We’ve come a long way, ladies! We haven’t quite reached the end of our journey to close the gender gap or achieve broader inclusivity overall, but we have made—and are still making—progress.

The phrase transition plans, change in control, new leaders at the top, assimilation, and onboarding have dominated the media since January, as changes in governments’, corporations’ and other organizations’ leadership occurred.

In 2020, Carmen Klein, VP Organizational Effectiveness and Systems (HR) at Cadillac Fairview graciously shared her thoughts and experiences using ALULA's Performance Coaching and Feedback as an enabler for their OneCF Culture. 

Cadillac Fairview is one of the largest owners, operators, and developers of best-in-class office, retail, and mixed-use properties in North America, valued at over $32B. Their real estate portfolio also includes investments in retail, mixed-use, and industrial real estate in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

Cadillac Fairview’s employee engagement ranks in the Global Top 25% Most Engaged Companies. The firm has received accolades for their OneCF Culture, including Waterstone Canada’s Most Admired Cultures and Achievers Most Engaged Workplaces in North America.

The company’s journey to make its people and culture a competitive advantage began years ago, when company CEO John Sullivan made this observation: “Cadillac Fairview’s success is partly defined by the results we achieve (EBIT, returns, growth). But our success also is defined by how employees achieve those results, and the mindset and behavior of every employee. Behavioral leadership is key.”

A new year brings the opportunity to apply learnings from the previous year and plan for areas where you want to improve. One thing I’ve seen over my years of coaching are leaders who go through their days bouncing from place-to-place and task-to-task, at the end of the day, feel as though they’ve not accomplished any of the work they planned.

Leaders have long been encouraged to empower and engage the people around them. But usually it’s talked about as a one-way approach – the leader as the provider and the employee as the recipient. What if there was a reciprocal strategy on the part of the employee to further capitalize on the empowering approach the leader provides? In other words, what’s the analogous work-smarter-not-harder response for the employee in this situation?

Tamika was recently promoted into a role where she became responsible for multiple teams. She had been working with her team leaders to create a vision and plan aligned with the organization’s strategy and plan. It was time to share it with the employees in her department.

Leadership is all about helping others to excel. As a leader, how do you achieve that?

In 1982, W. Edwards Deming published his 14 Points of Management and described what he called the System of Profound Knowledge. His ideas and writings continue to revolutionize manufacturing and organizational excellence by influencing innovators, thought leaders, and organizational teams throughout the world.

Recently I had the pleasure of co-chairing the 5^th Annual Advancing Women’s Leadership Skills and Opportunities in Pharma and Healthcare - East.  The three-day event was filled to the brim with great speakers, learning opportunities, and activities—like dancing! I loved the energy of the event, and the passion of both the speakers and the very engaged audience, despite it being a virtual event.

“How do I know my remote team is just as productive as when I was able to see them in the office?”

“How do I know they are doing the right things in the right way? Are there metrics I can use?”

“How can I be sure my remote employees are fully engaged, even though I’m not around?”

I’m hearing these questions a lot as remote work has become the “new way of work.” As a leader, what can you do? Do you use keystroke counters and always-on cameras to see them—because you can’t fully trust them? Or, maybe you should “trust but verify?” Or, “trust and hope for the best?”