Canadian HR Strategy

17 acquisitions over a relatively short period of time, Maple Leaf did not have the luxury of subtly shaping the company over time. Values that might have been implicit at a business grown from scratch needed to be explicit and supported by education and programs, and amalgam- ated into a unifi ed Maple Leaf Foods. Embracing risk: Most Canadians remember McCain speaking on behalf of Maple Leaf Foods during the Listeria crisis. He apologized for the failing when presenting a vulnerable face to the public and ad- mitting mistakes were not things businesses were known to do. Fewer Canadians are aware of the unease of shareholders with the extended reinvestment plan at Maple Leaf Foods and the impact of the strong Canadian dollar on corporate revenues and returns. "Dare to be transparent, passionate and humble" takes on new meaning when risk is involved. Few leaders and leadership teams are willing to truly embrace the risk required to respond frankly to a corporate crisis or chart a distinctly new course for the business. To embrace risk in a responsible way requires commitment and con- fi dence in one's own capabilities, coupled with the ability to garner understanding of the situation and support for the proposed course of action from stakeholders — whether they are family, the public or shareholders. Organization and culture change doesn't happen in a day: Lead- ers acknowledge that organization and culture change takes anywhere from three to 10 years, depending on the scope of change and circum- stances. McCain has led Maple Leaf Foods through signifi cant growth and change. e food contamination crisis and impatience of investors no doubt have slowed progress. Dollar parity continues to put pressure on an outdated supply chain, making the reinvestment both more diffi cult and even more imperative for Maple Leaf Foods. Even though the com- pany has been on its journey for awhile and is immensely proud of its accomplishments and brands, McCain acknowledges it still has quite a way to go to accomplish what it set out to do — reinvent the business supply chain and weave the company into a unifi ed culture. It is diffi cult to come away from such a presentation without being struck and excited by an entrepreneurial energy and drive not o en evident in the leaders of public companies. e ability to blend com- mon sense business acumen, commitment to values and the sophisti- cation of modern management could represent the development of a signifi cant strategic capability. Karen Gorsline is SCNetwork's lead commentator on strategic ca- pability and leads HR Initiatives, a consulting practice focused on fa- cilitation and tailored HR initiatives. Toronto-based, she has taught HR planning, held senior roles in strategy and policy, managed a large decentralized HR function and directed a small business. She can be reached at gorslin@pathcom.com. Le ssons from 3 leaders on values- based approach (Leadership in Action) By Trish Maguire A values-based approach has been declared by many experts as a best practice for leaders to embrace and achieve a more stable, principled and sustainable future for their organiza- tions. How many of you recall the nickname given to Jack Welch in the early 1980s — "Neutron Jack" — which he earned for his de- meaning, ridiculing, non-values-driven approach to people? I recently had the privilege of hearing two keynote speakers. e fi rst was Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of the Dwyer Group, at the Profi les International World Conference in Austin, Texas. e second was Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, at the recent Strategic Capability Network breakfast. Both attributed a values-based leadership approach to sustaining their organiza- tion's results. Dwyer-Owens explained how her management team defi ned its code of values with the express intent of creating a set of uni- versal guidelines to support and drive the vision, mission and cul- ture of empowerment that supports seven service-based franchi- sees to lead more successful businesses and enjoy more successful lives. e commitment to the values goes beyond the onboarding procedures — every employee from the bottom to the top and across the entire organization is encouraged to "know and fol- low by heart, and with their heart" the fundamental values. Every manager is expected to live, breathe, walk and talk every value 100 per cent of the time. Employees are given unequivocal permission to challenge any manager who is not behaving or speaking in ac- cord with the values. In contrast, McCain described how he developed and launched his values with the express intent of providing employees with a sense of purpose and to support his desired culture of being "professionally entrepreneurial." For McCain, his values-based leadership approach is expected to encourage people to get it "right but not perfect" and concentrate on the "big rocks." For Dwyer-Owens, the values-based leadership approach is about leading her organization without using the traditional powers of title or autocratic command and control. She credits the continued growth and success of the organization to the fundamental road map the code of values has created for every franchisee and employee to understand and voluntarily adhere to. Both leaders subscribe to the fact that a values-based leadership approach enables people to see beyond the short term and acquire a better understanding of the long-term consequences of their decisions to the whole organization, not just their own business unit. Equally, both leaders are proud of how their values add meaning, depth and courage to people's conversations and decisions. With respect to Welch, by the mid-1980s, he irrevocably learned there was a far more constructive, sustainable and humanistic ap- proach by which to energize and engage people and that was by gain- ing their voluntary buy-in to the organization's values. It's a combined learning moment from these three leaders. If your organization genuinely wants to balance business issues with people, perhaps it's time to re-examine your values-based leadership ap- proach. Trish Maguire is a commentator for SCNetwork on leadership in action and founding principal of Synergyx Solutions in Nobleton, Ont., focused on high-potential leadership development coaching. She has held senior leadership roles in HR and organizational de- velopment in education, manufacturing and entrepreneurial orga- nizations and can be reached at synergyx@sympatico.ca.

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