Inspiration

Good leadership makes you feel safe by providing clarity, and confusion is an enemy to progression… Through no osmosis, I’ve identified the type of leader I don’t want to be, which is indirectly shaping the leader that I am becoming… My obsession with the topic of leadership was formed through my own personal experiences with it… Personally, my Wife is factual, and data driven. I am feelings/emotions driven… Admittedly, I’ve experienced the dangers of relying too much on emotions… This explains my affinity to emotional leaders over the years. There was common ground between us, and I felt safe around them… Interestingly enough, the leaders that I experienced the most difficulty with throughout my earlier years were deeply analytical & factual. How I treat people and the experience I endeavour to provide is the engine behind my approach to leadership… Self-awareness is the first step in this process… People follow you when you are clear of who you are, what you want, and where you desire to be… Any hint of ambiguity will compromise your position as a leader… Self-awareness allows good leaders to lead with clarity, and clarity builds a tent of safety around their followers… It’s an intentional and strategic process of self-discovery that only the courageous embark on… This is why feedback is necessary from those around us since we’re fundamentally blind to our own shortcomings… Those who solicit feedback from others and make the required adjustments become our best leaders and create environments that are safe for their followers. Over my 15 years as a Search Partner, I’ve had countless conversations with leaders from all walks of life. Through this journey, I’ve concluded that leadership and recruitment are interconnected. They’re so closely tied to each other that when one is in a delinquent state, it negatively impacts the other. Recruitment provides the people who are then coached, mentored, and directed by leaders. In light of this, I’m deeply invested in the development of our leaders to make sure that I am truly doing people a good service… Recruiters who have reduced themselves to just ‘resume pushers’ have diminished their own value in the marketplace… Let’s grow your business, together.

For those who are familiar with speed dating or old enough to remember it during its rise, think of a pressurized room filled with enthusiastic single people searching for companionship under strict time constraints. As you move from table to table, person to person, you quickly begin to realize what works for you and what doesn’t. Those conversations, while brief, can convey a lot about you to the other person and vice versa. There’s hardly enough time to form an organic connection with someone, but many turn to it to increase their odds of ending the year in a relationship… It’s timed due to the number of attendees with the purpose being to give everyone a chance to make an introduction. If a connection is made, you can opt to pull out with that person or you can proceed to the next table. The time constraint can be a friendly ally to someone who is completely disinterested or uncomfortable with the person they’re seated with… This year marked my 15th year in recruitment, and like many, I was introduced to it in the conventional transactional manner. Need a body? Here you go! Send the cheque! There was no time to build a real partnership with a company because it was on to the next decision maker with a need, and you kept doing that until you felt completely burnt out at the end of the day… Many prefer this approach because it gives them an easy exit if feelings about a search or company change, or it’s looking like your effort is not going to materialize into a placement… Granted, it’s a thrill at times to engage in these scavenger hunt activities to fill a position, racing to beat your competition and collect a fee payout. Many have done quite well under this model… The pivot for me came once I realized the value and importance of time. I was still newly married, and my second child was here. My Wife was the primary caregiver to our kids, and I vowed to take care of them… …something had to change. Personally, working in this way contradicted the very essence of who I am as a human being. I’ll take one meaningful relationship over 5 or 6 open-ended connections with no real value add for either side. I was speed dating my way through the industry. I was having conversations with a lot of people, but hardly establishing anything that was sustainable with repeatable business, and lasting value. I was waiting for that bell to ring or that cheque to clear, and on to the next. What’s interesting is that I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t transactional, yet my fruit declared differently. I operated unethically, not because I was unethical, but because of the pressure I was under to produce. You pounced all over a client request because you never knew if or when the next one would come knocking. The rollercoaster of emotions coupled with financial unpredictability forced me to double click on what I wanted from a career in recruitment, and how I wanted to be remembered. Did I want to be just another guy at a table in a crowded room, or a strategic partner with a permanent seat at the table? There’s a difference. Cue the transformation to what has now become a search boutique predicated on delivering tangible results (not just lip-service) to people. We’re still driven by numbers to remain in business, but we don’t treat people like numbers… If you’re at a similar place professionally, reach out to me directly. I would enjoy hearing your story… For the past 15 years, I’ve facilitated placements within engineering and technology, with a focus of late on improving outcomes for organizations through better leadership… There’s a better way to grow your business… …let’s explore this together.

He challenged me, and the experience changed the trajectory of my career in recruitment. He had 2 Master’s degrees, a Mathematician with a deeply analytical mind. Uniquely, he was also a tremendous people person with an uncanny ability to tear down barriers that most people put up. He asked thoughtful questions, while giving you his undivided attention. When he spoke to you, you felt like you were the only person who existed in the universe. He was one of the most life altering leaders I’ve served under, despite my best efforts to escape his influence. Hereinafter, referred to as GK. GK was a perfectionist & a problem solver by nature, who practiced what he preached. You talk about having compassion for people – he had it in abundance. Sadly, I was too immature to appreciate what stood before me. I thought he was out to get me. My conversations with him were intense – usually confrontational with him calling out my nonsense (almost daily). I avoided him at all costs, greeting him only when I had to, keeping everything surface level. I didn’t understand him, and I had no intention of changing that. Hindsight being 20/20, I now see that he was challenging me not to think like the average recruiter. He taught professionalism at the highest level, the importance of subject-matter competence, and treating people with respect. He believed that you could only be seen as credible in the profession if you understood the market/industry you worked in. His premise was that you cannot effectively recruit people who operate at their highest level in their field if you don’t understand what they do and how they do it. The used car salesman, ‘one-size-fits-all approach wasn’t going to cut it under his leadership. GK was loved by the frontline staff and was a thorn in upper managements side. Mainly because he held them accountable by calling out things that didn’t make sense. He wrestled with the CEO for pay raises for his staff, while holding those same people to unwavering excellence. He ate dinner at the office and was normally the last one out. A true professional if there ever was one. The turning point: My perspective of GK changed the day I was told that he renegotiated his salary (inversely) during a downturn in the company. He proposed cutting his salary directly in half to free up cash flow, which was of course agreed to by upper management. He switched to a part-time schedule going forward, but between you and me, his part-time productivity was equivalent to (maybe surpassed) the output levels of his full-time counterparts. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is, and checking your ego at the door. Leadership requires action, not generic statements or catchphrases. It’s about doing what you said you would do, and not compromising on that. Hypocrisy is one of the toughest pills to swallow for those you’re leading. Leadership is a responsibility, not a right. Lead with your heart, and you’ll never have to convince people to go the extra mile.