I am a seasoned leader and management consultant working with C-suite executives to facilitate change and drive positive bottom line results, I can confidently say that I have “been there and done that.”
My career, knowledge and experience in business has been shaped through influencing the lives of developing leaders, in both developed and developing companies, located around the world. Though my results were tracked by KPI’s reflected in the bottom line, to me those were just the byproduct of my successes creating positive impacts on people. Working for a multinational organization in over 30 countries, I learned we all share common needs, wants and desires and one big difference in how those are fulfilled is privilege. Some have it, some don’t. I have always had it.
EARLY IMPRESSIONS
When I was 11 my father volunteered to take over a medical practice in the Turks and Caicos Islands for a number of months, which had a profound affect on me. As members of an ex-pat community with pale skin, our family was, without question, granted special privileges. Every few weeks, ships would enter the port with fresh food and supplies for the entire island and the ex-pats would have first access, 3 days before the locals. My mother held strong beliefs about entitlement and equality and absolutely refused to shop before those who had long before us, and would long after us, call the island home. This simple, silent protest taught me the difference between privilege and entitlement; and to use privilege to create positive impact. That lesson drives my passion to give back and leverage the many opportunities I have been afforded throughout my life. As an established leader and mentor, I have a driving desire to impart my skills, knowledge and experience to those who might never have access to those kinds of privileges.
AWARENESS
My various leadership roles at Labatt, Diageo, and ABInBev, and the constant growth in the brewing industry always put me in the middle of change. I lead passionately in the midst of complex and challenging circumstances. I excel throughout crises and in situations when change is required both operationally and culturally. It wasn’t the job titles or the various situations that taught me to be an effective leader – it was the people. I learned through listening to people, understanding their wants, needs and desires and observing the unique nuances between their cultures.
Broad cross-cultural awareness is the unique and powerful element that I bring to organizations to aid in leadership development, change management and process improvement. North America fosters a belief that there is a “right way” and a “wrong way” to do things. I have learned that there are many methodologies that can be applied successfully. There is no “silver bullet”. No one-way of doing things. I bring the ability to evaluate all the tools and methodologies and determine which are appropriate for the people and culture of the company. I work with people where they are at. Not where they should be. Not where I am at. The African people taught me this.
From the outside one might believe that an understanding of the African cultures would contribute to influencing leaders and getting the job done. However, having worked in 8 African countries and numerous other regions, I learned that even though a group of people might share a nation, a border, even a community, their cultures are often just different enough to require a unique approach. Understanding that we are more the same than we are different, but that you must accommodate the culture and the individual you are with and applying that knowledge to the chosen methodology is what drives success. Understanding people as they are, and building a business around their culture, is the key to engaging people and creating change. This applies no matter where you go in the world.
The only privilege I missed out on was not being born a boy – or so it seemed to me when I was a young executive. This created one of the biggest challenges throughout my career in the brewing industry because there were no strong female leaders, and very few in C-suite corporate positions anywhere at the time. The women who did hold senior positions didn’t have much choice but to become men in suits. That was the only archetype that existed at the time, but it was not the type of leader I wanted to be. But, none of this stopped me from becoming North America’s first female head brewmaster, and breaking the mould, to do it on my own terms.
VULNERABLE, AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen leaders from all areas of the spectrum. The blustery, ego driven manager who leads by yelling. The leader who led without authenticity, resulting in a lack of followers because his people didn’t trust him. I listened to the leaders preach profit and supply chain improvement, failing to recognize that people are more engaged in the world when there is a deeper purpose and a bigger goal that directly affects their people and their community.
I have always believed that there is another model of leadership possible, and that vulnerability and authenticity are key elements of a new style of leadership. In the earlier years however, the art and candor of authentic leadership had yet to be developed. So, I stumbled my way along the path less chosen. I learned the hard way, how to be effectively vulnerable without seeming weak; how to be authentic, without being soft. It was a journey in self-discovery. I learned how to listen, how to delegate, and how to lead. I even coined my own theory of leadership. I called it, “Get over yourself.” Meaning, by getting over your own ego you are able to consider the question: “What am I going to cause today?” Once I had it figured out, I was given a new privilege: to mentor the selected future leaders in the brewing industry and supported the development and implementation of Diageo Africa’s development and succession plans.
I am equally committed to supporting leadership teams in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, in the interest of increasing the rate of change and adoption of better leadership models. In the past five years I have served as a knowledge philanthropist for organizations like Academics Without Borders Canada, Vantage Point, Reconciliation Canada, the 2010 Paralympic Committee and The Vancouver Fringe Festival.
CREATING SUSTAINABLE CHANGE
Leadership models that engage people and make change possible have shifted, beginning to embrace the elements of authentic leadership. But, they haven’t shifted enough to serve the rapid rate at which the world and business is changing today. My purpose moving forward is to impart my skills, knowledge and leadership abilities that I have been afforded through the privileges I have been granted in life. My legacy will be making a difference through people by cultivating positive, impactful change in the communities within which they work, live and grow.
If you’d like to discuss how I can help you create positive change within your organization, let’s sit down together. Reach out to me here: nancy@more-effectively.com