Data tells us WHAT is happening, but conversations tell us WHY. 💡
That insight stayed with me following the Public Sector Executive Leadership Alumni Institute (PSELI) session this week focused on "Steady Leadership Through Uncertain Times" hosted by Veronica Lacey and Associates through the Queen's University Smith School of Business.
Over two days, we heard from an exceptional group of leaders and public servants, including Dr. Mary Anne Chambers, The Honourable Christine Elliott, The Honourable John Baird, David Herle, Alia Kamlani, and a distinguished group of panelists who generously shared their experiences navigating complexity, transformation, and uncertainty.
A few "golden nuggets":
✔️Relationships matter. Whether influencing policy, navigating political environments, or leading organizational change, success is built on trust and strong relationships.
✔️Data is essential, but conversations provide the context and understanding needed to make truly informed decisions.
✔️To influence change, messages must be clear, concise, and solution-focused, and must create the conditions that compel decision-makers to act.
✔️Stand firmly in your values. Political capital shifts over time, but personal capital (your integrity, consistency, and how you show up), will speak for you in the rooms you are not in.
✔️Our most important responsibility as leaders is developing other leaders. We do not need to be experts in everything - we need to surround ourselves with strong teams and recognize and nurture leadership potential and excellence in others.
Thank you to Veronica Lacey and team for consistently keeping a pulse on the evolving realities facing public sector leaders and anticipating the challenges ahead. Your ability to bring together the right voices, perspectives, and conversations at exactly the right time continues to make this program such a valuable leadership experience.
I leave inspired and reminded that steady leadership is not about having all the answers… it is about staying steady and grounded in what matters when everything else is shifting.
PSELI Alumni Institute 17
