Canadian HR Reporter

STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK'S PANEL of thought leaders brings decades of experience from the senior ranks of Canada's business community. eir commentary puts HR management issues into context and looks at the practical implications of proposals and policies. CANADIAN HR REPORTER www.scnetwork.ca AUGUST 2018 EXECUTIVE SERIES/NEWS 11 is Empowered by: is Empowered by: A Great Leader A Great Leader www.scnetwork.ca Networking, Mentoring, Peer-Peer Feedback Formal Online & Of ine Learning On the job experiences & challenges 20% 10% 70% Join SCNetwork, for a monthly dose of thought leadership and grow your community of peers in a collaborative space. We welcome all HR professionals who support business success through people. Cultivating the Power of Human Capital for 35+ Years! Looking for a way to achieve the 30% you need to become a great leader? PANELLISTS: • Jan G. van der Hoop, president of Fit First Technologies in Toronto • Paul Pittman, founder and president of the Human Well in Toronto • Sandi Channing, senior director of total rewards at Compass Group Canada Jan van der Hoop Paul Pittman Sandi Channing Academia meets workplace reality SCNetwork members discuss Catherine Connelly and Kristyn Scott's presentations Jan van der Hoop: at people share information selectively as a way to manage and control power (to consolidate their own and deprive others of it) is not new or surprising. e annals of human history are replete with examples of information sharing as means of control over others (#fakenews). at cynicism towards a super- visor or an organization shapes perceptions, erodes trust, is hard on a relationship and is therefore bad for business is likewise hardly newsworthy. Academic research confirms what seems intuitively true. What a relief. Once again, the theme that un- derpins the conversation about both sets of research is that the best antidote to bad behaviours and corrosive mindsets is strong, courageous, people-focused lead- ership that promotes trust, open dialogue (especially around sensi- tive or diffi cult issues) and inclu- sion. Huh, didn't see that coming. Why is healthy, hands-on, cou- rageous, engaged (and engaging) leadership so rare? And where are all the role models — surely, they exist today? Paul Pittman: What an appro- priate title for this session: Aca- demia meets reality. e conclusions of both pre- sentations — knowledge hiding by Catherine Connelly and organiza- tional cynicism by Kristyn Scott — assumed a set of circumstanc- es, explored the consequences and then the remedies. What concerned me with both was the short shrift given to why people concealed information and why people were cynical be- fore jumping straight into correct- ing those traits. Secondly and contextually, both of the reactions to dealing with these behaviours need to be appro- priate to the degree that they exist. is is an unfair criticism be- cause with any presentation of this length, there just isn't time to explore all of the research. As HR leaders, I felt there was more to take away from this than the quick fi x. Both behaviours were charac- terized for want of a better de- scription as some type of person- ality dysfunction when they may well be the (misguided) expres- sion of genuine concerns about an organization and its culture. e remedies should then de- pend upon their extent and cali- brated to whether this is an iso- lated outbreak or an epidemic. Where does criticism turn into cynicism, and when does it fall into the defi nition of bad behav- iour? As a supervisor, I seek out the left-fi elder to fi gure out how badly I got it wrong. Healthy cynicism can be a de- sirable quality in at least one per- son in the team. Far worse: e disingenuous taking healthy slugs from the Kool-Aid. Last month, we were encour- aged to focus on including those who are diff erent. What we are fi nding is that, in some way, we are all diff erent and here are a few more diff erences that we need to consider as we go about the hoeing and tilling of leadership. It's another reminder that we are all different, with our own traits, just like everyone else. Deal with it. Sandi Channing: "Academia" gives us an understanding of what is going on in people's minds and how they operate in an organiza- tional setting. "Reality" gives us the challenge of using this knowledge to get the best out of our employees. Knowl- edge and experience — both im- portant to our growth as leaders. Both presentations dealt with relationships within organiza- tions. They highlight that em- ployees have certain values and beliefs that affect relationships and, therefore, productivity and results. As Jan said, "Strong, coura- geous, people-focused leadership that promotes trust, open dia- logue (especially around sensitive or diffi cult issues) and inclusion" is the answer with which I agree, academically speaking. In reality, I wonder if we are looking for perfection in our leaders. With every new buzzword, concept and fl avour of the month, we often shift direction and try to incorporate the new. Instead, what if we recognized and appreciated our leadership strengths? What if we remained cognizant of our areas of oppor- tunity but zeroed in only on the one or two we feel we could most impact and that would have the most impact? What if we stopped trying so hard to be everything to everyone, recognizing that our leadership style will not be for everyone? e reality is leaders can have diff erent styles and strengths and, despite these diff erences, can be equally eff ective. And, sometimes, just like in our personal lives, we connect with some employees and not with others — there's nothing wrong with that. It's not a refl ection of success or failure, just reality. e fact that not all employees thrive under our leadership style should not be a surprise nor should it mean we aren't good leaders. I'm not advocating that we rest on our laurels — we can always improve — just that we be kinder to ourselves. Know what we do well and build on those strengths. Know what is hurting us the most and focus on those. Be cognizant of the strengths a diverse team brings and use those strengths. Learn, grow and develop in our leadership styles but remember academia represents perfection and we represent reality. In reality, we don't expect per- fection from our employees so why do we expect it from us? Pittman: Well said, Sandi. Leaders, know thyself. Leaders are like golf: ere is no perfect, we are who we are. Leadership strength, however, lies perhaps in recognizing your own personality preferences, bi- ases and leanings, being able to identify those types of person- ality you may be drawn to and self-correcting. Maybe successful leadership is the ability to "connect" with team members more times than not, and to connect each of them by identifying the "simpatico" or where the "opposites" might attract. also brought up to speed through group sessions or pamphlet mate- rials, he said. "As much broad education as companies can provide to their employees, the better service they are doing just to make them bet- ter-equipped overall. It will help them at work, but also outside of work." It's important to remember many organizations are already dealing with recreational cannabis users — just not offi cially, said Ben- jamin, adding employers should ensure they have an appropriate alcohol and drug policy in place. "There is a lot of concern around policy: 'Do we have the right policies in place? If we don't, do we have enough time to build new policies? If we build new policies and then fi nd out new things post-Oct. 17, can we revise them again?'" The University of Toronto recently enacted a "Fitness for Work" guideline as part of its commitment to providing a safe workplace, updating a long-stand- ing expectation that employees arrive at work sober, and remain that way throughout the workday. "While the guideline is new, it mostly serves to reaffi rm em- ployee responsibilities surround- ing impairment in the workplace," said Kelly Hannah-Moffat, the university's vice-president of HR and equity. But fitness-for-work policies that include randomized drug testing confl ict with privacy rights in terms of Canadian law, as can- nabis impairment testing requires further evolution, said Benjamin. "In Canada, for the vast majority of organizations, that's just not something that they can't even consider right now." While medicinal marijuana us- age may require accommodation by employers, the approach to- wards recreational marijuana will be specifi c to individual employ- ers, said Casselman. "Zero tolerance would typi- cally apply as it relates to any type of substance abuse in a workplace that could impair judgment or ability to perform." While there's a "lack of under- standing or uncertainty around how to manage this process" for a majority of employers, HR can help by simplifying timelines and actions, she said. "It helps to decrease that feeling of being overwhelmed and unpre- pared, and it really simplifi es the steps," said Casselman. "It helps to eliminate the fear of the unknown… is can be much more straightforward with appro- priate guidance." Educate managers, staff CANNABIS < pg. 3

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