Best Boss Ever

You're driving too fast

Episode 11: Christine interviews Demetria Ruggiero-Barbera, SVP Financial Crimes at Scotiabank as she talks about several best bosses that offered their observations and perspectives which gave her opportunities to learn about her own behaviour.  Demetria shares how receiving this constructive feedback gave her self awareness and a chance to grow and shine.  This taught her to give people time to own a decision, instead of pushing it through and she has applied this learning into how she leads her own teams.

Head, heart and guts

Episode 10: Christine interviews Greg Hewitt, CEO at DHL Express US as he talks about two leaders that inspired him to always be connected with the front line to unlock their tremendous potential.  Greg shares how Ken Allen valued walking the office and shipping docks to speak to everyone; this helped keep his people motivated to provide exceptional service quality.  He also spoke about Mike Parra who made everyone feel valued and important by developing genuine relationships at all levels of the business.  This taught Greg the importance of being out in the business, listening to his people and developing his teams to set them up for success.

Caring for your employees

Episode 9: Christine interviews Laura Joudrey, CFO at Extend Communications. Laura talks about how her current boss has shaped her professionally as he always makes people feel valued and cared about.  She shares how Scott Lyons is motivated to improve the lives of his people and how this inspires them to enjoy their job and be successful.  This taught Laura the importance of communication and compassion in building an incredible company culture where people are motivated, valued, happy, appreciated and have opportunities to succeed and grow.

The value of "I don't know"

Episode 8: Christine interviews Eric Wasser, Managing Director at The Brevet Group as he talks about a boss who made him feel smart, valued, safe and would defend and fight for his team.  Eric shares how this leader showed vulnerability by bringing challenges to his team to unlock their potential to share ideas, innovate and collaborate, which created fierceness and loyalty to this boss.  This taught Eric that a leader doesn't need to have all the answers which is imperative to fostering a culture where people feel engaged, valued, safe and supported to optimize creativity and performance. 

Keep calm and carry on

Episode 7: Christine interviews Steve Robert, Global VP Sales, Marketing and Product Innovation at AIB International, as he talks about a boss that took a calm approach to a negative situation and worked with him to gain clarity and helped draw out the path to the best possible outcome.  Steve shares how this boss treated everyone this way to create a really dynamic and engaged team that worked together to drive results.  Christine and Steve discuss three tactical tips to being a great leader that is calm, collected and creates a spirit of overcoming challenges while protecting employee engagement.

Recognizing greatness in others

Episode 6: Christine interviews Sarah McVanel, Canada's Recognition Expert with Greatness Magnified, as she talks about a boss that supported, guided and mentored her when given the news that she was leaving the company.  Sarah shares how this boss helped her transition into her new role, was always there for the people and how these actions impacted the career legacy this boss left on her.  Sarah and Christine discuss what kind of emotional imprint you make with the people who report to you (and with you) and how selfless leaders recognize greatness in others, aspiring them to go the extra mile for their best boss.

Always on my side

Episode 5: Christine interviews Tonya Campbell, RVP Mobile Financial Planning at Scotiabank, as she talks about several bosses that gave her trust, flexibility and autonomy to take risks which led to her thriving instead of surviving.  Tonya shares how these bosses were 100% always on her side and gave her the benefit of the doubt first before ever engaging in a negative dialogue.  This taught her to have a servant style of leadership where she empowers her people by communicating expectations and allowing them to do their work with trust and autonomy, thereby creating an environment where success breeds success.

Let's get you there safely

Episode 4: Christine interviews Cam Haygarth, VP Marketing and Sales at SureShot Solutions, as he talks about three best bosses that showed him how sincere caring and heart make people want to go the extra mile to help them succeed.  Cam shares how his bosses genuinely cared about his well being, particularly in tough times, which taught him to be a caring and understanding leader that treats people with deep respect to drive results and build a positive corporate culture.

Empowering you to be you

Episode 3: Christine interviews Kim Carlin, Leader of the Operational Excellence Transformation Initiative at CIBC, as she talks about how the best leaders support their team in being true to who they are and are rewarded for taking risks.  Kim shares how she came from a highly competitive culture; so competitive it damaged collaboration among peers. Today she gets to lead more authentically and realizes that being true to yourself and being permitted to take risks leads to better engagement and better business outcomes where creativity and innovation thrive.

Upward serving versus downward serving

Episode 2: Christine interviews Gary Mottershead, President and Founder of GCP Industrial Products and Strategic Coach Facilitator, as he talks about a boss who taught him about the importance of being downward serving over upward serving.  Gary shares how this boss was tough but allowed him to be himself, which taught him to try to understand people and relate to them as individuals in order to build his successful company.