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.
| Elaine Sibson - Set Clear Goals and Pursue Them Wholeheartedly |
Bluteau DeVenney and Company (BDCO): What did you do to move to a leadership role?Elaine Sibson (ES) I have always set clear goals for myself. When I retired from Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), I thought a lot about what I wanted to do next. I really enjoyed sitting on Boards and because I was interested in the energy sector, one of my goals was to sit on the Nova Scotia Power Board, so I began to think about what I needed to do to get there. I decided to take the Institute of Corporate Directors course and started working my contacts. Networking is very important. You have to let people know that you want to get involved. Early in my career, I started by sitting on smaller local Boards to get experience. When the opportunity came available, I decided I would apply for chair of the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB). Coincidentally, at the same time I was going through interviews for the WCB, I was called to sit on the Nova Scotia Power Board as well. So for me it was about deciding what I wanted to do and planning what steps I needed to take to get me there, of course with help from some important contacts and mentors I made along the way. (BDCO): What is one thing that developing professionals need to do more of?(ES): Find an interest and pursue it wholeheartedly. When I was working with PWC I knew I really wanted to sit on the PWC Board, and I found out that the best way to do that was through contacts and networking. I needed to find the right people and let them know that I was interested. If you sit back and wait for someone to ask you, it's not going to happen. You have to let people know where you want to go. (BDCO): What about doing less of?(ES): I think when you start in a new profession you are excited to try new things. Then you reach a stage where that excitement and optimism starts to wear off. I think it's important to hold on to that energy and drive as long as possible, because that's what gets you ahead and that's the kind of attitude that the person above you wants to see. (BDCO): What experience helped you the most in your career and why?Being elected by my partners to sit on the PWC Board was one of my greatest experiences. That took me out of the Halifax field and allowed me to gain exposure to all of the leaders in the firm. Once I got to know those leaders, I became part of something bigger. When I finished on the Board, the leader of the firm picked me to sit on the management committee, which was committee that ran the firm. The other great experience I had was becoming the chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, which is a national organization the represents all of the lawyers and accountants in Canada that practice tax. That experience enabled me to become known in my profession across the country. (BDCO): What was the greatest challenge moving your career forward?(ES): Women have a tendency to be very self-critical and often have difficulty promoting themselves and asking for greater compensation. One of my greatest challenges was getting income levels to reflect the level of responsibility of a particular role. The other challenge was taking on too much at once. When I retired from PWC and I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, I was a little restless and ended up taking on way too much. (BDCO): What is the greatest strength of your approach to leadership?(ES): Empathy. I have a strong ability to evaluate and understand people. I am not sure that I did when I first started working. I think it developed throughout my career. Before I had a child, I remember being frustrated about people having to leave work at precisely 5:30 to go pick up their children from daycare. Then I had a child and gained a different perspective. With that experience I developed a whole new level of empathy and understanding. (BDCO): What has been the biggest surprise you have had since attaining a senior leadership role?(ES): I think my biggest surprise has been that the Canadian mentality of being very modest and humble even applies to our leaders. Canadian leaders are so strong internationally, yet we have a tendency as Canadians to avoid self-promotion. (BDCO)What is the greatest benefit to you in attaining a senior leadership role?(ES): A sense of accomplishment. I served on the IWK Board for years and I wanted to take on a similar role where I could make big difference. When the WCB offer arose I thought it was a great opportunity to do something good. (BDCO): What is the next achievement you want in your leadership career?(ES): Eventually I would like to only sit on Boards. I enjoy the high level strategy that comes with those positions. I am not really interested in being involved in operations anymore. Operations is very demanding, and I am at a point in my career where I like the flexibility that sitting on Boards provides. (BDCO): What is the biggest challenge you face in achieving results in your work?(ES): Making change happen. You have profit, non-profit, and government-sector boards, and they are all so different. The profit sector is very structured and you have people around the table that all have a common purpose - they are trying to add as much value they can to the benefit of the corporation. On the government-sector boards, everyone comes to the table with different skills, different agendas and different needs. They are supposed to be representing the organization, but in reality they have to represent their own constituencies. While it is important to consider the interests of all stakeholders, it makes it very difficult to make change happen. (BDCO): What is your greatest opportunity/goal for providing value for your organization?(ES): My experience, as well as the ability to ask the hard questions, is my greatest opportunity. The Board has to be willing to challenge in order to provide value. When I first went on the Coopers & Lybrand Board years ago it was more of a reporting Board. However, once we merged with Price Waterhouse we became a real board, and at that point the CEO was faced with a lot of questions that had never been asked before. (BDCO): What added support or capability would help you most in delivering on your goals?(ES): Knowledge of industry, with regard to any board. You are not going to provide much help to a health care board if you know nothing about health care. It has taken me a full year on the WCB to get a good working knowledge of the environment and all of the issues, and I still have so much to learn. Think about where you are now in your career and what you can take from Elaine's observations. We would love to hear your comments about what are your key takeaways from our conversation with Elaine. Tell us your progress – we want you to succeed. ______________________________________________________________
The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is a not-for-profit, member-based association representing Canadian directors and boards across the for-profit, not-for-profit, and government sectors. With more than 4,800 members and a network of nine chapters, the ICD promotes the effectiveness of directors by providing quality director education and professional certification; opportunities for continuous learning and networking through local chapter events; board matching and referral service; and access to timely information on current and emerging governance issues and best practices.
You can find out more about the Atlantic Chapter of the ICD at www.icd.ca/Content/NavigationMenu/Chapters/Atlantic/default.htm
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