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.
| Karen Oldfield - Look, Listen, and Learn |
Michael (MD): What did you do to move to a leadership role?Karen Oldfield (KO) When I look back, it is interesting that despite starting in the practice of law which seems to be work in an independent environment, it was always about interacting with people. You have to work on teams and with others to achieve results. This approach prepared me for my role in leadership. In law, people have questions and are looking for advice so you need to relate to their needs. In moving to my position in the Premier’s Office, although I then worked with a staff, I was continuing to provide advice and counsel to others. I would be asked for my thoughts from Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and other top civil servants and I needed to see the context while focusing on key issues. This was a significant role for me and prepared me for my next step in leading an organization. In the three main transitions of my career – from lawyer to the Premier’s Office to the CEO’s chair – the common thread has been to provide strategic thinking that can impact outcomes. (MD): What is one thing that developing professionals need to do more of?(KO): First and foremost, I encourage young professionals developing their careers to set clear personal and professional goals. Although different things will be important at different stages of your career, a key learning is that you can’t just wait for things to come to you. When you have clarity on your direction, you can then network and invest in your work with forethought. With that focus, you can look around you, listen to what is important, learn from your observations, and then apply that knowledge to your work. Then, you just do it again – look, listen, learn, and then parlay the knowledge. You can’t sit back – just as your employer is trying to understand the demographics of the situation, it is incumbent on the young professional to do the same – understand what makes your boss tick and what it vital to know about the situation.As well, spending more time networking is a constant need throughout your career as you build a coalition of support for what you want to achieve. Lastly, I encourage developing professionals to travel and experience more of the world. Travel as much as you can and experience other languages and lifestyles. I really like the idea of a “gap year” as an opportunity to look at and understand the nature of work in the global economy. As a parent as well, I think it is a responsibility to support your children to become global citizens to the greatest extent you can. I see it as very important for young professionals to experience other parts of the world to broaden their thinking. (MD): What about doing less of?(KO): This is a hard one: it is not letting technology replace the personal interaction. We are all guilty of using our Blackberries when we are with people (even during conversations) but it is an awful breach of etiquette and we have to make a commitment to use them consciously. Technology does not replace the personal approach to relationship building. You can never underestimate the power of a personal conversation. (MD): What experience helped you the most in your career and why?(KO): Looking at my career with a broad brush it is hard to isolate one thing that most helped me - but there have been clear themes. Observing Cabinet decision-making was a very meaningful experience for me. Public policy decisions have very broad scope and impact. Based on watching this form of decision-making unfold helped me come to grips with broadening my mind to be more strategic in my thinking. I realized over and over again that the more you think you know the less you know. You need to have the right information – and think beyond what is simply given to you – to make the right decisions for the impact you want. And from there, you need to think about how that decision will be communicated and received. (MD): What was the greatest challenge moving your career forward?(KO): Myself! You need to invest in developing the self-awareness you need to hear what you need to hear. As you build a better understanding of yourself, you know how to make the right shifts that will be good for you rather than potentially paralyzing your progress. I needed to clearly understand my value system so I could focus on what is most important and how to play to my strengths. For action-oriented people, the first ten years of your career can be challenging. You know things but you don’t have the experience. I often thought, “If I could just take a pill and be instantly experienced it would be great!”, but there is absolutely no substitute for living through the experiences personally. I was often impatient but time and experience were invaluable for me to be ready for my next steps. (MD): What is the greatest strength of your approach to leadership?(KO): I don’t really have one approach to leadership. The key for me is values. You lead from example and having – and living by – your core values keeps you grounded. For me, my values help me be fair, be always curious and a life-long learner, want for people to succeed, look far and wide for the answers I needed, and, most of all employ the Golden Rule. (MD): What has been the biggest surprise you have had since attaining a senior leadership role?(KO): The real surprise for me has how long it actually takes to get things done. Even when the stars are lined up! You don’t always control all the moving pieces and you need to work with others to make things happen – and that can take time and a tremendous amount of effort to get the task done. Sometimes, it can even take years! There is not a lot of immediate gratification because for leaders it can take a long to move the really big rocks. If you want to move the needle, you have to invest the time. (MD)What is the greatest benefit to you in attaining a senior leadership role?(KO): That you can try things. You have autonomy to actually move the needle and make things happen. You can have a positive impact which is an incredible benefit. (MD): What is the next achievement you want in your leadership career?(KO): For me, I am still learning, still growing, and still developing. In the business, I want our organization to emerge from the global recession a smarter, more focused, and more disciplined group ready to move forward quickly. Think about where you are now in your career and what you can take from Karen's observations. We would love to hear your comments about what are your key takeaways from our conversation with Karen Tell us your progress – we want you to succeed. ______________________________________________________________
Karen’s success as a leader has been built on her very professional approach and her commitment to making a difference in results. You can find out more about the Halifax Port Authority at www.portofhalifax.ca. |
