Being a leader, whether in the community or in business, starts with setting an example for others and stepping up where you can to make the world a better place.
That was the tenor of the conversation at Desjardins Leadership Redefined panel in Aurora Nov. 15. The panel, organized by Desjardins Insurance, focused on how and why those in leadership roles need to use their position to help make a positive impact and inspire their employees to do the same. About 100 people, including dignitaries and businesses, attended Desjardins’ Aurora Operations Centre to hear the panel.
In a discussion moderated by Benaaz Irani, senior vice president at Desjardins, Anita Stellinga, chief of staff and corporate secretary of United Way Greater Toronto, Sandra Ferri, president and CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, and Jeffrey Remedios, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Canada talked about how important it is to lead by example in the community.
Remedios said that as times change, so do the roles of business leaders, with much of the community looking up to them. He said there used to be singular places in the community — the church, the school, elected officials — to look to be the “north star” on values.
“As community and business leaders today, there’s a much greater responsibility to lead with your values,” he said.
He said that as leaders in the community, silence is deafening, and standing up for what you believe in is far more important than playing it safe and staying silent on important issues, especially with social media amplifying voices.
“We really focus on our values and living by those values,” he said.
Coming from a position of privilege, Remedios said that as a leader, you need to understand that not everybody gets the same opportunities coming up.
“We have to think as leaders. What are those barriers, and how are we pulling them down to allow people to go through them? That goes through to the culture you’re building (in your business),” he said. “How are you reducing barriers and creating unity?”
With social media being so prevalent, many businesses make posts surrounding issues. But unless they are really stepping up, Remedios said it is virtual signalling.
“You have to do the work and lean in,” he said. “It’s an active practice.”
As an organization, Stellinga said without being proactive within the community you run the risk of being performative or inauthentic with social media posts. She said for them it is key to be working with their agency partners around issues related to poverty and social inequity.
“It’s important for us that when we’re talking, that the message is consistent and we can back it up with action,” she said. “It cannot be something that is empty.”
There is a need for more accountability, as well as expectations, from the community for their leaders to be putting the effort in to make positive change with issues like food insecurity, cost of living, and inequality, said Stellinga.
As a business, what your organization is all about is where it starts, added Ferri, and that’s why it’s important for business leaders' message to stay consistent with what their values are of the organization.
“Shining a spotlight on our members and the good they do in the community is part of it,” said Ferri. “That’s why we’re out all the time with our members supporting business, supporting charities, and supporting the people of the community.”
Ferri said building that foundation in the community is of the utmost importance and getting out and getting to know the community is the best way to learn how to and support it.
“That’s more than just running your business,” she said. “That’s being a part of the charities and everything that helps out there.”
Remedios said everyone in the community needs to love their community, and if they do not, they need to think about how they can do more to help make positive change.
“If you can do more, do more,” he said. “It starts quite simply there.”
