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.
| Peggy Cunningham - Flexibility and Adaptability - Keys to Success |
Bluteau DeVenney and Company (BDCO): What did you do to move to a leadership role?Peggy Cunnigham(PC): I quickly learned to seize opportunities when they were presented to me. Many people wouldn't describe their career plan as being opportunistic, but my situation and the experiences that brought me to a leadership role were a little different than most. My husband was in the military for 35 years, which meant we moved around a lot and wherever we were, I had to make the best of it. That led me down many different paths, some that were very interesting and others that were not so interesting, but I learned something from each experience. With every move it often felt like I was restarting my career, which was frustrating for someone who was very career-oriented from a young age. Learning how to be adaptable and flexible were crucial to my success. (BDCO): What is one thing that developing professionals need to do more of?(PC): They need to be forward-thinking, particularly in terms of career self-management and what they need to learn to do the next job, and the job after that. We tend to get caught up in the every day without really thinking about what trends will be shaping business in the future, and what skill sets we need to acquire in order to succeed, not only in our current role but future positions as well. (BDCO): What about doing less of?(PC): Two things - Focusing less on the management and administrative aspects of the job so that you can focus more on the accomplishment of key strategic tasks that create value. Focusing too much on constraints. We tend to gravitate toward externalizing blame, be it our boss, our budget or just the demands of our job in general, as opposed to looking at how we can make the most of a particular circumstance. (BDCO): What experience helped you the most in your career and why?(PC): I worked with Queen's University for 20 years, and during my time there I launched a new MBA program. That was my first attempt at anything entrepreneurial. Before that I considered myself a fairly conservative, analytical and risk-adverse person. However, the program was a huge success. It made me realize I had a skill set, as well as a level of comfort with ambiguity, that I never knew I had. It also gave me the confidence that I had the ability to do something that was very different for me. Something that, at first glance, would appear out of my comfort zone. It helped me redefine myself and my capabilities. (BDCO): What was the greatest challenge moving your career forward?(PC): My own perceptions. To some degree I think that I created my own walls. That being said, I think women still have a harder time gaining recognition. You may think that by putting your head down, working hard, and producing good results, someone will recognize you and move you forward. The reality is you have to move yourself forward. You have to ask for that next step, that next level of responsibility. (BDCO): What is the greatest strength of your approach to leadership?(PC): My lack of ego. When you first start out in your career, the scope of your job tends to be narrow, allowing you to rely on your particular skill set to be successful . However, as you progress you can not be an expert in all of the things you have to do in a senior leadership role. The scope of your activity is too broad. If you get too fearful and intimidated by this, you tend to surround yourself with weak people. If you have an ego and you don't like to be challenged, you again tend to surround yourself with weak people. For me, the number one thing that has helped me in my leadership roles is surrounding myself with the right people. You want to work with the smartest, most talented, most capable people possible. (BDCO): What has been the biggest suprise you have had since attaining a senior leadership role?(PC): The fact that the skills I most often use are the skills I learned at a very young age. I always thought that once you get to a certain level in an organization you would deal strictly with the really complex issues. To some degree you do, but when you think about how your time is allocated, a large percentage of your time is spent on those people problems that have eventually migrated to your desk. Most of these problems involve conflict resolution, giving honest feedback, or having difficult conversations with people about their behavior or personality, all of which are skills I learned at a young age when I first started my career. (BDCO)What is the greatest benefit to you in attaining a senior leadership role?(PC): Impact. I really believe in the mission of this university and the mission of this faculty. We are a values-led faculty. If nothing else, the economic meltdown of 2008 showed us the result of not tying values to our work and to our businesses. (BDCO)What is the next achievement you want in your leadership career?(PC): Results. I hope to have an impact on this organization and to start it on a path that it will continue on for many years to come. (BDCO)What is the biggest challenge you face in achieveing results in your work?(PC): Patience. Universities are surprisingly bureaucratic and slow moving. This is something that really needs to change. We need to try to look for ways to make them more adaptable, flexible organizations. (BDCO): What is your greatest opportunity/goal for providing value for your organization?(PC): I feel that Dalhousie University is the best kept secret in the world. Unfortunately, people here don't give themselves enough credit. They don't see the quality of their own work, and they don't see the quality of the students here. They tend to have that classic Maritime modesty when it comes to their own achievements. This institution and its students are as good as any other university I have seen. I really need to focus on empowering people, and making them believe in themselves and what they can do. (BDCO): What added support or capability would help you the most in delivering on your goals?(PC): That's a tough question. I don't feel that there is any particular support I am lacking. I have such a great team here that if I can't do it, I rely on those around me who can. Think about where you are now in your career and what you can take from Peggy’s observations. We would love to hear your comments about what are your key takeaways from our conversation with Peggy. Tell us your progress – we want you to succeed. ______________________________________________________________
Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management, which includes programs in Business, Public Administration, Information Management, Marine Affairs and Resource and Environmental Studies, offers a holistic and values-based approach to management education and research. You can find out more about the Faculty of Management and Dalhousie University at www.management.dal.ca. |
