National Post (National Edition)
CEOS REFLECT ON A TUMULTUOUS TIME
This year's Canada's Most Admired CEO Award honourees are “culturepreneurs,” says Marty Parker, president and CEO of Waterstone Human Capital and chair of the Canada's Most Admired CEO program, an awards program that turns the spotlight on the leaders behind high-impact cultures.
“They have put culture at the centre of their organization's operating systems. What that really means is they've put their people first,” he says. “Leadership is now about unlocking the power of people, not driving results through people. Each of this year's five honourees is focused on the development of their people. They understand when you help your people be the best they can be, they do their best work. This year in particular, the pandemic has shown the power of people-first leaders.”
Here are Canada's Most Admired CEOs of 2020.
Michael Medline, president and CEO, Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc.: Transformational leadership category winner
What is the leader’s role in building and transforming culture?
I don't think you can change the culture of a company. I think it's innate. But you can polish and burnish it and aim it in the right direction. When I came into the company in January 2017, I knew what a great culture Sobeys had but we were not where we wanted to be in terms of performance. My role is to aim our culture and values in the right way. Some of that is strategy and being clear on what you want people to do. We invested in developing and aiding the next generation of leaders and giving them chances to excel. We focused on equity, diversity and inclusion, so there was fairness in terms of opportunity. I regularly hold a breakfast series with high-potential directors from across the company so they can hear from me directly and more importantly so I can hear from them. We recently brought in two great leaders — Wes Hall, executive chairman and founder of Kingsdale Advisors, and founder of the BlackNorth Initiative and Lisa Lisson, president of FedEx Canada — to talk to VPs about mentorship. This company is only four years into what could be a decades-long run of success if we do it the right way. A lot of that is investing in our people and their development.
What role has culture played in leading through the pandemic?
The pandemic was a crucible for companies to see whether they acted on their values or not. We had three priorities: keep the shelves stocked; keep customers and teammates safe; support the charitable institutions that needed help. We were the first retailer in North America to get plexiglas up in stores to protect teammates and customers. It was a store in Edmonton that came up with seniors hours during the pandemic. Our people worked tirelessly to make sure we had PPE.
What did you learn about yourself during the pandemic?
How much I rely on my family, my executive colleagues, our board, chairman and the Sobey family, our supplier partners and my 127,000 teammates. It takes the entire team to deliver results.
Dani Reiss, president and CEO, Canada Goose: Enterprise category winner
What does high-performance look like at Canada Goose?
To be able to take our strategic plan and grow at the rate we have would not be possible without impeccable execution. That's the company we are. We move fast, and we get stuff done. We are authentic, passionate, high-performance entrepreneurs. That is the Canada Goose culture. The things we believe in are bigger than us. We are focused on doing the right thing. That's why we keep our production in Canada and are rebuilding the unique apparel manufacturing infrastructure here. In the last 20 years we've grown from a small, relatively unknown company to a proudly Canadian global lifestyle luxury brand. When I started, we were just under a $3 million company. We've grown to nearly $1 billion.
What is the leader’s role in building and transforming culture?
Canada Goose has taken a leadership position in made-in-Canada manufacturing, and making luxury apparel mainstream. We became a leader by swimming upstream and doing things differently. The role of the leader is to set the tone, to be an enabler, and remove roadblocks. One of my early mentors said to me: `Your job is to give everybody the tools they need to do their job.' That meant a lot to me and put things into the perspective I needed.
What role has culture played in leading through the pandemic?
It was pivotal. I think our culture got stronger throughout the pandemic. That helped drive really strong results. (Third-quarter results saw revenue increase by 13.2 per cent to $452.1 million.) When the pandemic took hold, we manufactured more than two million units of PPE for Canadian frontline workers. All of that was done as a donation or at cost. It was something we had to do for Canada. That's our culture.
How have you managed through the pandemic?
I turned to nature and walked a lot. I found nature to be a great escape from being on video and phone calls all the time.
Margaret McNeil, CEO (retired)*, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice: Broader Public Sector category winner
What does high-performance look like at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice?
For us, high performance is providing exceptional care to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Our culture is family-centred and strongly aligned with our values: team, compassion and connection, embracing life, accountability, and quality and safety. Every staff member, whether they're a housekeeper, fundraiser, nurse or physician, has to be able to see their role in the journey for each family. Culture doesn't only apply to what we do for families, it applies to what we do for staff and volunteers, too.
How do you promote culture?
By being intentional about culture and through communication. When we added a second hospice, we created a culture committee because we wanted to be deliberate about making sure the values we had built through our existing services were consistent and everyone was aligned. During the pandemic, I increased the frequency of my monthly updates to weekly updates and we had town hall meetings. We have a care for the caregiver committee to make sure we are looking after staff and volunteers. This is extraordinarily meaningful work, and recognition is a big part of the culture. Last year, Canuck Place had its 25th anniversary and many of our staff and volunteers have been with us since the doors first opened. We continued on with our plans to honour our staff, the volunteers and our donors with virtual events.
What role does purpose play in your culture?
Purpose and culture go hand in hand. They are integral to each other and can't be separated. With the nature of our work, the corporate culture needs to align around purpose in order for Canuck Place to be successful.
How have you managed through the pandemic?
Last summer, I kept my wetsuit in my office and at the end of the day, I headed down to the beach, met up with friends and went for a swim.
Jack Newton, co-founder and CEO, Clio: Mid-market category winner
What does high-performance look like at Clio?
You are having a positive impact on your peers, the company and you're helping us achieve our mission of transforming the practice of law for good. Research has shown that psychological safety is a primary tenet of high performing teams, and that's all about creating an inclusive, diverse, belonging environment where people can show up as their authentic selves. We believe we can drive exceptional and high performance from our team if they are enabled with the right support. We invest in coaching programs, leadership bootcamps, a dedicated in house performance coach and other resources.
See Culture on p2