The Ontario Broker - Volume 22, Issue 2 - 14

COVER STORY
Pam's Most Frequently
Given Advice
Accept yourself with all
of your flaws
Listen to others and listen to
yourself before you make decisions
Always be open to learning,
in every way you can
Surround yourself with people who
are smarter than you
Be open to trying new things
" When you're remote, that problem becomes
more difficult. Those soft signals that someone
needs support aren't there, so I use one-onone
meetings that are positioned as time for
the employee, not me as their manager. That's
become our most useful tool for detecting how
people are doing. Even if everyone isn't together
each day, a leader still needs to check in with team
members and have a pulse on how they are. "
MOLDING THE FUTURE
A solid team obviously is a crucial to success. As
you're hiring and promoting, it's good to keep in
mind what kind of qualities you want to cultivate,
as that will ultimately shape the values of your
business.
CONSTRUCTING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT
With businesses currently being in a mixture
of fully in person, fully remote or a hybrid model,
there'll be huge differences in how to go about
creating a healthy environment and some of how
to do that is still being worked out. But there are
things that are true across all models.
" Of course you want people feel that they are
seen and rewarded. You also want to make people
feel that they're in an environment where they're
empowered to do the thing they're good at, with
minimal interference. And ensure that they have
visibility on the strategic meaning of their work, so
that if they are in the position where there is some
friction for them, they at least know why, " said Joel.
" Leaders have had to become more flexible
and more trusting of their staff to work on their
own. I think leaders are seeing that when given
the space, that their teams are actually getting
their work done. Staff sense when they are
trusted, and as a result, they feel proud of their
work and newfound independence, and in turn
performance increases, " said Pam.
One of the key functions a leader has is
ensuring that their team is doing well personally
and this has only become more necessary in
recent years.
" Checking in on people and giving them one-onone
time is essential in any setting, " said Joel. " In
an office if somebody comes in and they're having
a bad day, I can see it. Maybe they're late and their
posture is slumped over, you can detect a feeling
based on their body language. So, you can take
them for lunch or a coffee.
" I think of leadership as a skill. Some folks may
start with natural advantages-maybe a natural
comfort dealing with others, or decisiveness
when others are unsure-but I don't believe that
a born leader is ultimately the best leader, " said
Joel. " Folks for whom leadership is outside of their
comfort zone may be more likely to treat it as
discipline that can be learned and worked at over
time. That's why for me, reluctance to lead is often
one of the traits I look for in a future leader. "
" I will never forget a CEO telling me how he built
a successful team. He put people around him who
were much smarter than himself in their area
of expertise, " said Pam. " Bring a team together
and empower them to blossom as leaders in
their own ways or with their own portfolios and
responsibilities.
" To me, so much about being a leader is around
trust and engagement with others. "
" The ability for
leaders to think
out of the box,
to be creative
and to evolve has
never been more
important. "
14
THE ONTARIO BROKER
The Ontario Broker - Volume 22, Issue 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ontario Broker - Volume 22, Issue 2
