By Corrie Miller
Yesterday Janice and I attended a business breakfast hosted by WXN, the Women’s Executive Network, at Vancouver’s Terminal City Club. An interview was moderated by CTV’s Norma Reid and the guest of honour was Rachel Lewis, Chief Operations Officer for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The topic was intergenerational communication in the workplace, and while it was somewhat lightly touched upon, among the questions posed to Ms. Lewis was that of leadership style. Her response was that her style is one of openness and collaboration; that simply walking around the office and taking time to speak to people one-on-one can go a long way to building relationships as a leader, and to hearing what’s really going on for them, some of which mightn’t be shared in a boardroom environment. Managing people by personal interaction and close contact is what Ms. Lewis does best.
I think women as leaders come to the fray much more about relationships and two-way communication than has traditionally been the case in a male dominated workforce. Things are definitely changing (as things do) and more and more men are welcoming and promoting the women they work with, and becoming better communicators and managers. (One of the best managers I ever had was a man, one of the worst a woman, so this is by no means a rule).
I believe an ability to collaborate, to build a team that is inclusive and where every person’s thoughts are heard and have value will go a long way to changing the face of our organizations. I look forward to a day when we will see roughly 50% representation by women on our boards, on the speaking ticket, in our executive level positions, and in government.
Wouldn’t that be awesome.
To Your Voice,
Corrie
Corrie Miller and Rachel Lewis, COO of Vancouver Whitecaps FC
