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 February 22, 2016 EXECUTIVE SERIES 13 www.scnetwork.ca Join our professional community of Canadian HR & Organizational Leaders: • Connecting @ monthly events • Collaborating with peers • Challenging conventional thinking The Power of Human Capital CULTIVATING LEADERSHIP FOR 35 YEARS Great Leaders GROW www.scnetwork.ca Leadership about sticking to the basics If I had to sum up the leadership lesson Joey St-Aubin spelled out at a recent event, it would be "stick to the basics." St-Aubin started his career with Canlan Ice Sports Canada in the role of facility general manager in 1997 and held various senior management positions until 2009 when he was appointed president and CEO. He accredits his com- pany's success in the recreation and entertainment industry to the unique combination of innovative programming and world-class fa- cilities. However, once you hear his leadership learnings, it's ap- parent there is far more behind that combination. A shared vision What started out as a personal vi- sion for the organization in 2009 turned out to be a shared vision: "A high-performance industry leader passionately committed to providing exceptional customer experiences, every time." To en- sure the vision did not "become wallpaper," there are clearly de- fined values and guiding prac- tices designed to specifically support and enable the collective achievement of the organization's strategy. Every word in the vision state- ment is clearly articulated, along with a carefully crafted mission statement, where both are con- stantly used in every business practice, serve as the core deliv- erables for the key performance indicators (KPIs) and cascade down into everyone's daily ac- tivities. e actual words in the vision act as a guiding light for everyone, regardless of their role, title or whether they are full-time or part-time. By imbedding the words into every process and practice throughout the organization, people have a real sense of what is important. Well-defined cultural statement To help clarify and accelerate the achievement of the shared vision and mission, the executive team also introduced a cultural state- ment: "We are a high-energy, ac- tion-oriented culture, focused on exceptional service with a strong foundation in teamwork, pride, respect and accountability, while consistently striving for excellence." e vision, mission and cultural statements were a great start. To achieve notable results, however, St-Aubin recognized you need to tap people's commitment, ideas and opinions. Like any organi- zation, the challenge lies in how to instill and maintain that con- sciousness within employees, not just the leadership team. Open, honest communication Building an effective and success- ful organization requires a culture where people are open to new ideas, able to communicate effec- tively with each other, understand their organization and work to- gether to achieve the vision, mis- sion and business strategy. Canlan's process to building greater understanding, shared meaning and helping people to grow began in 2010 with regu- lar town hall meetings and a cultural survey every two years. e subsequent open and honest feedback given to the leadership team became a valued contribu- tion, resulting in a review of the messaging at town hall events and cultural survey roundtables. With people expressing inter- est in hearing more about other people — not just last month's corporate financials — town hall sessions now include personal interest stories. As for the cul- tural roundtables, every general manager is required to facilitate the sessions at each of their facili- ties and share the cultural survey results. Open-ended comments from the surveys are then worked on by different sub-groups, with an explicit mandate to focus on the problem areas and to action relevant changes. Canlan's first survey results in 2010 classified all eight designated cultural capabilities as either pri- mary or secondary opportuni- ties, with no strengths. In 2014 and three surveys later, four cul- tural capabilities were classified as strengths, two as secondary opportunities and two as primary opportunities. By taking the time to hear what people were saying — without pre-judging, assuming or making decisions — and taking actions based on partial or biased infor- mation, the Canlan leadership team is creating an accountable and action-oriented culture. It all takes time and patience. e more openness and safety people feel for saying whatever needs to be said can only enhance the orga- nization's ability to learn and grow faster than the competition. Lifelong learning lessons Canlan's leadership team is a great example of the constructive difference that can happen when leaders are willing to learn from their errors. Under St-Aubin's leadership, his team continues to uphold a deep commitment to learning how to create a space where people can work hard, have fun, strive for excellence and help live the vision to ensure achieve- ment of the strategic goals. St-Aubin's story of diligence and persistence illustrates how by "sticking to the basics," you can creatively influence a leadership team to develop organizational structure and processes that help build a vital and focused organiza- tion for the long term. Trish Maguire is a commentator for SCNetwork on leadership in action and founding principal of Synergyx Solutions in Nobleton, Ont., focused on high-potential leadership develop- ment coaching. She has held senior leadership roles in HR and OD in education, manufacturing and entre- preneurial firms. She can be reached at synergyx@sympatico.ca. Trish Maguire Leadership In Action CEOs: Where there's a will, there's a better way When I consider organizational effective- ness and the CEO, I say it is a CEO's over- arching accountability, then consider if the individual has the skill, will and men- tal horsepower to handle the role. Based on his presentation at SCN, Joey St-Aubin, president and CEO of Canlan Ice Sports, has, in spades, the requisite skills, knowledge, experience and cogni- tive capability. What I found most intriguing, though, was the demonstration of his "will." It was a reminder that a truly great CEO — a transforma- tive CEO — must be as inclined to articulate his will as much as articulate profit and loss. Without being permeated with a CEO's will, an organization lacks a vitality that drives sustainable effectiveness. To what degree, then, has St- Aubin imposed his will at Canlan? "Will" is motivation and com- mitment that emerge from atti- tude and values. To what degree is the incumbent motivated by, and committed to, the work of the role? Does the incumbent exhibit the most effective attitude for the role and to what degree are the incumbent's values aligned with the work? What personal values did St- Aubin demonstrate that align with being the CEO of Canlan? For starters, he loves hockey. He grew up in hockey, almost went pro, and his eyes light up at the thought of new ice. Match that with a life of leading and coach- ing, and it's clear he values direct- ing and growing teams of people to achieve goals — literally. I particularly noted the sport- experience-CEO attitudes St- Aubin demonstrated. A team orientation is ingrained in him: He knows in his bones that team success is only possible when the team is aligned and united. He crafted the vision statement on his own. How many CEOs do that? He has used his will to en- sure every employee has a coher- ent touchstone on which to align all work. St-Aubin's defining attitude is a fundamental, energetic opti- mism: Every challenge is an op- portunity. He has demonstrated a willingness to challenge himself and the status quo, to explore op- tions and jump into ingenious re- invention. He said himself he was the autocrat when he joined an ailing Canlan, became the demo- crat during growth, and is now the great transformer, remodelling the business to stay relevant. And, how does his will show up in motivation and commitment? I would say it is his innate entrepre- neurialism and competitiveness. Based on his life in sport, I'm sure St-Aubin would be the first to ask, "If winning doesn't matter, why do they keep score?" He is a self-confessed serial entrepreneur, choosing, for ex- ample, to layer on top of his aca- demic and hockey careers oppor- tunities to "make lots of money." He combines a conviction to work in the business as well as on the business. In short, if St-Aubin hadn't grown into the opportunity to be CEO of a sports experience com- pany, he would have willed the job into being. His personal, optimis- tic, team-leadership orientation, combined with his sporting values and a streak of entrepreneurial- ism, are inseparable from organi- zational effectiveness at Canlan. Michael Clark is director of business development at Forrest & Company. Forrest is an organizational trans- formation firm, with over 25 years experience in developing the organi- zational and leadership capacity in organizations. Michael Clark Organizational Effectiveness A constructive difference can happen when leaders learn from their errors.

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