Inside The Edge
About
The Executive Chair
The one question you always want to ask a successful person in a senior leadership role is “How did you get there?” In developing your own career, you learn more from hearing what worked – and didn’t work – from senior leaders and hearing their wisdom than from any other source.
We are embarking on a series of interviews with leaders who exemplify success for us. In their words are insights that can give you direction for moving your own career forward.
To read a summary, written by Michael DeVenney, of the past 12 interviews this year - click here.
| Bill Bean - Listen to Your Clients, Your Community, and Your Front Line Staff |
Bluteau DeVenney and Company (BDCO): What did you do to move to a leadership role?Bill Bean (BB) I started at the bottom. My first job title was 'field worker'. My role was to help build an organization. I did this by trial and error, mostly error in the early years, and I had many challenges both professionally and personally throughout that process. I learned early on that if you are placed in a role where you have to lead, regardless whether you have the actual title, you also become a target for people who resist change. I found myself in the trenches of organizational change. I continued to learn by trial and error, which often times I still do. Learning this way helps you become wiser, but it also leaves you a little scarred at times. I don't think that's a bad thing though, because that is when you learn the greatest lessons. (BDCO): What is one thing that developing professionals need to do more of?(BB): They need to listen. We have so much to gain from listening to our clients, people in the community, and front line staff. If I wanted advice right now about a really important issue at the hospital, I would call the assistants of the senior team members. They are the ones that have been here the longest, they know everyone, and they understand the culture. If you don't listen to the front line staff, you'll miss out on a lot of information. (BDCO): What about doing less of?(BB): Sweating the small stuff. In a leadership role, you have to be careful that you don't spend too much time dealing with minutiae. It's always a challenge not to get caught in the weeds. (BDCO): What experience helped you the most in your career and why?(BB): Overall, working with dynamic people has helped me most. In the past I worked in an environment where the leader was a very destructive person. Divide and conquer was how he managed, and it was like being in an organizational war zone. While I was in the situation I thought I wasn't going to make it through, but at the end I could look back and appreciate how much I learned about how not to lead. Of course there is also the other kind of leaders - those who have been visionary, ethical, and compassionate. It is from those leaders that I have learned the most simply by being in their company and watching how they make decisions. (BDCO): What was the greatest challenge moving your career forward?(BB): Sometimes when you're doing the right thing, and you're conducting yourself in an ethical manner, there are still going to be those people that think what you are doing is wrong. They question your motives and your ethics, and the major challenge comes when deciding whether to stop and address every question and defend every ethical decision, or just keep going when you know you are doing the right thing. (BDCO): What is the greatest strength of your approach to leadership?(BB): I feel that any success I have had as a leader is due to the fact that I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with people who are smarter than me. We have a dynamic and creative staff. They are so passionate, and they are great at what they do. Also, we have always had amazing volunteer leadership in our organization. Those volunteers have been an invaluable help to us. If you surround yourself with people that are brilliant, it makes your job of facilitating what they do much easier. I have witnessed some people who have been given a leadership title surround themselves with more of an audience. That has never been my intent, because I don't have all the answers. (BDCO): What has been the biggest surprise you have had since attaining a senior leadership role?(BB): There are times when you feel like there's no one else there to share the things that you really want to talk about. On a very personal level, there are times when you do feel wounded, but you don't want to share your vulnerabilities because you want to provide that leadership and strength that allows people to rely on you. Sometimes that's on odd place to be, so you have to find somewhere that's safe and secure to share those thoughts. (BDCO): What is the greatest benefit to you in attaining a senior leadership role?(BB): From a personal sense, it is the feeling of accomplishment for what I have done in my career. Also, the level of respect my professional colleagues have shown me over the years has been of great benefit to me. (BDCO): What is the next achievement you want in your leadership career?(BB): Health care is changing almost daily, but one of the biggest projects is the massive redevelopment that the whole hospital infrastructure in Halifax will undergo in the next ten to twenty years. Older buildings will be torn down and replaced with new structures that don't look like traditional hospitals. It is a redesign based on how health care should be delivered in the future. Our organization is going to be a big part of the redesign because there is going to be a need for innovative funding models to underwrite the cost of the project. We have to find a way to attract a percentage of the money required to cover costs. I am looking forward to being part of such an important project. (BDCO): What is the biggest challenge you face in achieving results in your work?(BB): There is so much to do and not enough time to do it. There is a tremendous need and opportunity to make a real impact in health care right now. It's going to take dynamic leadership from the community, the government, and other organizations to mobilize and come together to think creatively and engage their people. It's going to take longer than what some of us would like, so if I could do my part to accelerate that change we can begin to improve the quality of life for people in Nova Scotia. (BDCO): What is your greatest opportunity/goal for providing value for your organization?(BB): Nova Scotians can be extremely creative and they are very good at making things happen. Some of the people that we get to work with through the foundation are leaders in their field. Of course, Maritimers by nature are very modest in their achievements. We have to learn that it is ok to take a step forward and show that we can be world leaders. It is my job is to try bring together these visionary leaders and all of the people here who really want to make a difference, in order to capitalize on some amazing opportunities that we have in Nova Scotia. (BDCO): What added support or capability would help you most in delivering on your goals?(BB): The first would be a real partnership with government where there is an investment mentality for the future of health care, one in which we are looking at ideas for leveraging creative financing. We need a partnership where public policy encourages innovation and entrepreneurial thought, in order to help mobilize the next generation in terms of philanthropy and opportunity. My generation is actively involved in advancing social systems, but the young people of today's workforce are so savvy and they have such a strong understand of technology, that my generation is sometimes struggling to catch up with them. We need to engage and embrace their skills, mobilize this younger generation because they are the ones that will be leading health care systems twenty years from now. Think about where you are now in your career and what you can take from Bill's observations. We would love to hear your comments about what are your key takeaways from our conversation with Bill. Tell us your progress – we want you to succeed. ______________________________________________________________
The Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization established to strengthen the QEII’s ability to provide health care of the highest quality across Atlantic Canada. The Foundation raises funds for the institution’s equipment purchases, special projects and research initiatives.
You can find out more about The Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Foundation at www.qe2foundation.com. |
I would say take aways from Bill's comments are; to be open minded, be a good listener and engage those Generation Y's.
I enjoyed his comments and he seems to have a very spirtual way of leading.