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 EXECUTIVE SERIES 13 www.scnetwork.ca SEPTEMBER 2018 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 Why do leaders forget they are human? ree SCNetwork members discuss Vince Brewerton's presentation Jan van der Hoop: Vince Brewerton's comments about the "PAID reality" (fi ndings that leaders are "pressured, always on, information overloaded, and distracted") certainly rings true. Moreover, I believe it is an accurate description of most of us — distracted, detached, disturbed and rarely "fully conscious and present." And I agree with his conten- tion that any interruption in this cycle — at work, at least — needs to be leader-led. It is up to lead- ers to model the kinds of behav- iours and "ways of being" that will lead to deeper and more fulfi lling relationships, more meaningful communication, and strengthen- ing the fabric of organizational culture. But to claim "mindfulness, self- lessness and compassion" as the pre-eminent leadership compe- tencies for the 21st century is — I think — a little pretentious. In my experience, they have always been and always will be the hallmarks of engaging leaders. There's nothing attractive or inspiring in a manager who is dis- tracted, self-absorbed or frenetic. And I believe the challenge Brewerton described is an eternal one that has existed through the ages, because it is an essentially human challenge and an immu- table truth — self-awareness must by necessity precede the ability to lead ourselves, which precedes our ability to understand others, which precedes our ability to ef- fectively lead others. And there, unfortunately, sits the inconvenient core of it: Most of us, frankly, aren't all that self- aware. To go there requires time, patience, curiosity and the willing- ness to be really uncomfortable. Which is why most leader- ship development programs in organizations and universities don't go there. Who wants to be uncomfortable? So we keep promoting people and papering over the cracks, and then wonder why things get worse. Paul Pittman: e trouble with people is we are all diff erent. e trouble with science is it thinks we're not. When I hear "Our conclusions are based on science," I immedi- ately think of HR folks having to deal with gut reactions. I wonder if we should be teaching this stuff to the led, as well as the leaders. Brewerton proposed that we need to teach ourselves to be "tru- ly human." is should have read "How to be truly human which in its many forms often comes broken and busted, tainted with selfi shness, paranoia and doubt." Being nice to people doesn't al- ways cure these failings but "truly human" does set the standard of how you expect to be treated in return and how folks should be- have toward each other. It's not authentic but, hey, that's what be- ing human often is. at's harsh I know, but I worry that it's an overly simplistic and a premature reaction to the emerg- ing workplace. "Read these instructions and instantly become a leader." After 30 years, I'm still a novice but ap- parently it is too complicated now for any single person to lead and we need to share that role. I don't buy that — it has always been tough. Negotiators know to put them- selves in the other person's shoes to achieve mutually agreeable outcomes. is is not new but, nonetheless, well-worth revisiting when planning client or employee meetings. Ego, too, must be removed from leadership — I'm not sure about that either. Strong egos are indistinguishable from high levels of confi dence. Confi dence gets things done but I agree doing so humbly and collaboratively is the best way. Our grandparents would often say, "We did it for the company." Is that a response based on loy- alty? What is the consideration for young people to do that today? Mindfulness is a wonderful technique with numerous ben- efits such as less stress, better general health and the avoidance of not shooting from the hip. So, Jan, we can unpack Brew- erton's premise and poke holes in the components all day long but, taken together, it might be just the treatment for the mod- ern, generationally stretched, anxious, stressed and politically constrained manager. Sandi Channing: Leader- ship with a wellness focus — so refreshing. A presentation acknowledging the pressures leaders face and tell- ing us that the fi rst step to good leadership is self-care. Get ourselves in the right frame of mind and only then can we be eff ective leaders — a Maslow's hierarchy of needs for leadership. Brewerton outlined the three critical leadership competencies for the 21st century — mindful- ness, selfl essness and compassion. Of the three, mindfulness is the one he spent the most time on. Basically, before we can be great leaders, we need to be focused, present and aware of how we're feeling. at's no small task given the demands, competing priori- ties, distractions and workload leaders face. Brewerton spoke of the PAID reality, which leads to an atten- tion defi cit trait where you can't pay attention to what you should — 47 per cent of our minds wan- der involuntarily, which reduces our eff ectiveness. So far — like everyone else in the audience — I can relate. Brewerton understands that the PAID reality is here to stay, and he focuses on how to man- age ourselves in this environment with a wellness approach. The ABCD exercise trains us to clear our minds of the clutter so we may be more mindful, leading to better decisions, work-life balance, and job satisfaction. Having completed a couple of mindful exercises over the past few days, I'm a believer. While it takes time to retrain the brain, at this point, I like the way it centres me and clears my mind — an oasis among the demands. Brewerton then moves on to selfl essness, which speaks to not letting our egotistic impulses rule and to see the bigger picture. Paul, I agree that having a strong sense of confidence can be indistin- guishable from a strong ego. e danger is when a leader has a low sense of confi dence and her constant need for validation guides her decisions and relation- ships. Her ego becomes the guid- ing principle for her decisions and actions. ose of us who have worked for such a person know how det- rimental that is to engagement, morale and outcomes. Confi dent leaders are more prone to being selfl ess, thereby giving accolades to their teams and building the confi dence of those around them. e last competency is compas- sion which, when combined with wisdom, is the sweet spot. This competency focuses on being kind and caring for employ- ees, but in a way that makes good business sense. ere's nothing new with this one but given the labour crunch, it will be critical. All in all, it was an interesting presentation with a leadership approach that will help in these dynamic, turbulent, challenging and exciting times — now and in the future. Van der Hoop: Yep, I agree. At the end of the day, it doesn't mat- ter whether these expressions of leadership are cutting-edge, new discoveries, or eternal truths dressed up for the next generation to learn again for the fi rst time. ey do encapsulate in many respects the essence of an evolved, healthy, engaging human — and they are traits and practices we would all do well to build into our daily choices. I truly believe the world would be better for it. attention, recognize distraction and bring focus back to the sub- ject at hand, he said. Additionally, leaders should re- frain from multitasking and peri- odically take one- to two-minute breaks to refresh their mental en- ergy. It's about moving your atten- tion from your thoughts back to the body, said Brewerton. " at has a real impact on us. We spend most of our time in conceptual-thinking mode," he said. "It can be really refreshing to our mind, and in fact physically to our brain, by spending more time than we usually do in perceptual mode." Steady mindfulness training will eventually shift neurological pathways, redirecting the mind's attention during spans of wander- ing thought, said Brewerton. Such mindfulness will eventu- ally prove to enhance work-life balance, job performance and creativity at work, he said. e ability to be truly present is highly valued among leaders, as it increases wellness, cognitive functions and life quality, said Brewerton. "Really, we're rewiring the brain," he said. "Mindfulness re- ally is the groundwork here." Refrain from multitasking MINDFUL < pg. 12

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