TEC Canada recognizes the importance of having a more gender-balanced approach to leadership roles. Forbes.com reported that according to studies,
firms with women on their boards “outperform their rivals with a 42%
higher return on sales, 66% higher return on invested capital and 53%
higher return on equity.” Quite simply, women look at problems
differently and often take a more empathic approach to leadership.
TEC’s peer groups are designed to challenge the status quo and
encourage dynamic, inspiring conversations to process the issues senior
executives face on an ongoing basis. We welcome more women to
contribute to this dialogue and this starts with having exceptional
Chairs to guide that process.
While all of our Chairs have many awards and accolades, we would be
remiss if we didn’t recognize two of our own successful women leaders:
Katherine Crewe from Montreal is one of TEC Canada’s newest Chairs.
She was recognized as one of the Top 100 Businesswomen to Watch by
Entreprendre Magazine.
These women, along with all our Chairs, are committed to the
relentless pursuit of excellence and providing their members with the
tools to achieve success. I invite you to join me in recognizing International Women’s Day on
March 8th. It doesn’t matter if you are a successful entrepreneur, a
corporate executive, a new manager – or someone who is at a crossroads
in her career and wondering “what’s next?” You are part of a sea of
change in leadership style and behavior.
Sheryl Sandberg’s bestseller “Lean In” paints a vivid picture of how far women in leadership still have to go:
• Out of 100 global heads of state, only nine are women,
• In the corporate sector, just 15 to 20 per cent of C-suite jobs are held by women, and
• In the non-profit sector, women hold only 20 percent of the top positions. Helping women to develop their leadership potential has been a
passion of mine and a key professional commitment I made many years ago.
After more than two decades of executive consulting, study at some of
North America’s most recognized leadership institutes, and my role as
CEO of TEC, I have found the successful women leaders I have coached and
worked with over the years generally all share four particular traits.
What follows is a brief look at these four and what some of the world’s
most successful women CEOs have to say about them.
1. Believe in Yourself
Believing in yourself – your vision, your aspirations and dreams – will
drive you forward especially on those days when you can’t see the forest
for the trees. Author J.K. Rowling, fashion icon Coco Chanel, Body Shop
Founder Anita Roddick – these are women with resolute beliefs in
themselves despite their many critics and naysayers. Rowling, who was
named the “Most Influential Woman in Britain” by leading magazine
editors in 2010, achieved publishing success only after several years of
constant rejection. “I was convinced the only thing I wanted to do was
to write novels. So what’s the worst that could happen? Everyone turned
me down; big deal,” she said.
2. Value Perseverance
Building a business, moving forward in your career and leading
organizations all require dogged determination. Whatever obstacles may
be put in your path, it is essential to move forward, modelling for your
employees, colleagues and customers that you will not back down from a
challenge. Cosmetic icon Estée Lauder once said, “I didn’t get there by
wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”
3. Stay Focused
The power to set both short- and long-term goals should never be
underestimated. Goals are the road-map to success and goal-setting takes
place daily, weekly, monthly and annually. Consider what Mary Kay Ash,
Founder of global cosmetic company Mary Kay, once said, “We must have a
theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don’t know where you are
aiming, you don’t have a goal.My goal is to live my life in such a way
that when I die, someone will say ‘she cared.’” Staying focused is about
knowing what you want, then mapping your path with the goals and
measures to achieve it.
4. Be a Smart Risk-Taker
To truly accomplish great things, you must go outside your comfort zone
because that’s where growth happens. As Sandberg says, this is where you
need to “lean in,” raising your hand for opportunities and stepping
into new challenges.
Never underestimate that quiet inner voice and its ability to lead
and guide you forward. Your inner wisdom – something women are generally
closer to – can help you to accurately assess risk. Calculated risks
can lead to payoffs beyond what you thought possible.
Martha Stewart, who through her savvy, grit and determination created
a brand and a business enterprise that has weathered all kinds of
difficulties, maintains “it is within everyone’s grasp to be a CEO.” I
am committed to making TEC the kind of organization where women business
leaders can achieve beyond what they thought possible.
If you are aiming to move your leadership skills and
abilities to a new level contact Richard Peters @ rpeters@tec-canada.com
TEC Canada recognizes the importance of having a more gender-balanced approach to leadership roles. Forbes.com reported that according to studies,
firms with women on their boards “outperform their rivals with a 42%
higher return on sales, 66% higher return on invested capital and 53%
higher return on equity.” Quite simply, women look at problems
differently and often take a more empathic approach to leadership.
TEC’s peer groups are designed to challenge the status quo and
encourage dynamic, inspiring conversations to process the issues senior
executives face on an ongoing basis. We welcome more women to
contribute to this dialogue and this starts with having exceptional
Chairs to guide that process.
While all of our Chairs have many awards and accolades, we would be
remiss if we didn’t recognize two of our own successful women leaders:
Katherine Crewe from Montreal is one of TEC Canada’s newest Chairs.
She was recognized as one of the Top 100 Businesswomen to Watch by
Entreprendre Magazine.
These women, along with all our Chairs, are committed to the
relentless pursuit of excellence and providing their members with the
tools to achieve success. I invite you to join me in recognizing International Women’s Day on
March 8th. It doesn’t matter if you are a successful entrepreneur, a
corporate executive, a new manager – or someone who is at a crossroads
in her career and wondering “what’s next?” You are part of a sea of
change in leadership style and behavior.
Sheryl Sandberg’s bestseller “Lean In” paints a vivid picture of how far women in leadership still have to go:
• Out of 100 global heads of state, only nine are women,
• In the corporate sector, just 15 to 20 per cent of C-suite jobs are held by women, and
• In the non-profit sector, women hold only 20 percent of the top positions.
Helping women to develop their leadership potential has been a
passion of mine and a key professional commitment I made many years ago.
After more than two decades of executive consulting, study at some of
North America’s most recognized leadership institutes, and my role as
CEO of TEC, I have found the successful women leaders I have coached and
worked with over the years generally all share four particular traits.
What follows is a brief look at these four and what some of the world’s
most successful women CEOs have to say about them.
1. Believe in Yourself
Believing in yourself – your vision, your aspirations and dreams – will
drive you forward especially on those days when you can’t see the forest
for the trees. Author J.K. Rowling, fashion icon Coco Chanel, Body Shop
Founder Anita Roddick – these are women with resolute beliefs in
themselves despite their many critics and naysayers. Rowling, who was
named the “Most Influential Woman in Britain” by leading magazine
editors in 2010, achieved publishing success only after several years of
constant rejection. “I was convinced the only thing I wanted to do was
to write novels. So what’s the worst that could happen? Everyone turned
me down; big deal,” she said.
2. Value Perseverance
Building a business, moving forward in your career and leading
organizations all require dogged determination. Whatever obstacles may
be put in your path, it is essential to move forward, modelling for your
employees, colleagues and customers that you will not back down from a
challenge. Cosmetic icon Estée Lauder once said, “I didn’t get there by
wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”
3. Stay Focused
The power to set both short- and long-term goals should never be
underestimated. Goals are the road-map to success and goal-setting takes
place daily, weekly, monthly and annually. Consider what Mary Kay Ash,
Founder of global cosmetic company Mary Kay, once said, “We must have a
theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don’t know where you are
aiming, you don’t have a goal.My goal is to live my life in such a way
that when I die, someone will say ‘she cared.’” Staying focused is about
knowing what you want, then mapping your path with the goals and
measures to achieve it.
4. Be a Smart Risk-Taker
To truly accomplish great things, you must go outside your comfort zone
because that’s where growth happens. As Sandberg says, this is where you
need to “lean in,” raising your hand for opportunities and stepping
into new challenges.
Never underestimate that quiet inner voice and its ability to lead
and guide you forward. Your inner wisdom – something women are generally
closer to – can help you to accurately assess risk. Calculated risks
can lead to payoffs beyond what you thought possible.
Martha Stewart, who through her savvy, grit and determination created
a brand and a business enterprise that has weathered all kinds of
difficulties, maintains “it is within everyone’s grasp to be a CEO.” I
am committed to making TEC the kind of organization where women business
leaders can achieve beyond what they thought possible.
If you are
aiming to move your leadership skills and abilities to a new level
contact Richard Peters at rpeters@tec-canada.com
I believe today’s leaders have a role and a responsibility to provide
an environment that will groom future leaders and enable them to
achieve their maximum potential. The long-term success of any
organization depends on this.
But are we doing enough to help up-and-coming leaders become great leaders?
In
today’s increasingly demanding and ever-changing environment, it’s
becoming more difficult for leaders to spend the necessary time with
their people to help them learn, develop and improve their skills.
However, those who do make the time can have an important and potentially career-defining impact on those they lead every day.
When
I look back on my own career, I’m reminded of those who were committed
to my success and who helped shape my development as a leader. They
built upon my own personal ambition and drive for self-development,
constantly reminding me that learning and development requires an open
mind, conscious attention, regular reflection and action.
The
development of leaders is influenced by many factors, situations and
people along the way. So what can the leaders of today do to have a
positive impact and enhance the learning process? While not always easy,
here are three principles that I’ve applied over the years:
1.Manage performance Many
organizations thoroughly track results against specific and measurable
objectives with great precision. Yet, when it comes to employee
development, things generally become a little less precise and, frankly,
get less attention. They know the results they want their employees to
achieve, however, they aren’t always as adept, or as focused, at
discussing how those results were delivered.
At Aimia, we focus
our performance discussions across both dimensions – what results we
want and how we get them – with equal importance. When it comes to how,
discussions centre on those leadership attributes most critical to
delivering objectives while best positioning the company to deliver
performance that is sustainable. Examples include strategic thinking,
analysis and decision-making, having a customer-centric orientation and
building talent.
Not only does this create clear expectations, it
signals to up-and-coming leaders what is expected when it comes to how
they conduct themselves and where they need to focus their own
development. As a result, individuals see that how they achieve
objectives and deliver results is of critical importance to their career
progression.
2.Lead with action, not just words “Leadership
is a privilege bestowed upon you by people who believe in you.” This is
a quote that I’m always drawn back to when I reflect on my own
leadership.
The reality is that people are going to look to you to
see how you lead. Ultimately, you have to be a role model for the
behaviour that you’re looking for as a leader.
When you walk your
talk, you are authentic and demonstrate that the core values you espouse
are actually words that you live by. When you compromise your core
values and act inconsistently with those attributes you ask others to
develop, your credibility as a leader is undermined as is your ability
to have people believe in and follow you.
3.Encourage innovation, nimbleness and risk-taking Businesses
thrive when they are able to innovate, be nimble and adapt. Luckily,
great leaders don’t wait for others to set a course for the future. They
set an ambitious course for themselves, take risks and learn from
mistakes made along the way.
By fostering a responsible
risk-taking environment in your own organization, you can create a
culture of innovation, as well as let future leaders know it’s okay to
take a chance – that failure isn’t fatal to the business, or to their
careers. As a result, they learn to become more comfortable assessing
risk and taking appropriate action for the good of the business.
Related
to this is the notion of being comfortable with ambiguity. We won’t
always have all the answers that we’re looking for. We need to reinforce
that it’s acceptable to sometimes have answers that are only “roughly
right” to act. In today’s environment, being nimble and able to move
with speed is important and the opportunity is sometimes lost when you
spend too much time trying to get to an answer that is just perfect.
Based
on my experience, fostering these principles can contribute to an
environment that allows the next generation of leaders to grow, flourish
and be discovered.
The onus is on the leaders of today to make this a priority.
Vince Timpano is the president and chief executive officer in Canada of Aimia Inc. (@AimiaInc),
a global leader in loyalty management, with unique capabilities in
delivering proprietary loyalty services, launching and managing
coalition loyalty programs such as Aeroplan, creating value through
loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging digital and
mobile spaces.
