"The leader of the past knew how to tell. The leader of the future will know how to ask." Peter Drucker

How do you get to the corner office?

That is the one question everyone developing their career wants to have the answer to. For me, the quote by Peter Drucker is the most memorable and captures the essence of effective leadership in our age.

Over the past year, we have provided you with key insights from twelve exceptional and well-respected leaders in our region. Each month, we interviewed a leader we truly admired and delved into their experience for perspectives on success as a leader and counsel for those building their careers.

We have had such wonderful response to our monthly columns that we have expanded our coverage. This week, we have started a regular weekly interview email focused solely each time on one of our region's most respected leaders. Jim Bracken, the President of Heritage Gas, was our first leader in the new process. The response over one day has been excellent so we know you are finding great value in reading the insights from Jim's perspective. You can read the interview (and see our library of past leader interviews) below ...

Going forward, another leader interview will be emailed to our readers and highlighted on our website each week as well as a further interview highlighted in our monthly newsletter. So, stay tuned for more keys to success.

Looking back over our first series of twelve leader interviews, what are a few keys points to take away?

• “The Art of Focused Collaboration”, Tim Crooks: Executive Director of Phoenix Youth Programs ... " There needs to be less “heads down” and more “heads up”. They need to be less focused on what is on their desk and more focused on the broad context and see how they can interact and influence – move from a small circle to a broad circle."

• “Know Who You Serve”, Donna Alteen: President of Time and Space Media ... "You have to be innovative in finding solutions and ... really be service-oriented. We all serve someone and you need to know who you serve, what they need, and deliver it. There is too much emphasis on process and fitting people in a system. Know who you serve."

• “The Opportunity of Confidence”, Stephen Lund: President and CEO of Nova Scotia Business Inc... " You have to put yourself in the way of opportunities, work with your relationships and connections, and have confidence."

• “The Perch on the Wall Test – Remember Who You Serve”, Ray Ivany: President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University ... " You can’t demand high performance if you don’t make the investment in them first. If you invest in people first, they will want to contribute and perform at a high level ... When you are in a room alone making decisions, you are the holder of the values and culture – you have to keep the people you are leading in the room with you ... With the door closed, it is your responsibility to them. You need to think the people are “perched on the wall” as a test to your thinking and then you will have the right decisions."

• "The Three Cs - Courage, Commitment, Community", Don Mills: President and CEO-Corporate Research Associates Inc ..." I really encourage developing professionals to expand their experience beyond their work and take a life skills point of view. With community involvement and work you get way more out of it than you put in. You can be really successful in business but still be a failure as a person. I believe we have a responsibility to be a contributor to the community ... Being involved in the community beings balance to your life. The pay you get is very important through the "hands-on" approach of learning by doing. That is what is so wonderful about volunteerism - you learn about life and community at the same time as you build skills that make you more valuable and successful."

• "Be Positive and Exceed Expectations", Marie Mullally: President and CEO, Credit Union Atlantic ..." Find out what is needed, over-deliver, and exceed expectations. And bring a positive attitude while you are doing it. I have always taken a “can-do” attitude – looking forward to the result needed, thinking strategically, and finding solutions to capture the opportunity. We like people with a realistic and positive attitude who say “it can be done” rather than “I can’t do it”. I had to deliver first to earn the right to lead. For me, three things come quickly to mind: first, check your ego at the door; deliver big time with a big smile; and from there respectfully ask for more to do."

• "Relationships Deliver Results", Wayne Crawley, CA: President and CEO, Emera Caribbean Holdings Ltd ..." I am fascinated by getting to know people and understanding what they are interested in and what is important to them. With that knowledge, I can help them find what they need. When you help people, good people never forget. Transactions happen in life, but relationships make a life."

• "Breathe New Air and Change the Perspective: Let People See Your Growth", Chris Power: President and CEO, Capital Health ..." I always felt I needed to stay one step ahead so I could be ready for the next opportunity in front of me. I invested in my education and gained the experiences and accomplishments to prepare myself for what could be next... I focused on out-stripping “my yesterday”... By making myself continue to grow, I was tapped on the shoulder a number of times in my career to take on more responsibility."

• "Earn the Opportunity", Mike Brien: President, Macdonald Chisholm Trask Insurance ... "Put yourself in the client’s chair when you are considering ideas and what to do – think about how they would feel and that will give you the right direction ... Ask for the challenge and earn the right to be given the opportunities.”

• "Aggressive Aspirations – Understand the Results Needed, Learn How to Contribute, and Align Your Efforts to Deliver", Bret Mitchell: President & CEO, Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation ... "I think to really succeed in leadership roles you need both the ambition and the attitude that goes beyond your aptitude. You need to believe you can do it. You have to want something deeply enough that it will lead you along a path to actually do things – even with a bit of aggressive aspirations." 

• “Letting Go to Grow”, Dean Hartman: President, Boris Holdings Inc. and founder of Nubodys Fitness Centres ... "Do a personal vision statement and put it to paper using it to reflect on what you need to do and what decisions are best for you. There are no other people to blame when things don’t go the way you want them to – you need a personal vision that you have right up front and re-visit on a regular basis ... It is not a statement of outcomes but all about actions you will take. It is about “I will …” and the commitments you make to your success. Too many people get focused on the outcomes and it becomes all about ego, titles, and toys. With too much focus on those things, you lose sight of what it takes to get the right results."

• “Look, Listen, and Learn”, Karen Oldfield: President and CEO, Halifax Port Authority ... "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 become motivated by the art of what is possible."

• “Committed to Play”, Robert Orr: Chairman, Ocean Nutrition Canada ... " There are really three things to which I would point developing professionals ... developing the ability to solve problems, having the desire to make a difference, and making your work mean something. Those three things plus good old-fashioned Scottish work ethic gave me the desire and understanding to take on the tough situations, turn around operational challenges, and bring people together to work towards common goals. Like in sports, you have to be committed to play.... If you want something you have to be willing to put in the effort." 

You will find in these words - and the interviews coming - the keys to do the right things for your career.

There are two common threads that I hear from all of our successful leaders. First, build your self-awareness of your strengths - and your challenges - so you have confidence in what works best for you. Most importantly, put technology in its rightful place and invest in the art of relationship building. Email will not create a bond. Talking personally with people will build the network that is the foundation for your success.

We greatly appreciate all of your comments and responses to the interviews and look forward to continuing the conversation.

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