Rethinking leadership BY DONNA HOWES, CHRP Previously published in the Winter 2010 issue of PeopleTalk, the B.C. Human Resources Management Association’s quarterly magazine.
“Overall, HR functions in the province of B.C. are focused on increasing their leadership capability and ensuring their staff groups perform. After a year of change in 2009, the majority of organizations are focused on getting the best contribution from the leaders and employees they have.” B.C. Human Resources Management Association – HR Trends in B.C. Survey Report (2010).
Today, success is all about everyone being on the same page – pulling together – and being in tight alignment with the organization’s business objectives. Scan the management literature and you’ll find that creativity and innovation, both byproducts of fully engaged employees, are accepted as sources of business value. Buy a few more books and you’ll see that leadership itself has been redefined as: emo-
Surrey r Victoria r Kelowna r Edmonton r Lethbridge r Red Deer r Calgary r Regina r Saskatoon r Winnipeg
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tional intelligence, presence, authentic, fierce, from the inside-out, strength-based and primal. No wonder there’s been a significant rethink in how we measure the effectiveness of our leaders. To be successful today, leaders must have courage, common sense, commitment; and most of all, communicate ‘beyond the babble’. Not only do they have to deliver bottom line results, they now also have to do it with passion! A look inside some of B.C.’s foremost organizations illustrates that leadership doesn’t just happen; it’s nurtured and grown. City of Abbotsford: LEAD & LEAP Leadership development is the cornerstone of the City of Abbotsford’s people and organizational development strategy to engage, inspire and support an effective, service-oriented workforce. “We are committed to increasing our leadership capacity and a new way of thinking through LEAD – Leading with Excellence Abbotsford Development,” says Monica Affleck, people and organizational development advisor. LEAD, a 14-month leadership development program with five modules of 11 instructional days followed by a final assessment report and presentation, covers foundational knowledge and skills that help people to be their best, regardless of their role in the organization. Affleck believes that when you create a space for people to learn at work, learning can take place every day. Moreover, people will apply what they’ve learned to make a tangible difference and “lead from wherever they stand” in the organization. “The feedback so far has been fantastic,” Affleck says. “Through the cohort model of learning together, participants are developing relationships with others across the
