Leadership in Canada

Canadians are said to be most accepting of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership changes what is e.g. institutions, circumstances and people, through a leaders ability to guide and inspire others to follow.

Examples of this leadership style were seen in Canada’s 14th and 15th Prime Ministers. Lester B. Pearson, (1963 – 1968) and Pierre Trudeau (1968 – 1980) served to raise-up a modern Canada as evidenced in a compassionate, progressive, bilingual country; where the rights of the individual coexist peacefully with the responsibility of the state. Leadership is influenced by geographical, contextual and environmental culture and evidenced in the thoughts and actions of the people. Like most things in modern times . . .  culture and leadership have changed over time.

The International Institute of Social Studies (IISS) research confirms that in the past 15 years great changes have taken place in the domains of state, civil society and markets. Knowing that change surrounds, and understanding the significance of leadership in realizing preferred results - Tim and I continue to explore the topic. This post builds on earlier entries where we’ve shared research and insight on definitions and universally accepted principles of leadership and the relationship between culture and leaders. In this post we look deeper at leadership in Canada.

Editors, Feehan & Feit found Canadian business leaders, community development coalitions and business development associations see visionary and programmatic leaders not heroic or authority leadership as necessary to realize growth, development and sustainability. The Canadian Forces say leadership is a common social behaviour that directly or indirectly influences others and serves shared-purpose for collective effectiveness. The Government of Canada identifies value and ethics, strategic thinking, engagement and management excellence as key leadership competencies for public servants (2005).

Following their research of 295 Canadian leaders in profit, not-for-profit and public environments, Henein & Morissette defined a Canadian Leadership Brand. Traits and characteristics include: patience, compassion, humanitarian, moderate, diplomatic, reasonable, ethical, honest, fair, trustworthy, decent, upright, knowledgeable, competent, effective, diligent, accountable, preserving, creative, hopeful, inventive, innovative, resilient, confident, welcoming, respectful, equitable, flexible, tolerant and collaborative.

Where leadership values, attitudes and characteristics have been identified, our literature review of leadership in Canada found individual, business and civic leaders, as well as leadership critics raising concerns about –

i) a deficit of leadership in Canada,

ii) lack of definition for leadership and as a result, a restricted ability to measure or hold leaders accountable, and

iii) need to develop leaders by identifying, providing and rewarding the traits, attitudes and characteristics of leadership that families, institutions, organizations and a nation need for today and tomorrow.

Our analysis is consistent with the GLOBE’s (House, et al.) findings that leadership characteristics, traits and attitudes practiced in organizations, institutions and associations differ from those valued by a society. This incongruence in the walk and talk of leadership, compounded by the absence of a definition and deficit of leaders in times of increasing need, may be why the educational, organizational or societal investment in leadership is not realizing expected returns. Chrislip and the Tamarack Community suggest that “traditional models of leadership do not serve us well, especially in our increasingly diverse and complex society” (Cheuy, 2010).

So what leadership model can or is serving Canadians? This is a question we look forward to discussing with you in future posts. Until then consider your leadership style by answering the following -

Do you model the traits and characteristics of the Canadian Leadership Brand in your personal, professional and civic life?

Do you practice and encourage leadership responsibility in your home, workplace and community knowing that you directly or indirectly influence others?

Do you have a leadership development plan in place for yourself, organization or community?

REFERENCES USED –
Bass, B. M. (1995). Concepts of leadership: The beginnings. In J. T. Wren (Ed.), The leader’s companion: insights on leadership through the ages (pp. 49-52). New York: Free Press.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row
Canadian Forces Leadership Institute. (2005). Leadership in the Canadian forces: doctrine. Ottawa, ON: Chief of the Defence Staff by the Canadian Defence Academy.
Cohen, A. (2008). Lester B. Pearson; biographies of extraordinary citizens. Toronto, ON: Penguin Books (Canada).
Cheuy, S. (2010). Leading together in chaotic times, Retrieved January 15, 2010 from http://tamarackcommunity.ca/index.php
Feehan, D. Feit M. (editors). (2006). Making business districts work: leadership and management of downtown, main street, business districts and community development organizations. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press
Government of Canada. (2002). The leadership network: report on plan and policies – Part III. Ottawa, ON: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2001.
Government of Canada. (2005). Key leadership competencies. Ottawa, ON: Canada Public Service Agency and the Public Service Commission.
Hall, E. (1989). Beyond Culture. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Henein, A., Morissette F. (2007). Made in Canada leadership: Wisdom from the nation’s best and brightest on leadership practice and development. Mississauga, ON: John Wiley & Sons.
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (2004). Culture, leadership and organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Howell, J.P., Avolio B.J. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control and support for innovation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 891-902.
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IISS. (2008). Civil society building and research. Den Haag, NL: International Institute of Social Studies.
Poliquin, D. (2009). Rene Levésque. Toronto, ON: Penguin Group (Canada)
Young, A. (2007). Give the government a piece of your mind. CMA Management, 81(6), 50-51. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.