Clare Beckton CWC Breakfast Session on Leadership and Lessons Learned

Written by: Nilufer Erdebil, CWC Ottawa-Gatineau Region Vice Chair

The CWC Ottawa-Gatineau Region had the pleasure of hearing Clare Beckton being interviewed by Janice McDonald on January 22, 2013 at the Chateau Laurier. Clare shared a number of her experiences and lessons that she has learned as she progressed through her career. There was so much great information that I had a hard time keeping up with my notes.
Clare has had an amazing career and is currently Executive Director of the Carleton Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership. Her career includes being Assistant Deputy Attorney General at Aboriginal Affairs, and Department of Justice, deputy head of Status of Women Canada, and most recently, being selected by the Women’s Executive Network for a Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2012: Top 100 Award.
These are to the lessons Clare Beckton was kind enough to share with the Ottawa CWC:

1. Keep focus
Know who you are and how you’re reflecting in the world. You need to sit back and look in. What are your values and what do you care about? For example, Clare wanted to make a positive difference in the world. Ask yourself, am I living what I say I am doing? How can you be honest with yourself? Have someone hold a mirror up to you. It hurts to hear honest feedback.
Prioritize to keep focus: Do you have to do it? Can it be pushed back? Can someone else do it?
If things don’t go the way you wanted than ask: Was the way I was approaching things appropriate? Is there something I can learn from this? What should I stop doing and keep doing? Take feedback to help you grow.
Through the discussion Clare opened up about her early childhood and growing up on a farm. Her close relationship with nature helped her in finding her focus, become resourceful early on and still provides a way to ground her.

2. Know what’s rewarded in your organization
You need to know what’s rewarded in your organization. Do you know who the influencers are in your organization? Who do you need to be part of? You have to delegate and know what to delegate. It may be a challenge for the person you are delegating to and also an opportunity for them to grow.
Politics is how power gets works out in practice – don’t shy away or be scared to participate, understanding politics is important to reach your goals.

3. It isn’t about being liked
Respect people and do what you think is right. Leading means taking a stance and making decisions, which won’t make everybody happy. As women, we need to work hard and work smart. We have to stop being caregivers and delegate, even when it means somebody might not like you for doing so.

4. Ask for things you need
If you ask then at least they know you’re interested. This also includes asking colleagues for help. For example, what’s the learning I need and ask for it.

5. Build on competencies
What are your strengths? What are you doing when you feel good? Know your strengths – don’t lead from your weaknesses. If your job doesn’t play to your strengths, it’s not the right job. When you are in the right job, build on your strengths to build a team and then have people on your team to fill in gaps in your strengths.

6. Fear holds most of us back
How much is t to stay in the place of fear? IT’S EXPENSIVE! If you are afraid of something what is it really about? Are you afraid of making a mistake? A mistake can be rectified and if not what can be learned from the mistake? What’s holding us back? How do you face your fears? Positive attitude helps. It’s okay to fear but do the things you are afraid. With fear you can take small steps to overcome fears.
Janice added that when you push yourself you’re a better person – your box is bigger!

7. Positive attitude
Let people around you know its okay to make mistakes. If mistakes are made understand that this too can pass. Being positive ultimately means knowing that there’s always a way out – this goes back to focus and perspective and keeping an eye on the bigger picture. Anything negative is temporary, don’t let it cloud your attitude and stay optimistic. If you get knocked down, think about what you gained by taking the risk in the first place and then get back in the game!

8. Volunteer
Figure out what you really care about and volunteer for that. At work volunteering can get you a bigger network, especially for cross functional projects. Volunteering also gives you an opportunity to try out roles that you might not have had a chance to in your regular work life. When Clare had her kids she volunteered for things that her kids were involved with.

9. Recognition
Clare doesn’t seek recognition but it is important to recognize women. It’s important to have female role models. Do things because you care, not for recognition. At the same time, learn to accept recognition gracefully – sometimes saying ‘thank you’ is good. Just say thank you.
There is still a need to tell people what you have done and don’t understate it. If you lead the team than say it was you and the team – not just that it was the team. In a job interview if you say ‘we’ for everything than they’ll think you did nothing.

10. Need to be open to possibilities that come along
If you’re in an operational company than you need an operational role early on in your career.

11. Network
Your network helps you get different perspectives on your company or a situation. Network also makes your work easier. Women are more reluctant to ask for things from their network and we need to get over it. With men and their network they don’t need to build as much a relationship before they ask for things from the other person or start talking business. Learn to be comfortable to ask for things. At the same time help others in your network – look for opportunities to help.

12. Control: The less control, the more control
You can’t control everything! You can control how you react to what’s going on. In order to deal with situations go back to inner self. You need to have inner strength to figure out how to deal with it. Letting go of control gives you real control, through how you react. It is your reaction to what the other person is saying that gets you angry; you don’t have to engage in it. Know what you can’t control; you can control your reaction. Understand that no matter what happens you can get out of it. If you try to control it’s a narrow world. Know that whatever happens you can deal with it.

Special thanks to Chamika Ailapperuma for her added input and comments.

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Speaker bio: Clare Beckton
Clare Beckton is currently Executive Director of the Carleton Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership. She received her LLB and her BA from the University of Saskatchewan and spent an LLM year at the University of Illinois. She taught law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from 1974 to 1984, and, in that capacity, published a number of articles on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and several books including the Media and the Law in Canada.

In 1984, Ms. Beckton joined the Human Rights Law Section of the Department of Justice. In 1988, she assumed the position of General Counsel with the RCMP Legal Services, and in 1992, subsequently took on the role of General Counsel, Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In 1996, Ms. Beckton became Senior General Counsel with Human Resources Development Legal Services and served there until her appointment as Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Aboriginal Affairs, and Department of Justice. She led the Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio from 1998 until June 2004 managing an extensive budget and multi -billion dollar contingent liabilities.

Following her year at Harvard University, Ms. Beckton co-led, with the Aboriginal Leadership Institute and other partners, a multi-sectoral Aboriginal Leadership Initiative to find new and innovative ways of addressing the complex challenges facing Aboriginal communities in Canada.

In 2005, as a Fulbright Scholar, she obtained an MPA, with a focus on leadership, from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. In recognition of academic excellence and her exceptional contribution to public service and leadership, Ms. Beckton was awarded the Littauer Fellowship.

From April 2007 to July 2009 Clare Beckton served as the deputy head of Status of Women Canada managing the departmental agency within the government’s management accountability framework and providing advice to Ministers.

Clare Beckton is a vice-chair of the board of directors of the Queensway Carleton Hospital as well as chair of the nominating committee and member of the governance, ethics and executive committees. She is a member of the steering committee of the Canadian Board Diversity Council. She is also a member of the Canadian Task Force for Women’s Business Growth. In 2008, she was appointed to the Women’s Leadership Board of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, received the Woman of the Year Award from the Federated Press for “exceptional achievement and outstanding leadership by a Canadian woman”. Most recently, she was selected by the Women’s Executive Network for a Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2012: Top 100 Award. She is also the recipient of a Canada 125 Medal.

She has served as a presenter on diverse topics for domestic and international conferences and symposia. She has been an active contributor to various executive and community-based committees including the Advisory board for the Law and Security program at Algonquin College and a member of the board and volunteer coach for Leadership Ottawa.

Interviewer bio: Janice McDonald, MA
Janice is an award-winning serial entrepreneur with expertise in strategic planning, development and management of various multi-million dollar businesses in the music and fashion industry.

Janice has leadership training from Harvard & INSEAD and studied at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business. In addition, Janice is a Cornell Queens EMBA Program Advisor, a Carleton University Sprott School of Business Advisor at the Centre of Research and Education on Woman and Work.

Janice works with international executives on new venture and management consulting projects. She is a formal and informal mentor for women in communication and a dedicated volunteer contributing on numerous boards.

Mentorship: Enabling Originality

Written by: Rogder Harding, CWC/Shaw Media Mentorship Program Lead
“You felt like a tree bowed beneath the weight of its fruit, and you longed for hands to come and gather up the harvest. Though you stood at the end of the road and gazed out over the cities of men….no one came…” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco

It is no secret that it requires courage to be an original! Making sense of being out-of-step with the template of current business mores will always be a challenge in any society. Human nature, desirous of peace and calm, is comfortable going with the flow and following known patterns as long as they continue to hold water and are profitable.

What then of those compelled to seek different paths? Would they be best served by deeply burying who they are? “If I am myself, people with think I am a loser!” seems to be an inner voice when we feel the urge to be different. What allows intelligent, educated, high-earning and respected individuals to think this way? Perhaps it is to avoid the humiliation of constant rejection and belittlement that some of us learn to hide our most precious ideas and from an early age, rather dish up what we believe parents, teachers, peers … and ultimately employers want from us.

It is my good fortune to meet many original people during my longstanding involvement in the Canadian Women in Communications/ShawMedia Mentorship Program. They have strengthened my understanding of this conundrum. I frequently encounter industry members who are ready and able to work within set frameworks, but who also dare to express their originality. In some cases the desire to express what they see, to say what they feel and to implement their dreams is so strong, that the risk of rejection pales in comparison. Courageous individuals, they have sought out environments that accommodate who they are, often at the price of mainstream success and adulation.

My own experience encourages me to believe that chaos and uncertainty are best friends of the original thinker. When others are desperate and have no idea what to do next, when the tried and tested paths are of no avail, the person who sees what others don’t, who can develop and deliver a solution, however weird, is always welcome. I cannot help but think of Winston Churchill who, considered insufferable for most of his life, was the single person whose previously ridiculed ideas formed the basis of the strategy that saved an unprepared Great Britain from disaster at the outset of WWII.

Is it not evident then that Mentorship is a superb vehicle to identify, understand and facilitate the accommodation of people who will potentially provide a ray of light in times of uncertainty, change and crisis?

Good Mentorship will recognize the healthy challenge of the discordant note, listen to unusual points of view, remain calm and objective in the face of passionate expression and, importantly show tolerance of difference.

The fact that originals such as Da Vinci, Galileo, van Gogh, Lawrence, Hemingway and Polanski, to randomly name just a few, all finally earned a place in history, should inspire us, as mentors, to encourage excellent people, to wear their originality with confidence…and be true to who they really are…!

5 Books That Demonstrate Leadership

 written by: Avil Beckford, CWC Member

Most companies recognize that leadership development is a critical issue, yet they have not been able to successfully manage it. For several years now, the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), in their Critical Human Capital Issues report, has identified leadership development at the top of the Top Five Critical Issues for high performing organizations.

With shrinking training budgets, savvy professionals have to take care of their own leadership development. Here are five non-business books that do an excellent job of demonstrating leadership.

1.  Watership Down by Richard Adams: There are many unlikely leaders inside an organization, yet when given the right leadership opportunities, they emerge as great leaders. This is the case for Hazel, one of the lead characters in Richard Adam’s bestselling book, Watership Down. The book is excellent at demonstrating what true leadership is about.
2. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien: Well-to-do Bilbo Baggins is asked to go on an adventure, but is unwilling to accept the call. The wizard Gandalf forces him to do so. When placed in a difficult situation where he has to rely on himself to find a solution to his dilemma, he delivers. From that point, Bilbo’s transformation into a great leader begins.
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: Despite living in a dystopian society, Katniss Everdeen emerges as a great leader. As a leader, Katniss recognizes that there are times when the old rules have to be replaced with newer ones, and that the old way of thinking has to be replaced with a newer one.
4.  Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach: To lead others effectively, we must first learn to lead ourselves. Jonathan Livingston Seagull does an excellent job of demonstrating self-leadership. Jonathan Livingston Seagull works hard at developing his skills so that he can master various flying techniques. He pushes the limits, doing what no other seagull has ever done. Great leaders step outside their comfort zones and also pass on their knowledge to the next generation.
5. Henry Reed Inc. by Keith Robertson: The main character, young Henry Reed, embodies the traits of a successful entrepreneur. Henry is also willing to try new things and has mastered the art of capitalizing on the opportunities that present themselves. He is an excellent problem solver, taking the time to figure things out, and knows when to ask for help – all traits of an effective leader.

In writing, they tell us to show and not tell. These five books show us what true leadership is about.

Reflection for the Festive Season!

Written by: Rogder Harding, CWC/Shaw Media Mentorship Program Lead

Mentorship… Relationships … Loving & Being Loved!

Each year of assessing, matching and supporting dozens of CWC/ShawMedia mentorship matches reaffirms our conviction that, in the first instance, good mentors will have the ability to see and accept their mentees for who they really are … This would conversely mean that good mentees will be prepared to show who they really are! Simple words … So simple, they must surely echo a universal relationship truth?

Yet in a world driven by process, regulations, templates and political-correctness how many of us are able to look past the first layer of wall-paper convention.  How many of us are prepared to show anything other than a studied de rigueur face. Is not being who we are expected to be considered a virtue … As much socially as professionally? Do we need permission to be ourselves?

Unscientifically, we conducted a random survey of some our most successful mentor/mentee matches to pinpoint what it takes to really and truly accept someone for who they are.  Here is a selection of what we believe to be excellent relationship wisdoms:

• To hide, ignore or dismiss perceived fear/weakness in ourselves, or others, is to deny humanity
• People continually evolve – Uncertainty is an ever present factor …Nothing is certain except life and death
• Seeing the bad side of situations or people is not necessarily judgemental, negative, cynical or pessimistic
• Strong people are able to show weakness … Or ask for help…
• Success is measured by a personal/subjective yardstick 
• To love yourself, would you not need to know yourself?
• To love others, means having to know and accept who they are!

The CWC Team thanks all those who have participated in our Mentorship Program – You have made the world a better place! We salute you!
We trust that this Holiday Season… and preparations for a 2013 will be a time of reflection, love and balanced resolution!

Mentorship….What people might become!

By: Rodger Harding

Watching Gareth Malone, the nerdy looking young man, of The Choir (BBC) fame, on the most recent TVO season again moves me to tears. His distinct awareness, intelligence and leadership as he recruits singing talent in the most obscure of British environments… Army wives, underprivileged towns and schools etc., as well as his courage and immense humanity reveal what I consider to be true mentorship ability.  

Navigating the minefield of population segments that have more or less been written off by the upper classes of English society, he identifies, inspires and enables raw singing ability, against all odds forming top notch performing choirs. He seems driven by an unshakeable quest to discover what people might become given the chance. He validates the individuality that lurks in those he meets and marries it to a common and relevant cause.

In his own words, when asked why he does what he does Malone says: “… above all, it was their increase in confidence … as the months sped by that was the real highlight for me. All those involved … learnt how to aim high, some how to lead … they learnt how to be a team, how to support each other and how to be patient when others are struggling. That, to me, was worth all the effort …!”

Similarly, some six years on, perhaps the greatest legacy of the late Maestro Richard Bradshaw was not in getting the Toronto Four Seasons Opera House built, but rather his creative recruitment of the unlikely young Canadians that now provide the stalwart talent and passion that defines the Canadian Opera Company. Many of the young artists he identified have gone on to gain international renown. Many openly admit that if he had not spotted and nurtured what was considered uncertain talent, they would perhaps not enjoy their current success.

These reflections are important to me because they highlight what mentorship is really about and what it takes to be a good mentor. The essence of an evolving mentor/mentee relationship is interaction that provides a stepping stone or sounding-board that will assist mentees realize their full potential – Becoming who they are and what they want to be, rather than who they are supposed to be. Effective and trusted mentors will display: 

• Disinterested recognition, understanding and preservation of unique mentee thinking, competencies and impact  
• Preparedness to accept value and priority differences (the ability to transcend personal or projected goals)
• Acceptance of changing realities as the relationship progresses
• Ability to work with uncertainty and intangible results – It is important not to care more about outcomes than the mentee!
• An understanding that mentorship often bears fruit only in years to come – When the mentee is ready and able to absorb fully the mentor’s contribution
• Ongoing commitment as a resource/sounding board
• Belief that the process is a two-way street – A relationship of equals builds trust and opens the door to mutual learning

Mentorship is age and gender neutral. Anybody can mentor or be mentored at any stage in their career evolution. Mentorship is not a fast-track networking vehicle nor is it an opportunity to rapidly download the hard-earned knowledge of others.

As coordinator of the national Canadian Women in Communications (CWC-AFC)/CanWest mentorship program, part of my responsibility involves securing mentor/mentee matches. I am blown away by the readiness of business folk across the board to give so generously of their time and expertise. Their sole motivation is to assist those to those who have discovered they have a greater leadership contribution to make. It is also interesting to note instances of people mentoring others while currently being mentored themselves! Women asking for help, and being helped in a trusted environment has gone a long way to create a community that speaks to the real advancement of women in the corporate world.

Mentoring youth is a particular passion. The York University Learning Disability Mentorship Program presents young men and women frustrated by labels and a template driven undergraduate environment, determined to be who they are rather than to labor under a life long etiquette of the learning disabled. Uniquely motivated mentors, from all walks of life, buy into this vision and dedicate themselves, to successfully enabling the promise that lies within each student mentee.

In the bigger picture, mentorship builds for the future, strengthening the fabric of diverse industries. I salute those who embrace this important role!