What You Need to Break Into the Next Level of Leadership

- by Guest Blogger Joanne Goveas, Learning Advisor, Rotman Executive Programs

The business landscape changes more quickly than ever now, and we are facing massive changes in the demographics of the workforce as well as disruption.  So what is it that makes some leaders so much more successful than others?

When you think of leaders who are widely recognized for their work, there’s always something that sets them apart – a personal style, a unique approach, and a self-awareness that is difficult to develop. But it can be done! So what do you need to break through to the next level?

A different way of thinking about leadership

Leadership isn’t a one size fits all proposition. Different leadership styles work better for different leaders and different organizational cultures. So when you’re developing your leadership skills, you should think about it from a very personal perspective. What are your particular strengths and weaknesses? Where should you devote more time? How are you assessing what you need to work on as well as the progress you’ve made a few months later? 

You can’t address your personal development in a short period of time and then carry on as normal. True leadership comes from an ongoing process of continual self-assessment and re-alignment.

The right management, leadership, and engagement models and systems for your personal style

There are a lot of historical and new leadership models, and they may have worked for you in the past, but they all have the same flaw: they’re not yours. A model is only a construct – it can’t accurately represent reality. Instead of getting locked in to a single model, combine models, even if they seem to be in opposition to each other. Keep an eye out for new models from which you can borrow bits and pieces. 

The best leadership model is one that you piece together yourself, integrating from other models the parts and pieces that work best for you and your context. Give yourself the time to create and develop a new insight before moving ahead. 

A more conscious and intentional manner of leading

Soft skills are some of the hardest skills to learn. Cognitive intelligence will help you handle the day to day quantitative challenges – financial reports and operational issues, for example – but emotional intelligence will give you the capability to use emotions to facilitate performance. By understanding the causes of emotions in yourself and others, you’ll be able to see underneath what people say or do and address the real issues at hand. 

And part of that is being conscious of how you come off to others, as well. What messages are your words and actions communicating other than the bare facts? How does your attitude or emotional state change your message? Take the time to pause and reflect before answering or offering your own input. You’ll be surprised by the results.

Self-awareness and wellness strategies

Too often people say leadership when they mean management. Management focuses on external forces and how you can best direct and support your staff. Leadership starts with you. How self-aware are you? Are you balanced physically, emotionally, mentally? Are you resilient? 

To keep up with the high demands of senior leadership positions, you need a mindfulness strategy and practice that will ensure your wellness and ability to defeat overwhelm. Integrating mindfulness practices into your daily routine can either be the easiest part of your leadership development or the hardest, but either way it is one of the most important facets.

A coach who knows how to ask the right questions

The benefits of mentorship and coaching are invaluable. Finding the right coach means finding someone who will do more than just offer solutions. The right coach should instead ask you the right questions so you can discover the solutions or next steps that work best for you. 

A coach who immediately offers advice or solutions instead of asking questions might not get to the real issue at hand. Your challenges are personal and specific, and they should be treated that way by both you and your coach.

Intensive programs can deliver skills and present new theories, but for real progress, you need to change the way you think about and engage in the act of leadership. A longer, more thorough program that follows up with your progress and personal journey is key to making real change and accomplishing your leadership goals.  

Rotman’s Executive Leadership program * combines a thorough pre-program assessment, a five-day intensive and multiple touchpoints over an eight-month period to truly develop your personal capabilities. The next offering begins October17, 2016.

[Joanne Goveas, Learning Advisor at Rotman Executive Programs, is an experienced and trusted advisor in executive education. Her mandate is to help executives and professionals find the right executive education plan for themselves and their organization.

IPAC has invited Joanne to post about Executive training, as part of our new blog series on OpenGov = OpenMinds. Look for more posts on professional development workshops, leadership, digital government, and  available training to raise your game to the executive level.]

*If you have problems clicking the link above, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment/Executive-Programs/CoursesWorkshops/Programs/LEAD 

What it means to be a Social Leader in the Public Sector

- by Michele Anderson

During this series on millennials and new professionals we have touched on what it means to be a leader, and specifically have referenced social leadership.

I recently had the privilege of attending the Social Leadership workshop by Nick Frate. (pictured below, right)

This workshop is interesting to me on many levels, both personal and professional. As the Social Media Lead here at IPAC I have thought a lot about the dividing line between my IPAC posts and tweets and my own posts and tweets. In the early days of my duties I had the privilege to work with Andrew Treusch, the then CRA Commissioner of Revenue, who had a surprisingly engaged and involved social media presence and a large following of young and veteran professionals on the leadership circuit. I watched the two types of presence, digital and real, merge in a fabulous interplay of professional practice. It’s no secret that the CRA is not the “sexiest” of Federal departments, but level of engagement I saw from our CRA colleagues and even non-CRA colleagues, grew exponentially while Mr. Treusch was involved in IPAC.


As I listened to Nick talk about how he was a reverse mentor to Andrew Treusch on social media, and as I reflected on what I knew of Mr. Treusch’s influence on Nick’s leadership style, I knew that the two worlds would have so much more influence on each other going forward, and in many more ways than we have seen to date. Already the evidence of their collective influence on engagement has been staggering:

- The largest Federal Twitter chat #LeadersGC was launched by Nick Frate with Andrew Treusch as the first Leader to chat;

- The best Twitter trend IPAC ever had was during the #IPAC2014 annual conference in Edmonton, with Andrew Treusch as IPAC President;

- The largest Federal engagement I have witnessed comes from the CRA, the department for which Mr. Treusch was the Commissioner, and from which have come the last few Federal Youth Network Chairs…with good reason…the most successful informal recognition program was started by Andrew Treusch, with a little less than 10,000 certificates of appreciation sent to colleagues at all levels of the CRA;

- The inaugural Social Leadership Award, created by IPAC and IBM in 2016 to promote and honour social leadership within the public sector - that not only transcends the digital and the workplace spheres, but builds upon them in an amplifying and harmonizing way – was awarded to Andrew Treusch…again as you can see…with good reason!

It is very difficult to maintain a public presence and even more difficult to enhance the engagement and presence of others in a positive way. Myriad negative forces will threaten to derail even the most positive and forward-thinking efforts to improve the professional lives of those we mentor and lead. So why do it at all? Here are some interesting insights I have gleaned from Mr. Frate about why he is so engaged and why leaders should be more engaged:

- A social Leader is someone who, regardless of position, knows how to recognize others.

- As a leader, it is not your job to shine all the time. You need to help others shine too.

- Visibility is the means to your goal to engage others, and the digital social media world has many of the tools that promote visibility.

- Leadership recognition validates others, but also visibility humanizes leaders and others.

What if you are afraid of misspeaking? Nick offers some tools and tips for managing Social media and personal branding.

Tools:

- Talent in the public sector is not always going to be visible through traditional channels, but social media channels offer options that contribute to your professional story, if managed well.

- 3 tools widely used to positive visibility are Twitter for broad networking reach, LinkedIn for professional image and about.me for image control.

- Some more veteran tools are Periscope and Blab, but note these are live broadcasts, so you may want to start with YouTube or pre-recorded platforms before you try these.

Tips:
If you have ever heard Nick speak, you will have heard him quote Jim Joseph's tips for social media:
1- Image is everything.
2- Before you post, think twice. It could be re-broadcasted. Senior leadership are being followed by journalists, so keep that in mind when posting or broadcasting.
3- Integrity: takes years to build a career and minutes to destroy it.
4- Consistency. Research them all and see where your comfort level rests.

Some people even use social media to communicate internally. You would be surprised how useful these can be on-site at an event, or while traveling.

Tips on Networking:

If you want to make more out of your career than to simply clock in and clock out, Nick suggests that you need to network in order to find success. You would be amazed how much networking happens by simply exchanging ideas with colleagues on topics of interest!
If you want to go the step further, find a mentor! A mentor helps you to clarify your ideas about career, and usually work best when it is not someone you report to directly. Have many mentors if you can, for multiple perspectives. Especially through “horizontal” networking groups, like IPAC, which are not sector-specific, says Nick, but help you to connect with professionals across sectors, divisions and countries. Very important! International communication is also made possible via social media. If it's all about the people you know, you need to widen the circle of people you know.

Last, Nick drives home his message about credibility and reputation:
This makes you marketable. It's your current position that is your reputation, so build it well.
One of the more interesting answers Nick gave to a question from our Q&A: How much time do you spend on social media, work time? Nick’s answer was that his own staff members are encouraged to use it and it develops their leadership skills.

Point: Innovative thinking is born of wider exposure, so increase your exposure!

Join Nick and the other engagement champions on Twitter at #LeadersGC as they engage in a series of chats with federal Leaders, which usually take place on a Thursday, and treats a specific topic. The last one was on managing virtual teams with Janet King, President of CanNor on Aug 18th, at 8pm ET.

Nick started his professional career in the financial sector, where he spent five years in management. He equally gained leadership experience in the non-profit sector by leading a community organization in Montréal for five years focused on diversity, earning him the “Prix hommage bénévolat Québec 2010”.

His career in the public service began in 2007 with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). In 2010, Nick joined the Québec Federal Council. In 2013, he returned to the CRA and is currently the Director of the Official Languages, Employment Equity and Diversity Division, Employment Programs Directorate, Human Resources Branch. Nick also sat as a Reverse Mentor on the Deputy Ministers' Committee on Policy Innovation (DMCPI) for two years.

Nick holds a Bachelor's degree from McGill University in Political Science and a Master's degree in Public Administration from Université du Québec in Montréal. He is the proud recipient of the 2014 Public Service Award of Excellence and the 2016 Meritorious Service Medal. He is also the host of the #LeadersGC Twitter Chat Series. Fun fact: Nick speaks four languages: English, French, Italian and Spanish.