With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1508543
30 BCBUSINESS.CA OCTOBER 2023 BCB: We're asking a bunch of prominent B.C. leaders about the best leadership advice they've ever received (p.39). What comes to mind for you? RC: You choose to be reliable and trustworthy. Everything you're going to build is on trust. It's about showing up, being reliable and continuously doing it in every area you say you will. And making sure your actions align with your words. That's something I learned from my grandfather—he used to put me in his lap and get me to read the newspaper in both English and French and he would give me advice about life. After he died, my dad continued that. BA: For me, keep learning and growing; be authentic; have integrity. All those values are part of my upbringing. I look at my mom—she's had a lifelong passion for education. That's something I take to heart as a leader: there's always an oppor- tunity to learn and grow more. And trust your team. If you have a good team and you trust them, you'll be successful. JS: I agree with that. One of my favourite philosophers is Friedrich Nietzsche and a quote of his is "Never trust a thought that occurs to you indoors." So, whenever I'm faced with a challenge or complex issue, I'm going to go outside, go for a walk, think about what's going on in an expansive way versus sitting inside in an office or board room. I need to be outside and contemplate it. BCB: You've all been mentors. How do you create better leaders? How do you interact with them and how do you foster that connection? BA: I think that needs to be flipped on its head a bit. As a mentor, you have the opportu- nity to learn from somebody who is probably right where you once were in your career but with a different, new perspective. I'm fortunate to be learning from them. Younger people especially have so much to teach us because the world has changed so much. JS: I love that, flipping it on its head. When you do that, you bear such a responsibility and accountability for what you do. Because sometimes they're going to take our advice! If it doesn't work out, that's a responsibility we have to bear. Any of those engagements, especially with young people, you're like, I hope I tell it to you right! If it doesn't go right, I'm not going to sleep at night. When you can help somebody, and they make it easy for you to help them, you feel so good. RC: When you serve some- "ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PHILOSOPHERS IS FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE AND A QUOTE OF HIS IS 'NEVER TRUST A THOUGHT THAT OCCURS TO YOU INDOORS.' SO, WHENEVER I'M FACED WITH A CHALLENGE OR COMPLEX ISSUE, I'M GOING TO GO OUTSIDE, GO FOR A WALK." –Juggy Sihota L E A D E R S H I P