As a parent, I strive each and every single day to be a role model and a leader for my two young girls. Each parent has a vision for their child, a goal – an aspiration. We grasp at the idea behind ‘you can do whatever you set your mind and your heart to’ and nurture them along whatever path they choose. Through their development, it is our job to encourage, teach and guide them. It is our job to push and challenge them; to help create building blocks that instill the very same values we, as parents, believe in ourselves. It is our job to inspire them.
“Would you consider yourself to be a leader?” – a question that is often asked in job interviews, to which, 99.9% of the time a person will provide the simple answer of “Yes.”
Leadership comes in all different shapes and sizes, methods and styles, structures and objectives. It can play a large role in a person’s motivation, drive and focus. Good leadership fosters growth and confidence, while bad leadership can be detrimental to both.
“How do you inspire leadership?”- a better question that we should be asking in job interviews, to which, 99.9% of the time a person will give you a more exciting answer than “Yes.”
At Scovan, we all inspire leadership each and every single day as each person practices it in one way or another. We encourage an entrepreneurial spirit – for each employee to take their careers and set their own paths to success. We preach transparency, accountability and ownership in everything that we do – whether within a project, a department, a committee, an initiative or in our community.
Within the walls of our office, each person is encouraged to post their annual goals and aspirations on a public forum for all to see. How’s that for transparency and accountability? Not only does this display the trust and confidence our employees have to showcase their goals so publicly, it also opens the doors to mentorship and new career opportunities.
Our culture alone inspires leadership, enabling and empowering individuals and teams to drive their ambitions and goals to the finish line. Our Scovan Initiatives – whether it’s furthering research on geothermal technology, virtual and augmented reality, in-house knowledge sharing courses or innovative methods of team building – are spearheaded by a group of passionate leaders who come together to complete the task at hand.
How does Scovan inspire leadership? We foster an environment with an expectation that everyone is in charge of their own destiny and provide endless leadership opportunities. We push and challenge each other to be better, to be innovative and to think outside the box as if there was no box at all. Our resiliency is tested on every project, working together and for each other, executing on deliverables day in and day out. It is a sense of ownership and responsibility that each individual brings which leads us to be successful.
Whether you’re with your family at home or your family at work, leadership with guidance, encouragement, feedback and responsibility to each other is essential for harmony. I continue to be inspired by everyone around me. To quote one of my favourite characters on television, “Leadership is not a position, it’s an action.” And at Scovan, we are all leaders. We all inspire leadership.
Originally posted on LinkedIn
