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| Path: Main Street : NewsWeek : Archive : Leadership in Focus : Article |
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Leadership in Focus: Tim Brodhead
By Elisa Birnbaum
March 5, 2007
This month in our Leadership in Focus series, we feature Tim Brodhead, who has served as president and CEO of the Montreal-based J.W. McConnell Family Foundation since 1995. After graduating from McGill University, Tim spent five years working with the Canadian organization, CUSO, and then proceeded to work in international development in Africa and South Asia, an experience that culminated in his co-founding Inter Pares, an Ottawa-based NGO. Before taking on his current role, Tim was executive director of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation. And in 2001, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
CharityVillage: How does being a leader in the nonprofit sector differ from being a leader in the for-profit sector?
Tim Brodhead: I would say that leadership in the not-for-profit sector is more complex. In the work of many community organizations there are no unambiguous or generally agreed upon indicators of what constitutes ‘success’, so performance measurement is necessarily more difficult. There are usually multiple accountabilities - to a client group, the organization’s own board, funders, government, etc. Also, the emphasis is often on distributed leadership, since staff motivation can rarely be driven by remuneration and effectiveness requires collaboration with others, which can be encouraged but not compelled. Effective leaders must be able to protect their organization’s core values while being open and adaptive in their application.
CV: What specific leadership challenges do you face in your role?
TB: The biggest challenge is to get honest feedback. Since there are few ways for foundations to be held accountable by the public, as opposed to by their own boards, or at a very minimal level by government, there is an acute need for accurate self-assessment and feedback. It is easy for foundations to do the ‘safe’ thing or to give priority to internal concerns, like building up their endowments, rather than tackling hard problems with uncertain outcomes. Also, we have to satisfy our board members that our grants are achieving results, even though addressing complex issues requires long timeframes and considerable patience and flexibility.
CV: What should organizations be doing to foster young leaders?
TB: First, hire them. Budget constraints have meant that many organizations are skewed in terms of their staffing profile. Second, invest in them. Give them access to different kinds of experiences as well as training and mentoring, which is also difficult when resources are limited. Third, encourage them - with honest feedback and incentives and recognition. You really have to nurture them because they are our future.
CV: What traits do you think make a leader great?
TB: I think it comes down to a few things: they need to have vision, a strategic sense, an intense curiosity, an ability to listen and they must respect others - particularly dissenters. They also need strong communication skills and a focus on impact.
CV: Who are your leadership mentors?
TB: I have a few. First, there’s John Evans for his intellectual capacity, ability to focus on the issue at hand, his wide-ranging interests and his risk-taking. Second, Betty Plewes for her calm determination and her combination of tough-mindedness and personal warmth. Third, Alan Broadbent for his convictions, honesty and wit. Fourth, the Dalai Lama for his authenticity, transparency, perseverance and good humour. And, finally, Tim Draimin, for his intelligence, strategic sense, modesty and amazing networking skills.
CV: What is your leadership style or philosophy?
TB: My leadership ‘style’ is virtually the mirror image of the qualities I have ascribed to my mentors that I mentioned above.
CV: Why do you think so few nonprofits are willing to step up and identify themselves as leaders?
TB: Leadership in the public mind is often seen as ‘heroic leadership’ - in that the individual imposes his or her authority - and that is not viewed as particularly desirable, especially in a competitive environment like the voluntary sector where leadership must be earned, not claimed, and where having a title doesn’t necessarily confer any particular authority.
CV: What books or resources about leadership would you recommend to others? Any practical advice you would offer?
TB: I haven’t read any books on leadership that I particularly remember. However, two aphorisms that come to mind are: “Management is about doing things right, leadership is doing the right thing,” said by Peter Drucker; and, “Leaders starve problems and feed opportunity,” spoken by Stephen Covey.
Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance print and broadcast journalist living in Toronto.
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