National Post - Financial Post Magazine
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO LEAD AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS?
Financial Post Magazine asked four of this year’s WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 honourees helping to shape the way forward at some of this country’s most innovative, influential and iconic companies to share their top three lessons in leadership. (*responses edited for length)
“If I were to give my younger self advice, I would have told myself how important self-care is Natasha Walji
Natasha Walji, Managing Director, Google Customer Solutions, Google
Lesson 1: Be clear about your purpose
In high school, I struggled with math and was fortunate to find a math professor in my community who helped me become an A student, and he told me computer science and technology was the future. One day, he said to me, “I want you to think about how you are going to use your education and knowledge to serve others.” I was 17 years old. That steered every career and life decision I've made and how I lead. It's not easy being female in tech. Knowing I am here to learn as much as possible, to serve and make a difference grounds me.
Lesson 2: Small steps everyday grounded in excellence can have a massive impact over time
I love James Clear's Atomic Habits. He has a chart that outlines how improving one per cent every day eventually leads to being 38 times better at the end of a year. That's been an awesome lesson because I want to have an impact that scales. Before my current role, I was a software developer, I was in strategy and operations, I was in finance, and then sales. Building excellence into each of those functions has allowed me to be in this role and make a bigger difference.
Lesson 3: Be kind; make sure people feel seen and heard
There is a Dutch proverb that essentially says, if a flower doesn't grow no one asks what's wrong with the flower. They ask what's wrong with the environment. I remember the environments where my managers appreciated my work, saw what I was doing and the impact I was able to have as a result was so much greater than the flipside of that. I always think about that for my team and customers. How do I help them feel seen and heard so they can do their best work and we can make amazing things happen together.
Marjorie Dickman, Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer, Blackberry Ltd.
Lesson 1: There is no substitute for hard work and perseverance
Saying yes to new challenges and opportunities, adopting a pro-learning mindset and working hard are key themes in my career. I started as a lawyer in Washington, D.C. when I was recruited by Intel to lead its U.S. telecom lobbying efforts. I knew nothing about the semiconductor industry. I said yes to the opportunity and then read voraciously to teach myself. As a leader, my team sees me working hard every day. We face challenges together. We don't give up; we strategize to a positive outcome. As a manager and mentor, I give a lot to my employees to help them grow, I encourage them to look for opportunities to contribute outside their day-to-day responsibilities. For me personally, this pro-learning mindset has propelled me to the next level. I want to see their careers grow and that's an investment they need to make in themselves.
Lesson 2: Do the right things right, treat everyone with respect, be humble
I believe it's important for leaders to rolemodel, that it's not about perfection, it's about striving for excellence, doing better. I openly
“Don’t let imposter syndrome get the best of you. Be yourself. Work hard Marjorie Dickman
acknowledge to my team when I make mistakes. I convey that missteps are okay. I want them to tell me early if something is not going right so we can tackle it together. That’s how we all learn.
“We as women have a tendency to want to go above and beyond and that is admirable Grace Lozano
“Sometimes we don’t take risks because we’re afraid of failing Meghan Roach
Lesson 3: Transparency and direct answers build trust
While as leaders we can’t share every detail of our company’s plans, I am as open as possible with my team. I offer context to help them understand where their work fits into the larger picture and why it is important. When I hired my team at Blackberry, we developed our own motto, ECLIPSE, which is shorthand for our team’s values: Excellence, creativity, leadership, integrity, proactivity, speed and effectiveness. This is something they own. It is unique to us and it is cohesive for the team in how we tackle projects, how we collaborate together, in the company and externally. It’s the bar we set for ourselves. We want to eclipse expectations.
Grace Lozano, SVP, Strategic Development, North America, Skipthedishes and Grubhub
Lesson 1: Be an active listener
I’ve had to transition from being an individual contributor where it was my role to provide answers to being able to lead my team and ask them the right questions so they can arrive at and provide the solutions. This involves fostering an environment where every team member is encouraged to contribute. I read a book called The Coaching Habit. It’s about how speaking less and asking the right questions that will change the way you lead.
Lesson 2: Be willing to adapt
In a rapidly changing world like food delivery, being flexible and open to new approaches is essential. The pandemic changed customers’ perceptions of convenience and what they are willing to get delivered to them. We made the decision to expand beyond restaurant delivery into convenience and grocery delivery – a decision that’s helped us thrive. On a personal note, I’ve had to be adaptable as I navigate a growing family and a growing career. Shortly after I came back from my first maternity leave, I was promoted to vice-president and had to be flexible in my approach to navigating both worlds. What was I willing to do? What was I not willing to do? Recently, I was promoted to senior vice-president of strategic development of North America. At that same time, I found out I am pregnant with my second child. I’ve learned to embrace the uncertainty, re-evaluate expectations and thrive in new landscapes.
Lesson 3: Lead by example
I place high importance on being a role model and demonstrating the values and work ethic I expect from my team. In 2021, I led all the decision-making for the launch of our first Skip Express Lane Stores and was stocking shelves at 1 a.m. with my team to make sure the opening ran as smoothly as possible. I believe by putting in extra effort myself, my teams are more willing to do the same and we can meet our goals successfully together.
Meghan Roach, President & CEO, Roots Corporation
Lesson 1: Put the needs of the company and stakeholders first
When you become a leader, you have to put your personal preferences aside and work towards the best interest of your people, customers, investors, the broader community. This can be a challenge. To put the company first, you have to have a certain amount of self-confidence, not in an egotistical way but in terms of understanding your values and not losing yourself in the process. I didn’t come up through a corporate background. I built my career in private equity investing, building and developing businesses. Thinking about the different stakeholders and long -term impact was a common thread. As CEO of a public company that reports quarterly results, I’m still thinking long-term. How are the actions I’m taking today going to benefit the company in the next five to 10 years?
Lesson 2: Work efficiently and effectively
The concept of hard work does not necessarily equal good work. I don’t want my team working until 10 or 11 p.m. I want them to think about where they can add the most value and how they can do the job effectively and efficiently. As a leader, it’s important to implement strategies and tools to allow people to focus on where they can add value. We talk a lot about prioritization, what are the key things you are going to do? How do you simplify this?
Lesson 3. How you do something is equally important to what you do
As a leader you have to understand your weaknesses and strengths, but you also have to understand how you’re showing up. If I’m getting the job done but doing it in a way that is hurting my employees, investors, the community, that’s not good. You can’t just grow the company; you have to grow it in a way that is sustainable.