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.
| Rick Kelly - Surround Yourself with Great People |
Bluteau DeVenney and Company (BDCO): What did you do to move to a leadership role?Rick Kelly (RK) It wasn't really by design. I always looked to take on more responsibility and made a point of seizing every opportunity I was offered and, as a result, I naturally moved in that direction. I have always worked on the human resources side of health care. Years ago CEO positions tended to be given to individuals who had a strong finance background. Over the years that changed, bringing more opportunities for me to move into more senior roles - from manager to director to, vice president, and eventually, CEO. (BDCO): What is one thing that developing professionals need to do more of?(RK): The health care system is going through some big changes, and with the baby boomers retiring and the younger generation emerging, leadership has to be even less about management than it has been in the past. Leaders of the younger generations need to focus on creating an engaging and supportive environment where change is welcome. They need to learn to watch and listen more. They need to be progressive and think differently than the leaders of my generation. (BDCO): What about doing less of?(RK): People have to spend less time dwelling on their own importance. They have to take more responsibility and accountability. (BDCO): What experience helped you the most in your career and why?(RK): I don't know if there was any one experience, but rather many experiences that involved creating opportunities, challenging myself, and aligning myself with the right people. I tried not to get caught up in the competitiveness that can sometimes exist when trying to move your career forward. I just focused on the task at hand and made sure I did a good job. (BDCO): What was the greatest challenge moving your career forward?(RK): The health care system has always been very conventional, very process-oriented, and heavily dependent on the education of the people running it. As a result, I have been a product of lifelong learning. In the beginning I didn't particularly care for the continuous education, so that was certainly a challenge for me. Looking back, however, I of course think it was a great experience for me. It opened up many doors for me that wouldn't have been open without that education behind me. (BDCO): What is the greatest strength of your approach to leadership?(RK): Surrounding myself with great people. I am a true believer that it is all about your people. You also need confidence, courage, and integrity. In order to achieve true success as a leader, you need to have all three of these personal traits, and the right people by your side to help make things happen. (BDCO): What has been the biggest surprise you have had since attaining a senior leadership role?(RK): The amount of respect that is automatically bestowed upon you when you move into a certain position. I find that alarming in many ways, because I believe you need to earn trust and respect, whether it be with your colleagues, someone you work for, or someone that works for you. Too often we bestow this trust and respect because of the position, rather than the person. In our organization we are taking great strides to change this mentality by moving from a position-based organization to a person-based organization. This will avoid position titles dictating who is involved in making decisions, and will instead ensure that people earn their seat at the table. (BDCO): What is the greatest benefit to you in attaining a senior leadership role?(RK): A sense of fulfillment. It really is a privilege to have the opportunity to serve people at this level. (BDCO): What is the next achievement you want in your leadership career?(RK): I would love to be able to leave knowing that we are truly embedded and committed to the journey of moving to a person-based organization, with people earning the opportunities and respect that they receive. (BDCO): What is the biggest challenge you face in achieving results in your work?(RK): Changing behaviors and cultures can be challenging. Trying to implement change in any organization is always difficult, and I think it is easy to get distracted and not deal with it properly, but you really need to just hold the course and see the change through. (BDCO): What is your greatest opportunity/goal for providing value for your organization?(RK): I am totally committed to this journey of change. My biggest opportunity is to help people understand the change, and earn people's trust to get them on board with the change. When you earn their trust people truly open up and find ways to contribute at a whole different level. My job is to find ways to make that happen. (BDCO): What added support or capability would help you most in delivering on your goals?(RK): You can never have too many loyal staff members. In my years of experience I have learned to move from surrounding myself with the most talented technicians, to surrounding myself with the most loyal individuals. If you have the loyalty, the technical skills can be developed, but if you don't have the loyalty, it doesn't matter what technical skills you have on hand, you will never reach your full potential as an organization. Think about where you are now in your career and what you can take from Rick's observations. We would love to hear your comments about what are your key takeaways from our conversation with Rick. Tell us your progress – we want you to succeed. ______________________________________________________________
With locations in Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford, Northwood is one of the largest long term care, independent living and community outreach organizations in Eastern Canada. You can find out more about Northwood at www.nwood.ns.ca. |
