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Marie Mullally:
President
and CEO of Nova Scotia
Gaming Corporation
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Insights from Marie…
Michael (MD): What did you do to move to a leadership role?
Marie Mullally (MM):The right attitude! Find out what is needed, over-deliver, and exceed expectations. And bring a positive attitude while you are doing it. I have always tried to take 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, look for the opportunity to add more value.
(MD): What is one thing that developing professionals need to do more of?
(MM): I think the group of young employees coming into the work environment now is the brightest and most capable. They have the education and opportunity to develop their skills with the intellectual capability to succeed any way they want to. Their first step is to fit with the culture to achieve success. It is vital to understand the culture as it will define how you can succeed. Second, these professionals need to understand what success looks like for the organization. Finally, with a firm foundation of knowing your strengths and rounding off the edges, they can succeed more than any past generation.
Also, these professionals need to do something that exceeds expectations and makes people say "Wow!" but with the right attitude. Not arrogance. Don't ask for anything right away - focus on the other person, make them look good, and you will reap the benefit as opposed to focusing solely on yourself. So, shift focus - an important shift - and fight the natural inclination to focus on you.
(MD): What about doing less of?
(MM):I feel there is a great sense of entitlement out there. So, stop the whining. You can expect big things only when you do big things. You have to accomplish something first before you get something. An attitude can really take away from the accomplishment. We really need to change our perspective of what success looks like and re-define it around others. Just changing this orientation can make a hugely positive impact - it can't always be defined by you. It centers on responsibility to others, which applies to the community at large, and when you define your actions by your responsibility to others, that is success.
(MD): What experience helped you the most in your career and why?
(MM): The greatest experience for me – it was both fun and exciting with a lot of effort and pain involved as well – happened about twenty years ago. I lead the transformation of a department that was bureaucratic to one that would be customer-driven. There were many limitations and challenges all around to get where we needed to be. It was also a wonderful opportunity and experience to be able to stretch my skills beyond what I had previously done. I had enormous support for the change - right from the top - and a great mentor. I could make mistakes - but be supported. It allowed me to move quickly with the end goal clearly defined. I worked long hours with a difficult culture - I was the first woman leader in this environment. It was both the most challenging and rewarding experience and pushed me to go beyond my capabilities. My mentor was a natural leader, and over the five years I worked in that position, he supported me with every opportunity to develop. My attitude was always respectful and appreciative, and he left a lasting impression on me. Mentors can really define someone's career in a positive way. He showed me that capability and attitude is a powerful combination - with this, the sky is the limit. In this experience, I stretched, grew, and matured.
(MD): What was the greatest challenge moving your career forward?
(MM): Me. That may not sound like a challenge, but I have found that it is not the obstacle in front of you that is the problem but rather how you respond to it. I never bought into being a victim. The real challenges I faced in my career came from me. I believe that it is my responsibility to overcome the challenge. If something is there as a limitation, I work around it. I have never felt the "glass ceiling" or put weight into the concept. With challenges, I start by honestly knowing that I can solve them and it is my responsibility to make a choice. I can be unhappy with a situation or things can seem unfair, but it is irrelevant to what I do - it is my choice. I so believe in this responsibility for choice. I believe I have the skills and can make things work out. It is a huge issue when you get caught in self-doubt without the confidence that you can do it. Any kind of challenge that I have faced I have been the one to put it in my way. It also has always been my choice to resolve it.
(MD): What is the greatest strength of your approach to leadership?
(MM): I think it is my ability to encourage and excite people to achieve. I like to give people the feeling of what it means to stretch and achieve great results. It is important as well to see the value of the accomplishment – and that success doesn't always have to mean more money. I am at my best when I can put my energy and excitement behind something and help others achieve success.
(MD): What has been the biggest surprise you have had since attaining a senior leadership role?
(MM): I think the real surprise is realizing that not everyone is like me - and that it is a good thing. In the earlier part of my career, I did believe that people could devote themselves to the work like I did. That was before I had a family and personal commitments: now I understand the need for balance. I expected a lot from people and applied extremely high standards without understanding the different ways people can succeed. I look back now at times and cringe. I know now that people also think differently from me. I see the real win as understanding people, respecting the differences, and leveraging those differences to a greater collective success. You really need to appreciate the differences in people and help them maximize their contribution their way. I know that all people want to achieve and need to feel that in some place in their life that they are great. My role as a leader is to understand and appreciate how to help them get there.
(MD): What is the greatest benefit to you in attaining a senior leadership role?
(MM): Three things … autonomy, flexibility, and accountability. I take real pleasure in making decisions. Sometimes the decisions will not be right, and you are responsible for that as well. You cannot delegate the responsibility for the decisions. If the decision does not work, you need to take responsibility and say those three words, “that didn’t work” and then say how you will move forward. With the benefits of autonomy and decision-making, comes responsibility and accountability. You need to be quick, decisive, and take responsibility for where you are going. People admire and respect leaders who can do that.
(MD): What is the next achievement you want in your leadership career?
(MM): The real major achievement for me would be to effectively realize the advantage of this new generation of worker – the Millennial. I want to not focus on the challenges but rather seize the opportunity by embracing and supporting them so they can maximize their capacity to contribute and achieve. I want to be a mentor to this generation with the right focus for success and support them to leverage their strengths.
Think about where you are now in your career and what you can take from Marie’s comments. We would love to hear your comments about what are your key takeaways from our conversation with Marie.
Tell us your progress – we want you to succeed.
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The Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (NSGC) is a Provincial Crown corporation responsible for the business and leadership of the gaming industry in Nova Scotia. NSGC operates to balance economic sustainability and social responsibility for the gaming industry. Under the leadership of Marie Mullally, NSGC has been recognized as a world leader in responsible gambling programming, pioneering more than half a dozen “world-firsts”. Learn more about NSGC at www.nsgc.ca.
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To read a summary, written by Michael DeVenney, of the past 12 interviews this year - click here.
Fantastic Attitude....
As the song says " Can I do it, Yes I can....
You are an inspiration....
Living in Ballina, Co. Mayo......
Love to meet you for coffee....
John.