful, far-sighted and quiet leader.  He set grand goals that continued to guide his actions despite short-term setbacks.  He was prepared to make significant personal sacrifices - of his time, of his salary, and in wearing the hated colors of the Springboks to promote national reconciliation.  He was prepared to share his doubts and vulnerabilities with his followers.  In this regard, he was able to demonstrate his true understanding of the challenges that everyone faced in building a better future.  However, rather than use this as a reason to hold back from the challenge, he used it to build common bond with this followers.  His hope was that by common and extraordinary effort that he and his people could believe more of themselves and exceed their expectations.

The book and movie, as a testament to Mandela and his ability to help others exceed their own expectations, inspired me to reconsider my own leadership and the leadership of those I coach.  If a political prisoner of 27 years can overcome decades, nay hundreds of years, of racial divide and can inspire a nation to rise beyond its differences through his leadership and personal sacrifice then what can I - what should I - strive to achieve in my personal leadership endeavors??

What can you do to exceed your expectations?  What will you do to exceed your expectations?
____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

What's in Your Back Pocket?

An economic downturn such as many people and industries are now facing in my province of Alberta or have faced in every other part of the world brings to the fore some very challenging questions.  As individuals we start to feel our shirt collars tighten a notch or two as we contemplate how we will weather the downturn, how long the downturn will last or indeed whether it will result in loss of job or our business.  Unfortunately, for too many of us, there can be a lot of whistling in the dark that manifests as wishful thinking or simple denial.  We hope that somehow the "grim reaper" will pass us by (again) this time.  We haven't established a contingency plan or a safety net that will confidently carry us through a downturn or possibly even a complete change in our career path. But, as I have often been told, hope is not a strategy.

I speak from personal experience in this regard.  I've been through many a restructuring and belt-tightening in my previous profession and quite frankly would have to admit that other than being flexible in terms of where challenge and opportunity took me I can't say that I had anything remotely that looked like a contingency plan.  Three years ago, when I completely changed careers, I didn't have a Plan B anything close to mapped out.  The fact that I am succeeding in making the switch is truly a combination of factors that probably have less to do with planning than with good networks and personal determination. I don't believe I'm unique in this regard.

If you will, consider the parallels to having your own emergency preparedness or disaster recovery kit for your household.  How many of us have alternate sources of power and water supply, adequate stocks of food and medicine to get us through several days of recovery from a natural or mad-made disaster, or a plan to ensure communication is sustained with family members in the event something causes you to be separated?  I hazard a guess based on what we have seen in our own backyards or not too distant communities that most of us are entirely unprepared for any significant disaster that could cut us off from a range of modern conveniences that we have come to rely on for our survival.  In like fashion, I suggest that most of us are entirely unprepared to suffer a modest or complete loss of our income overnight.

At this point, if you haven't established your leadership or career emergency preparedness kit, you might need to white knuckle it through the next change coming your way.  Perhaps if you are fortunate enough you already have sufficient funds in your savings account to get you through the next number of months or even a year until you secure the next job or can see your business venture recover.  Maybe all this time will be is another scare and you'll manage to get by with only suffering a few sleepless nights of worry.

All that being said, I believe there are a number of "tools" or "supplies that we should all have in our personal leadership emergency preparedness kit to allow us to navigate unplanned change as effectively as possible.  First, I believe we each should have our own strategic plan in place.  As leaders we often expend enormous time and effort leading strategic planning efforts for our own organizations or businesses, yet we spend relatively little time if any considering our own long-term plan.  Much like an organization's strategic plan, our personal plan should benefit from a regular period of objective and intensive self-reflection - what's important to us, what are our key goals, what are our forecasts, what are our strengths, what are our areas for investment or even divestment.  Most importantly, how will we equip ourselves to make the right change for the right reasons or how will we make the best of a bad situation thrown our way that still allows us to live according to our personal values and in pursuit of our life goals?  In short, are there multiple ways to obtain the same goal or set of goals.  Lacking any personal strategic coherence we will be as a ship tossed about on a storm-swept sea without a rudder.

Second, we should prepare for the inevitably of stormy seas with constant investment in ourselves as leaders.  Ongoing (and relevant) professional development and training has never been more crucial than in today's constantly evolving and dynamic business environment.  Knowledge, techniques, and technologies that were cutting edge yesterday are just as rapidly replaced or made irrelevant tomorrow.  Just as important, is understanding and appreciating the changing expectations and requirements of an ever more diverse workforce.  Long story short - as a leader you will have to continuously reinvest in your leadership and technical skills if you hope to be relevant, valuable and salable to your followers or customers.  Standing pat is falling backwards.  Leadership agility is today's guidepost.

Third, networks are a critical currency in today's ever-changing world.  Take advantage of opportunities to network and more importantly to build and maintain relationships with others within and outside of your current business environment.  As challenging and as time-consuming as it can sometimes be, it's important to appreciate that well-established and well-maintained relationships should be viewed as an investment in future opportunities.  Even though society has advanced there is still no doubt in my mind that "who you know" is just as important, if not more important, than "what you know".  In a time like this when leadership and technical roles now have hundreds of candidates applying for an opportunity - with many of them equally qualified - it won't simply be experience or knowledge that carry the day for you.  Rather, it may just come down to the strength and quality of relationships you have built with others over a period of years.

In like fashion, I also believe there is a tremendous benefit in "paying it forward", in the form of mentoring, connecting, and supporting others in your sphere of influence.  And in many of these circumstances, this means there could be no immediate - or any - form of payback to you.  Rather, I believe there is a service above self mentality that should come into play here that can amount to a form of planting seeds for a harvest to come later.  Just as with networking, however, for investments in others to truly pay off it really does have to be delivered as a genuine and authentic interest in others.  Nobody is going to give you much credit or future support if you take a very mercenary tone with them or explicitly set out the assistance as a "loan" to be recalled with interest at a later date.  It would be much like me telling my kids that while I will support them financially for the first couple decades of their life I expect at least that much support at the end of my life.  I doubt that this type of "support" would work and more likely would drive a wedge between us.

Those are what I consider to be some of the basics of your leadership emergency preparedness toolkit - a well-articulated personal strategic plan, constant honing and expansion of your skill sets, effective networking and relationship building, and an investment in the success of others.  Together - along with some sound financial planning - I believe not only can a leader weather the inevitable storms and tempests, they can come out stronger as it relates to their highest goals and aspirations. 

Management of unplanned change doesn't just have to be about survival.  It can be about softening the blows and being ready to come out the other side quicker and stronger than if you had just whistled a better tune in the darkness.
____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Leading with Integrity

I was compelled to open up my Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary to re-familiarize myself with the book definition of Integrity.  There were several reasons for doing so at this point in time most notably some of the political noises coming out from my provincial legislature in the past several months.  I was also reminded of some past and current realities afflicting colleagues in a former career that had also caused me heartburn and personal angst.

Further to Integrity then this is what I found:

in-teg-ri-ty  n 1: an unimpaired condition : SOUNDNESS  2: firm adherence to a code of esp. 

moral or artistic values:  INCORRUPTIBILITY  3: the quality or state of being complete and undivided:  COMPLETENESS  syn  1 see HONESTY  ant duplicity  2  see UNITY

I have to admit that this particular definition left me a bit flat.  Wasn't quite the passion or fire that I associate with the word Integrity.  Maybe it had something to do with my dictionary having been published in 1981.  Maybe integrity was now a dated concept??  But I preserved and went to today's font of all knowledge - Wikipedia - for an "up-to-date" definition:

Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to uphold oneself to consistently moral and ethical standards.^[1]

In ethics, integrity is regarded by many people as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Integrity can stand in opposition to hypocrisy,^[2] in that judging with the standards of integrity involves regarding internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding within themselves apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs.

This version still left me thinking there was a void in the definition.  It struck me that the words lacked practical examples or parameters to make the picture of integrity come alive.  After all, in today's world doesn't every organization and leadership candidate tout integrity as a core principle?  If not prominently trumpeted in an organization's mission, vision and values statements it is usually given prominence in other public statements, codes of conduct, policies or other regular pronouncements.  Most leaders - like myself - usually identify integrity as being one of their top values.  Integrity is all around is and yet many find it wanting in so many or our leaders and organizations.

Do we - as leaders - truly demonstrate integrity when it counts?  When the going gets tough do we firmly adhere to our stated moral and ethical codes of conduct?  For example, if you have struck a deal with another party are you prepared to hold true to that commitment when circumstances change?  It's certainly one thing to be true to your word at the moment the agreement is signed or when times are good.  Do you have the strength of your conviction when your "business climate" changes?  Do you back away from your commitments or obligations?  When the going gets tough do you find reason or excuses to back away from this obligation entered into in good faith by both parties?  Isn't that the true test of integrity?  I'm left wondering how one can tout personal or organizational integrity when at the first sign of stress we stand ready to abandon our previous - voluntary - commitments.

I also find some leaders wanting in the integrity category when they "boldly" impose sacrifices on others they themselves are not prepared to make.  Numerous examples abound, both in the private and public sectors, of CEO's looking for ways to cut costs that intimately and significantly impact the vast majority of the workforce they lead and yet, when such efforts are successful, result in the maintenance of leadership perks or bonuses for the CEO.  And some CEO's have an amazing capacity for rationalizing how their benefit is really to the benefit of their organization.  Unfortunately, I have personally encountered some egregious examples of veritable shell games played by executives to justify or protect their income and perks.  Integrity under such circumstances - along with leadership credibility - are the clear losers.

Finally, I have to proffer my view that just as no great venture or successful organization is the result of the efforts of any one individual so too is it true that no one leader can violate self-stated or organizationally-touted codes of conduct without a little help from one's colleagues.  If we consider some historical precedents it is the rare occasion when a "rogue" leader acts alone to bend or break organizational codes of conduct, policies, procedures or, in extreme cases, even the law.  How many of us conveniently ignore or dismiss any missteps as "honest" mistakes or minor lapses in judgement?  Perhaps at times we honestly believe that.  Perhaps it's just easier to turn a blind eye.  Worst of all, perhaps we are actively complicit in the larger violations of our leader because some personal gain accrues to us - we too can share in getting a bonus or keeping our current position.  Perhaps our calculation is one that comes down to the simple perspective that to speak up or stand up runs the risk of becoming a martyr for doomed and idealistic cause - we rationalize our action (or lack of action) as being a meaningless sacrifice.

I leave you with an honest question - are you prepared to hold true to your stated values in good times but particularly in bad?  Is your word your bond or merely a device to suit a moment in time?

Are you a leader with and of integrity?  Or is integrity just an out-moded concept in today's age and am I but a modern-day Don Quixote tilting at windmills??
____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Are you in the battle for your talent?

A common message and reality that all businesses have become accustomed to hearing and experiencing is that they face an imminent or current shortage of all types of personnel - including leaders - as the demographics of our population and our workforce go through significant change.  However, in the battle for talent is your business cultivating and managing its own home ground?  Does your organization know what talent it already has?  Are you taking steps to cultivate and preserve that talent as your existing leaders leave or retire?  Based on what I've seen and experienced in my work I'm going to suggest the gap between the perception of a talent gap and actions to close that gap are significant and growing.

One of the first challenges facing any organization is understanding not only the leadership requirements they face today but, more importantly, the leadership requirements they will require years into the future.  A fundamental need then is for an organization to ensure some base level of understanding of the entirety of its business environment into the murky future.  All the more challenging when business cycles are shorter, more dynamic and unpredictable than ever before.  Who would have predicted oil at under $50 a barrel just a few weeks ago?  Too often within the context of this downturn a common business reaction is reduction or elimination of leadership development and other training programs if not outright layoffs.  Leadership development in this context is not seen as an investment, rather it is seen as a forgo-able cost.  The longer-term cost to the organization - lost talent, lost capacity for mentorship and succession planning - is outweighed by short-term considerations.

Another challenge that organizations face - perhaps particularly if large and well-established in their industry - is recognizing and accelerating the development and upward movement of its internal talent.  Often time this is because a "future" leader doesn't look anything like our current leaders.  Essentially, organizations become biased or blind to the prospective leaders in their midst.  Senior leaders and mid-level managers are inclined to look for their mirror image - whether defined by age, educational background, or other variables.  They are unable, or unwilling, to appreciate that the leadership of the past or of today is going to be significantly insufficient for the challenges being experienced today and into the future.  Even worse, current leaders can be sufficiently threatened by the up and comers to consciously hold them back.  The results can be a loss of future talent to a competitor that comes calling.  The battle for talent lost even before it starts.

How can organizations make sure they are competitive in the battle for talent?  How can they ensure they stand a chance of not losing the talent already in their midst?  First, there must be a clear understanding of the business demands, realities and strategies to be implemented in the mid- to long-term future of the organization.  As noted above, this is a daunting challenge all its own which likely means that an organization must be particularly attuned to identifying and developing innovative, creative and highly adaptive prospects in their midst for whatever skills and abilities one might anticipate needing in the future.  Moreover, it is just as likely that new skills and abilities will be required beyond the current line of sight.  Organizations are advised to seek out and foster leaders that are not only comfortable but can thrive in an environment of constant change and ambiguity.

Organizations should also ensure alignment of all systems that may support or impinge upon retention of prospective leadership talent.  In particular, incentives and structures should be established or adjusted to ensure that existing leaders can identify and support the next generation of leaders.  This also entails some level of investment in current leaders to assist them in identifying and supporting future leaders.  Just as not all current managers make good mentors we should not hold out expectation that they have the ability to identify future leaders.

Similarly organizations need to structure a variety of learning and development experiences that transcend traditional classroom settings.  There must be dedicated and protected time for top prospects to gain experience beyond their current roles.  The top prospects must be afforded the ability to develop and widen their skills and perspectives within the broader canvas of the organization and its business environment.

How seriously are you taking the battle for talent?  Are you even aware of the battle you are in?  Are you more likely to bend to short-term cost considerations versus sustaining a long-term investment in your talent pool?  Can you overcome your own biases and preconceptions about what future leadership looks like or needs to be?  Can you mentor and foster leaders who don't look like you? Can you effectively pass the torch and win THE race?

The success of your organization depends on your leadership vision and your ability to foster the leadership that will carry you forward.  It is ALL about leadership.
____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

The Power of the Past

This week's post was crafted in New Orleans.  The Big Easy.  My time here began this past Friday (Jan 23, 2015) and will end this coming Tuesday (Jan 27, 2015).  I'm in the midst of the 2015 International Chair Development Workshop.  Over 500 Vistage and TEC chairs from around the world have gathered for this 4-day event to learn, share best practices and network.  This was my first such event as a relatively new TEC Canada Chair (www.tec-canada.com).

However, if we go back several months I previously decided not to come to this event.  There were a number of reasons I had offered myself and others for not considering attendance - not having yet formally launched my TEC group, feeling guilty about more time away from family, and being busy with a variety of coaching and consulting engagements.  It wasn't until my rubber arm was twisted by TEC Canada head office in early November that I finally relented and registered myself for this event.

The confirmation didn't alleviate my anxiety about coming to New Orleans.  Rather as the date for departure got closer I became more anxious.  Only in the last couple of weeks before arrival did I finally - and maybe reluctantly - identify the underlying reason for my hesitance to return to New Orleans for indeed I had been in New Orleans once before.  In March 2007 - nearly 8 years ago - I had come to the Big Easy to convocate as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.  This was to be a formal cap and gown ceremony and all-around big deal.  My wife and I decided that she and our then 6-year old daughter would stay home as the very next week we were heading out to Disney World for a family vacation.  Too much travel and too much missed school.

So began my few days away in New Orleans.  A time when I should have been celebrating a significant achievement in my healthcare leadership career.  Instead these days would ultimately prove to be the worst of my life.

The challenges started early.  Upon arrival I misplaced my portfolio which also contained my passport.  Not a great thing to do on your first day away and with a family vacation set to take place the very next week.  So began an agonizing 24 hours in New Orleans.  The next day, while waiting on any news of my passport's whereabouts, I went down to take in a scheduled learning seminar.  As it turned out, the scheduled speaker was prevented from attending as they were snowed-in back in Boston.  With the learning session pre-empted I took advantage of the free time to head back to the airport where I was miraculously reunited with my portfolio and passport!  Things were looking up.

Passport back in hand, I could relax and now had free time to take in the city sights.  Later in the day, I acted upon a recommendation of the hotel concierge and had dinner accompanied by an amazing jazz performance.  That's where phase two of my misfortune kicked in - food poisoning.  My illness was significant and persistent.  So much so that, despite my best efforts to battle through, I actually pulled myself out of the convocation procession line perhaps minutes away from being recognized by my peers for my professional achievement.  All that I was confident of at that time was that if I decided to keep on walking - or even standing - I would probably pass out near or on the stage.  I went back to my room and passed out for the rest of the day.

The next day, I packed up in a relatively depressed state of mind expecting and hoping that my troubles were behind me.  As events would soon prove out I should have been more cognizant of the saying "bad things come in threes".  I phoned my wife early that morning from my hotel indicating that I was on my way home and that I would call her later when I made my connection in Denver.  When I did so, I got no answer and something made my spider sense tingle.  After several more calls, allowing for any number of valid reasons why she might not pick up, I got more concerned and called two friends to head over and check things out.  My worst possible fears were confirmed within fifteen minutes.  My wife of nearly 13 years was found dead.  I got on my connecting flight from Denver with the knowledge that the life had I led just hours before had irrevocably changed.

Why do I tell you this story?  It's not to gain sympathy or compassion.  Rather I draw you back to my undefined anxiety and reluctance to return to New Orleans nearly 8 years after my wife's death.  I believe my grieving to be over.  In truth it probably took me well over a year to recover and restructure my life - and start to become a better father to my daughter.  Yet what I failed to recognize was how much power this past event still had over my life to this day.  What was that power?  If not grief, what?  My answer - a return to New Orleans was a return to a time of what I still see as a personal and tragic failure on my part.  I failed to save my wife's life.  And when my 6-year old daughter asked me on that day, "Where's mom?", I had to acknowledge that I had failed to save her mother's life as well.

I had failed and it was this sense of failure that I still carried with me 8 years later.

Why do I tell you this story?  So that you can take at least this lesson away with you.  Recognize, appreciate and come to terms with your past "failings" (real or perceived) so that they do not paralyze you from moving forward.  It's clear to me now that I've carried a significant burden for the past 8 years.  In many respects I've moved on - married again to an outstanding, talented and beautiful woman with whom I have brought two more beautiful and spirited girls into the world.  However, it's equally clear from the feelings dredged up in the past months that I have not yet forgiven myself for something that I truly had no control over.  Ask yourself (as I did not) if you have truly failed, if you have garnered the right lessons from these past events and, most importantly, how can you move forward unencumbered (and perhaps even strengthened) by the past?

Each of us in our leadership - and life - journey have had failings perceived or real.  To show true leadership we should objectively and courageously examine and learn from these events.  As leaders we often don't but instead feel that we are tasked with carrying on despite setbacks, showing a stiff upper lip to our followers, convincing them through our mask of strength and confidence that all will be fine.  I did just that in my time of loss, returning to work a mere two weeks after my wife's death.  I buried myself back into work hoping to hide my pain in work.  Ultimately, I have to ask myself how much better off could I have been with opening up to others at that time, demonstrating my vulnerability and getting help to objectively assessing my "failure".

Maybe I could have spent the last number of years in a better state of mind.  Perhaps I could have achieved even more for myself, my daughter and those around me if I had come to grips with my "failure" earlier than today.

Assess your reality and your past objectively and with courage.  Don't let your fears, partial learnings, incorrect assumptions, or other demons prevent you from moving forward positively into the future.  You deserve better, can achieve so much more, and will be a better leader for it.  Don't be paralyzed by the past.  Break the chains.  Move forward to be the person and leader you are.
____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Go ahead...be selfish!

When I took on my first leadership role in 1986 as administrator of a small rural health centre in Manitoba I was keen and green in equal measure - and probably not a little afraid of a shift far outside of my comfort zone.  Professionally I was the youngest leader in the province by far.  Personally, I had moved to a province where I had no history or connections whatsoever.

What I lacked in experience I more than made up for in idealism and naivety.  Then as now I was motivated to be of service, to make a difference in my chosen profession and in my new community, to continue to learn and strive to be better.  One step in that path was to volunteer to become part of the local emergency medical service.  My rationale was that while I had been academically prepared to be a health care administrator I had very little experience of actually administering anything.  What better way to learn than to become part of some of the services I was responsible for leading!  Bloody brilliant!

I imagined that my service would be time-limited, at most a year of actual service before backing out and focusing solely on the administrative side of my career.  However, as many of you might know its a lot easier to sign up for something in a rural community than to sign out.  My 1-year plan turned into a 4-year mini-EMS career.

In retrospect, that extra 3 years of service was time well spent.  It helped me better understand the front-line experience and gave me enough early familiarity with medical terminology and lingo to be more effective as a healthcare leader.  It also taught me humility - nothing like being covered in the blood of others as you respond to a mass casualty incident, pick up kids not much younger than yourself from some traumatic event, or have someone die in front of you despite your best efforts.  Some of those images and experiences remain with me to this day.

Perhaps most important for me is that I continue to carry one piece of advice given to me as an EMS provider that still has great relevance for me as a leader.  In my training and in subsequent years of service I was taught to ensure safety of any scene before entering.  It was drummed into me that I should not rush headlong in to save the day, like some knight in shining armor, lest I become another casualty putting burden on other emergency services personnel.  In essence I was told be selfish, to guard my life diligently in order to be of effective service to those needing my skills and abilities.

So what relevance does this have to leadership?  The nature of my coaching practice seems to attract many individuals who are extraordinarily selfless as leaders.  They are continuously taking on new duties and tasks, trying to support and advocate for their staff and their clients/customers, and putting in the extra time and effort that they believe could make THE difference.  Work-life balance?  A challenging prospect.  They also take the same approach and have the same level of commitment on the home front.

As they present to me, either at the initial stages of our engagement or as we focus on identifying and working towards their stated goals, I often find myself relating and translating this EMS lesson to their leadership environment.  Basically, I help them identify with the reality that THEY are the KEY instrument of THEIR desired success. Much like myself as the EMS provider, they benefit from understanding that unless they take care of and invest in themselves their ability to be successful is diminished.  Without continuously developing their skills sets, without reflecting on their plans and actions, and without proper investment in their personal health, they will in fact perform at a less than optimal level.  Ironically, by working harder and longer - being entirely selfless - they in fact can be less effective in their ultimate desire to serve others.

Often their first reaction to taking time for self is that any such effort is incredibly and inappropriately selfish.  The very idea of taking time out of their work week to focus on their leadership development makes them twitchy. It takes some discussion but eventually we start to take small steps toward helping them develop an appropriately selfish plan of leadership development and self care.

So what does appropriately selfish look like in a leadership context?  First and foremost it's getting back in touch with what it means for the individual to be a leader.  I find that many leaders have an intuitive or abstract understanding of why they lead but have never taken the time to truly reflect and DOCUMENT their personal leadership vision and values.  This effort is of huge value to leaders both in terms of the process of self-discovery and in respect of the direction it provides them moving forward.  This effort takes time.  It requires uninterrupted, reflective and dedicated effort that should be part of work time.

Second, I often work with leaders to get them to take time out of their work week - even if only a few minutes each day - to reflect on and evaluate their leadership successes or challenges.  Taking a page from the sports world, you need to replay the tape, assess how the "play" went, and then learn and adjust going forward.  Without such self-assessment or reflection there really is no real learning going on and no effective improvement or enhancement to your leadership skill.

The challenge often presented when we discuss these two options, both of which require protected time to accomplish, is just exactly how can this be done with everybody banging on my door and my e-mail in-box getting flooded every hour with new requests.  The simple answer is structure and support.  Most leaders do have the tools to support them in this regard from their electronic calendar to their personal assistant, executive assistant or secretary.  Block time as you would any other appointment and protect it like you would your most important meeting.  Enlist your assistant to help you protect this time as well.

Finally, as part of being appropriately selfish work on identifying and recognizing your strengths and accomplishments.  I find far too many leaders focus on their perceived or actual skills gaps or the things that have not been touched on their to-do list.  That "deficit" mentality becomes a significant weight to keep carrying forward.  Far more powerful is the ability to remain positive and optimistic and focused on the future rather than the past.  And take time to celebrate your wins as a leader.  I'm not talking about buying yourself a new Italian sports car but do provide yourself with some, yet tangible, recognition for your achievement and positive steps forward.

I espouse to be a servant leader but that doesn't mean that there isn't an appropriate time to be selfish in service of your leadership.  In my view this is particularly true if you intend to be the kind of leader you want to be for your staff and for those your organization serves.  It's about leadership and it's about investing in your leadership.
____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

The Value, Power and Resilience of TEAM!

Let me paint you a picture.  You've been successful in landing your dream job as a leader, taking on the role of President & CEO of a historically prestigious company.  You've held this job for the past 2 two years.  You've landed this role based on your track record to date and reputation as one of the best "thinkers" in your field.

It's not all been a bed of roses to this point.  Despite the long and venerable history of the company its not been at the top of its sector for over 10 years.  Not only has it been missing on projections but just prior to your arrival the company was in disarray owing to ethical and regulatory violations that resulted in your predecessor resigning under and several of its top talents leaving.  In fact, in your first full year of work you continued to operate under heavy regulatory scrutiny that significantly impeded your ability to attract talent and to effectively compete with your rivals.

Through the effective application of your leadership talent you now enter your third year full of optimism.  What could go wrong?  Let me throw a few curves your way:

• at the end of your second year, your Chief Information Officer and four of his five key people bolted for a Silicon Valley company pursuing bigger opportunities and better pay;
• days before the start of the 2014/15 fiscal year, your highly touted and seemingly indispensable Chief Operating Officer was diagnosed with a debilitating illness and was projected to be off work for the entire year;
• stock market analysts reacted to the news of these key personnel losses by significantly downgrading company projections and share price plummeted;
• it seems that analysts weren't wrong when your company falls stumbles in achieving first quarter targets operating under the helm of your very junior replacement COO.

Despite these amazing set of circumstances you right the ship and the company proceeds to turn things around.  Astoundingly, by the end of the 3rd quarter the company is projected to be on pace for its best year in over a decade.  But at this point fate intercedes again and your junior COO, who has vastly exceeded all expectations, is involved in a car accident that also takes him out of the equation.  Once again the prospects for a successful year appear to be dashed.  Again you are left to dig deeper into your organization, dangerously thin on talent by now, putting in charge your third COO of the year!

How fantastic a fable is this?  How much "fiction" am I expecting you to stomach before you dismiss any leadership lessons I hope to impart to you?  What if I told you that the story noted above is true save for the fact that I have chosen to anonymize (to this point) the real "business" and identities of the key players.  In reality not only did the "company" above survive all of these challenges intact it actually became THE best performing "company" in it's sector as of this past Monday.

This "business fable" is the story of the Ohio State Buckeyes - undisputed national champions of US college football.

The leader of this company is in fact Coach Urban Meyer.  The CIO and his key personnel are running back Carlos Hyde and four graduating senior offensive linemen.  The highly touted COO was potential Heisman trophy candidate and starting quarterback Braxton Miller who had season-ending shoulder surgery before the season started.  The first replacement COO was freshman quarterback J. T. Barret who turned in an amazing run of victories only to break his ankle in Ohio's last regular season game.

Finally, we have the final COO in this year's saga, 3rd string quarterback Cardale Jones, who up until the Big 10 Championship game had not taken a snap of any significance all year long.  With Jones at quarterback, however, Ohio went on to destroy Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship game, then defeated the number 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl, before overcoming another underdog tag to beat the Oregon Ducks in the championship game to become national champions. 

How does a team overcome such adversity not once but multiple times to reach the pinnacle of its sport?  Even in the championship game the Buckeyes had to overcome a quick start by the octane fueled offense of Oregon who scored on their first possession of the game.  Moreover, the Buckeyes had to deal their own mistakes and 4 turnovers before winning the game in convincing fashion.  It would have been easy at multiple points in the season and during their championship run to simply fold up their tent and go home.

So what accounts for this level of achievement when any "team" that faces this kind of adversity? First, there is no doubting that sheer raw talent is a factor.  The reality is that talent doesn't materialize out of thin air or overnight.  Both a culture and a structure to attract and retain that talent has to be established in order to entice skilled and talented people to join you even if only in anticipation of better future to come.  Many companies don't start at a point where they can merely pick from an unlimited pool of applicants. They may not have yet established a track record that will get people of talent to willingly sign on but they are trying to convey with some conviction and evidence that this will be the place to be next year or the year after.

Talent alone clearly isn't enough to ensure success.  All of the other teams in the US College Football playoffs had talent.  They might also make the argument that they endured adversity throughout the year.  The fact is that the Buckeyes also benefited from the experience of a leader who had been down this championship path before.  At some level Urban Meyer was able to translate his own successful experience into building confidence amongst his staff and his players that despite adversity they were still skilled enough to compete at the highest levels and succeed.

Beyond that experience and "corporate memory" a system was established that recognized that success didn't depend on one or two key leaders.  In the lead up to the national championship run, when the 2nd string quarterback went down to injury and everybody was counting out the Buckeyes again, all messages coming out of Ohio State was that success was not going to come down to one man - the 3rd string quarterback.  Rather, there was an expectation throughout the team that it would take a collective team effort to ensure success.  Collective effort, collective success.

Great team message followed up by a structured team response.  Slogans, motivational speeches and bravado aside, the Ohio State coaching staff had to make adjustments in game plan as each of it's quarterbacks (and other personnel) went down to put the next man up in a position to maximize their strengths and their ability to succeed at a personal level and ultimately to promote team success.

At the end of the day, it was also clear from each coach and player interviewed - and in the championship acceptance speech by Urban Meyer - that the adversity brought this team closer together at every step of the championship journey.  This team ultimately played for each other.  As with soldiers in war, they stood together not prepared to not give of their best for fear of letting down their comrades.  They played as a team and not as a collection of individuals, prepared to truly sacrifice to obtain the ultimate objective.

Finally, it was clear that an environment had also been created that understood that mistakes would be made.  This was evident as the team adjusted from an early season - and potentially devastating loss - to the reaction to and recovery from 4 turnovers by the Buckeyes in the championship game.  You could see that responsibility was taken for such mistakes at an individual level but support offered by the team to overcome.  More importantly, once the mistake was past it was truly forgotten with a focus forward to make the next required effort, to make the next play, and ultimately succeed on the biggest stage possible.

Even for a Canadian like me, raised more on hockey than football (much less college football), I appreciate how amazing a year this has been for the Ohio State Buckeyes.  Moreover, I fully expect this season to go down as one of the most historic TEAM achievements in college football history.

More importantly I hope you can appreciate the lessons in leadership, strength of team, and perseverance through adversity that this team and this year brought to mind.  

____________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

The Spirit of the Christmas Season

A number of events of the past week have served to reinforce what should be of importance to us this time of year and what should animate our Christmas celebrations - and not just on December 25th but hopefully for the whole of the year.

Last week the face of terrorism was brought home to the people of Sydney, Australia, when a lone gunman took hostages in a a downtown cafe and coffee shop.  The end point to the incident was the death of the gunman and two of his hostages.  Coming less than two weeks from Christmas seemed to me to multiply the impact of the tragedy.  For someone like me whose family history is one of gathering with loved ones, after having traveled long distances, and partaking in religious observances, feasting and gift-giving, the thought of having a wife, daughter or friend taken from me so suddenly and senselessly at a time that is supposed to epitomize faith, love, hope, and celebration is simply incomprehensible.  Moreover, the people who's lives were taken, who were injured, or terrorized for those long and agonizing hours were simply living out their daily lives at the time - buying coffee and chocolates for themselves or as gifts for others before returning to work.

Here in Edmonton I was reminded that we live in a very small world and that events half a world away can have immediate impact.  At my weekly Rotary meeting we have a tradition of "happy bucks", giving a dollar or more to exercise the privilege of announcing good news for ourselves or others in our circle of friends and family.  This past Tuesday our newest member - just inducted that day - stood up to express his unending gratitude that his daughter was not counted as one of the victims of the Sydney attack.  His daughter lives in Sydney.  His daughter works one block away from the cafe where the tragedy unfolded and in the days leading up to the attack had been to the cafe several times.  But for the grace of God his daughter could have easily been a hostage.  He could have lost his daughter last week.  Needless to say, there were more than a few moments during this "happy buck" moment where my Rotary colleague needed to take time to compose himself.

All of us sitting in that room were afforded the reminder to hold our loved ones closer as life can change in an instance.  We were reminded of what is really important not just in the Spirit of Christmas but in truth all year round.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we shall also see and experience stories of compassion and charity and love that will serve to reinforce what our humanity should be about.  This morning, as I was driving into work I was hearing about the efforts of a radio station in Edmonton to make Christmas memorable for one deserving family - a family who would otherwise be struggling through the Christmas season without the basic necessities of life.  Christmas gifts and a tree would indeed be luxuries.  Remembering last year's effort, I look forward to this year's version of a Christmas makeover that not only makes December 25th a day of joy but helps this family have a more prosperous and fulfilling 2015.

Finally, I can also relate to someone in my circle of friends who have also had their life significantly impacted by the compassion of others in their community.  I welcome you to listen to the audio link below, to hear the Spirit of Christmas as it impacted the daughter and grand-daughter of a friend of mine in Lloydminster (AB/SK).  This story again made the Spirit of Christmas real for me this year and I hope I can carry that spirit on with me for as long as possible into 2015.

https://soundcloud.com/vistaradioalbertaeast/the-goats-christmas-wish-2014-shelley-and-jennifer

I offer you these stories in hopes that you can remember what - and who - is truly important to you this Christmas season, to hold your loved ones close in your heart and in your arms, and that no matter how busy we are making a living in whatever we do that we never forget what and who we are living for.

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Fulfilling 2015 for you and your family.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.






 

A Recipe for Success?

This past week I was honored to have been asked to be the inaugural guest on a colleague's radio talk show.  Rachel Foster (http://www.rachelfoster.com/) and I have known each for many years now, starting with our work together in health care.  In fact, Rachel was one of my inspirations for moving down the path of becoming an executive coach.  The topic she choose to address and asked me to comment on as a guest was entitled "Mastering the Art of Your Business Success" and as with many things that happen to me in the course of my work life it now serves as an inspiration for a blog post.

There were a number of key ideas we touched on within this omnibus heading and quite frankly I'm sure we were both wishing that we had far more than an hour to converse, explore and share our thoughts - key influences in our lives, challenges overcome and vision for the future.  Each one of these may themselves serve as inspiration for future writing, but for today I'm going to address the question of what wisdom or lessons I believe I have discovered for that might be informative to others as they look to master their business and/or professional success.

Of course, the key proviso here is that I'm entirely reflecting on my past history and experience.  So the points that follow are based on a sample size of one through a particular path of development that is unique to me.  Moreover hindsight is 20/20 so while I can extract what I see as kernels of truth now, after 25+ years of experience, it's not like I had these answers in front of me as I progressed through my career.  More than likely, even if I did have these answers provided to me, I might still have had to learn the hard way!  Human's are a stubborn lot!  So here is my assessment of what I believe has helped me be successful over my health care and now executive coach/consulting career.

First, I have always had and still have this sense of incompletion, of not actually being successful.  Now for others on the outside looking in, holding several high level executive roles in highly complex organizations and then re-establishing myself in a new career in the past several years starts to look like success.  However, I've so far not achieved a level of comfort that I envision might characterize someone who "has arrived".  So I see that as helping me maintain my edge and continuing to drive forward on to the next set of goals and targets.  And there is always the next hill to climb and something new to create.  Rule #1 then is to stay hungry, never become complacent or take current success for granted.

Second, I truly believe that a huge factor in my success has been the desire and willingness to listen and learn from others.  In fact, at one point in my health care career I provided that very answer to one of my subordinates when they asked how I achieved CEO level positions without having a clinical degree or background.  The traditional route to senior level roles in my experience, and my colleague's, was that one either had to be clinically trained and experienced (e.g., doctor, nurse) or advance up through the finance/accounting professions.  I have neither.  But I did listen to others.  I did intently focus on and learn from what others said (or didn't say) or do.  I believe I learned immensely from their successes, challenges and insights.  Rule #2 - have the humility to learn from all around you and you will not only be personally successful but others around will respect your honest interest in them.

Third, understand yourself first and foremost.  Put some real time and energy into developing and articulating your personal leadership mission, vision, values and how you want to show up as a leader every day.  I started down this particular path of a written leadership "map" for myself influenced by Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and by an opportunity to attend a workshop hosted by Jim Kouzes of "The Leadership Challenge" fame.  Both authors provided me with frameworks and ideas that I have continued to put into practice ever since - most importantly of documenting (in writing) my leadership commitments and revisiting those on a regular basis.  Rule #3 - know thyself and be introspective.

Fourth, and something that I have only come to appreciate in the past couple of years, is to dream big.  I have been very fortunate to have come into contact with so many amazing, positive and adventurous people, business owners and leaders particularly since I have started my own entrepreneurial venture.  Primarily through my TEC Canada Chair role and Executive Coach practice, I have had the privilege of meeting several people with BIG dreams.  They have been of inspiration to me and have helped me to re-imagine the possibilities for my own business venture.  Rule #4 - think big and surround yourself with inspiring and action-oriented people!

Fifth, never stop learning.  Since hitting my academic stride in the latter half of my undergrad degree, I have always been enamored by the learning opportunities afforded to me. Those learning opportunities are not just formal educational ventures either.  Rather there is much to be learned in just day-to-day life and living and travels to other parts of the world.  The key for me has been having an insatiable hunger for seeing how others live and lead, how they advance themselves, and being open to the lessons to be gained from the broader world.  Rule #5 - learn continuously and forever.  It's not only necessary in today's highly dynamic environment, it's also a damn lot of fun.

Finally, and a lesson that continues to reinforce itself to me frequently, is to make sure you take care of yourself.  It's definitely not just about your business or your executive position.  Your health, your relationships and how you make your money has to be aligned with the entirety of your life.  Do stop and smell the roses, train for and compete in an Ironman, attend your 4-year old's playschool Christmas pageant on a Friday afternoon, play PlayStation with your 14-year old, and drink a glass of wine in the evening with your spouse.  There is never going to be enough time in your business to get everything done, the work will be there again tomorrow, and the e-mails will continue to pile up.  It's inevitable, infuriating, and daunting.  But unless you live life, make time for yourself and those important to you, truly what is the point.  Enjoy the journey and live without regrets.  Rule #6 - live life with purpose, on purpose.

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

It's About Respect

In this past week, my local paper has laid out a series on the state of our province's hospital system.  Called "Condition Critical", it shed some light not only on the challenges our provincial health care system faces but also helped identify how we got here and how we might extricate ourselves.  If you haven't seen or read all or part of the series you can catch up by pasting the following link to your browser and catching up:  http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/condition-critical/index.html

To many of us in embedded in the healthcare system for any length of time there may in fact be few surprises in the articles.  Moreover, the situation is likely not unique to Alberta or even in Canada.  Other jurisdictions have struggled with similar challenges in healthcare and in other parts of the public sector.  It's easy to build infrastructure, cut the ribbons, gain the short-term political points but far less easy to manage the year-to-year operational challenges and legacy effects down the road.  Even the private sector has dealt with similar issues over the years as they change and consolidate services as demographics, technology and other business factors dictate.

My focus is less on the reality of an overbuilt and unsustainable hospital infrastructure than on one particular aspect of the story relating to how hospital maintenance needs were evaluated and then how they were ranked in receiving maintenance dollars, capital upgrades or slotted for replacement.  The Edmonton Journal states (underline is my emphasis):

"A five-month investigation by the Journal found the province’s infrastructure rating system is convoluted, lacks transparency and is subject to manipulation behind the scenes. Instead of providing objective measures of facility need that can be shared with the public and used to determine funding priorities, the system appears influenced by frequent changes in methodology, inconsistent practices and political whim — most of it applied outside of public view."

I place this assertion in the context of an initiative that was announced the week prior where the government announced it's intent to reform Alberta’s public service to "...address 'shocking' turnover, low morale and a host of other very significant problems."  Giving credit where credit is due, Premier Jim Prentice identified that “[t]here have been employee surveys that show the morale of the civil service is low, and that there has not been a healthy relationship between elected representatives of government and the civil service."  He went on to state "[t]here has clearly been a very high level of turnover and churn, and I actually found the numbers quite shocking."  He added, that inexperience at senior levels was also a concern.

For those who have been in the civil service the factual statements come as little or no surprise.  I don't doubt that to one degree or another this same set of statements could be applied to provincial and federal employees across Canada.  In addition, some of the challenges facing our civil service bedevil our private sector - higher than desired levels of turnover in staff and inexperience at senior levels.  Succession planning, particular as the baby boomer generation starts to exit the workplace, is a concern for every sector.

So what's the solution to this sad state of affairs? I believe it lies in and is recognized by the statement that suggests there has been an unhealthy relationship between elected representatives of government and the civil service that has also established a culture where it is ok for the public and media to dump on civil servants.  More plainly and fundamentally it comes down to respect - or rather a lack thereof - for the effort, skill, ability and expertise of our civil service employees.  Having been a civil servant for only a couple of years and having worked in the public sector for 25 years, I can personally relate to issues of lack of respect - chasing one's tail on suspect initiatives, trying to rationalize political (small p or otherwise) decisions, having one's suggestions or input requested and subsequently dismissed, and being thrown "under the bus" when it suited other political or "leadership " agendas.  These actions hardly smacked of respect and certainly do nothing to support engagement and retention of staff.

Harvard Business Review just recently concluded a study in which it surveyed nearly 20,000 employees around the world.  Their focus was on assessing factors that impacted on employee commitment and engagement.  Their finding - respect from leaders towards their staff was the single biggest factor impacting employee satisfaction and engagement.  Those staff that felt respected by their leader(s) reported 56% better health and well-being, 89% greater satisfaction with their jobs, and 92% greater focus in their roles.  They also reported 55% more engagement with their organizations.  The results for those staff who did not feel respected by their leader(s) were also similarly clear - less engagement, more turnover, less focus, lower productivity, greater absenteeism and disability.  

There's a clear cost to government - and any organization - in not demonstrating respect for those who work for us.  Without the right number of engaged and skilled staff we clearly can't deliver on our organizational mandate.  The cost of turnover and absenteeism should be self-evident.  So if this government, or any government and business, is truly interested in reforming their workforce and the workplace culture it has to start by promoting a culture of respect.  In this particular case, that effort has to start at the top.  Our elected officials need to be leaders in changing a culture where it has been OK to vilify public civil servants, casting them as them as villains in some of the challenges facing the public sector, and throwing them under the bus when it is politically convenient.  The issues described in "Condition Critical", where decisions on hospital maintenance and replacement are made behind closed doors and may in fact discount the input of "bureaucrats", does not currently foster a culture of respect and engagement.

Until such time as government and business leaders are truly prepared to hire, reward and support staff on the basis of their skills, ability and passion for the work to be done they will continue to be plagued with high levels of turnover, low levels of morale, and decreasing capacity to actually meet ever more challenging demands.

It's About Leadership and in this case It's About Respect.

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.