A Thoughful Visionary
interview by Paul Crookall
BOB GILLETT, PRESIDENT OF ALGONQUIN COLLEGE, RECEIVED THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR’S MEDAL OF DISTINCTION IN PUBLIC SERVICE, AN IPAC AWARD, AT A CEREMONY NOVEMBER 29. THE NOMINATION DESCRIBES: “A THOUGHTFUL VISIONARY, WITH A REMARKABLE GIFT FOR BRINGING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER, FOR BRAIDING THE OBJECTIVES, ASPIRATIONS, AND DREAMS OF STUDENTS WITH THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF THE COMMUNITY. A CONSUMMATE EDUCATOR, STRONG, DYNAMIC, PASSIONATE, CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE, HE LEADS BY EXAMPLE, LISTENS AND TREATS EVERYONE WITH RESPECT. HE WORKS TO FIND COMMON GROUND AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION.” THE CITATION FOR HIS HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA IN 2000 READS, “EVEN WHEN WHAT HE SAW MEANT DRASTIC CHANGE, HE DID NOT SHIRK HIS RESPONSIBILITIES – EVEN IF IT MEANT ACCEPTING DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES, HE TOOK THE PRACTICAL STEPS NECESSARY TO PREPARE HIS ORGANIZATION FOR THE ROAD AHEAD.”
HE SPEARHEADED THE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM, WHICH DOUBLED THE ENROLMENT IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND RELATED HI-TECH PROGRAMS. HE ALSO PUSHED ALGONQUIN COLLEGE TO INVEST MASSIVELY IN IT AND FOCUS ON A SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY, TO BETTER MEET THE NEEDS OF THE SILICON VALLEY NORTH TECH COMMUNITY THE COLLEGE SERVES. ALGONQUIN NOW HAS THE HIGHEST STUDENT SATISFACTION RATINGS IN THE PROVINCE, AND THE RESPECT OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. NEVER ONE TO SEEK THE LIMELIGHT, HIS PEERS NOMINATED HIM FOR THE AWARD IN RECOGNITION OF THE TREMENDOUS IMPACT HE HAS ON THE BUSINESS AND ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.
What is my management philosophy? The answer can be different for each circumstance, as I grow and learn. But fundamentally it is to do what is right in a fair way. There are no easy answers. I engage people, using different strategies based on who they are – persuasion, reward and recognition, creating opportunities for growth, to take risks and make a difference, to be part of a team, to play in a different sandbox. I also counsel on leaving the organization, when that is appropriate.
Two of my favourite books are Good to Great and The FourObsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. There isn’t one particular leadership theory I follow, but I read voraciously to stimulate my thinking on leadership. I think leaders need to continually enhance their experience and choose a style appropriate for the situation. I try to listen, take advice, surround myself with good people who are equally dedicated to the cause, but who are different from me, to balance my own erratic ideas. There is no one tool, but teamwork is the most important tool. We can’t do it alone. And we should always share credit and never take more credit than we are due.
I see myself as the chief cheerleader for my organization. One of my jobs is to convince people they are as good as I think they are. That may be through taking a minute to pen a thank you note, a greeting in the hall – the little things we know in our hearts we should do, but that are so often driven out by distractions. There is no limit to the amount of work, but we need to ask, “Is it the right work?” One can work 24 hours a day and still not make a difference. We need to balance our lives, respect time constraints – of others and ourselves. We feel compelled to answer our e-mail and cell phones. It has become invasive; it is a drain. We need boundaries; we need to respect the rest of our lives, outside of work, and the others in it. What message does it send to our family if the phone is more important than they are? In not having balance in our lives, we are modelling the wrong behaviour for others.
What I’ve learned is to speak less and listen more. The power of office is such that when one expresses an opinion, it changes the tenor of the discussion. I take advice and reflect – usually my final choice is different, and better, than what my initial opinion would have been. We need to take more time for reflection and to ground ourselves, particularly in times of stress.
I try to stay out the limelight as much as possible. I am part of the organization, but I cannot take the credit for everything we do. When there is a choice, I select others to be the public face of our organization – but often the role requires that I be the spokesperson, particularly in times of crisis. We need to lead outside our institutions. I try to inform the public of the complexities of our mandate. And I work with public-private partnerships as ultimately we can do far more together than we could do as a single organization.
Productivity is important. Algonquin College has made significant gains in the past 10 years. We’ve achieved those gains through technology, through balancing the use of full and part-time labour, monitoring expenses, and improving our product mix – focusing on revenue-generating programs that are in demand by our students.
It is arrogant to think, as managers and leaders, that we are at the top, and that the place will collapse without us. We serve our purpose, but should not make it more than that. I have found that faith is an important part of management. People who practice a faith, regardless of which one, seem to be more able to realize that it isn’t all on them, that there is a higher source that can support them and that there is something there beyond us. For those without a faith system, it is a greater challenge, since they must feel that they carry the whole burden on their shoulders.
It is important to leave a legacy, to know we have made a difference. Often, I am most proud of what I have been able to do privately, for an individual to help them in a time of difficulty or to remove a barrier to enable them to achieve more. There is real joy in seeing them accomplish what they thought they couldn’t and to move beyond the personal crisis. As managers, our job is to provide overt demonstrations of rewarding ethical behaviour, and take away the perception there will be retribution. We need to show how we hold ourselves and others to account.
It is the manager’s job to create an organization where it is easy to raise ethical concerns. And that can’t be done by sending an edict from on high. We need staff to believe that if we are making a mistake, they can tell us, safely. Much as we might believe it is simply a matter of people having the courage to be ethical, it is a really difficult thing to do, to stand up to a boss or group of coworkers. It has to become a common practice, as opposed to the exception, to create a climate where it is the expected and accepted thing, “If we are doing something wrong, please point it out.” You have to actively seek out problems, not wait for them to surface.
We don’t have all the ideas, talent, and resources. If we can bring stakeholders together, we all accomplish more. They may have more expertise, different experiences; we can learn from their best practices – or illustrative failures. I have gained from each cross-boundary experience – from the people involved. For example, we partner with companies such as IBM, Cisco, and Bell to build our technology skills. We study best practices worldwide. And we give back to them as well. The joy in public service is seeing education change – seeing students benefit, raising the bar for teaching and learning, seeing the College become more of a presence in the community; meeting caring, dedicated, great people, and being able to move the education agenda forward.
It is a privilege to serve the public interest. We recruit good people, knowing they won’t get rich, but knowing they care and want to make a difference, even though they don’t always get public accolades.
Robert C. Gillett, B.A. 1967, M. Ed 1978; Superintendent of Continuing Education, Ottawa
Board of Education, 1981; co-founder of The Ottawa-Carleton Learning Foundation, dedicated to developing ties between business and academia, which later merged with OCRI, the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, 1984; Director of Education and CEO, Ottawa Board of Ed., 1988; President, Algonquin College, member, board of OCRI, 1996.
