Decoding Great Leadership: Lessons from a Canadian Navy Commander

By Georgina Whitehead, CHRL , Chief Human Resources Officer at CIRO / OCRI

We had the honour of hosting Commander Paul Smith, OMM, MSM, CD a few weeks ago to share some of his experiences on leadership during his time in the Canadian Navy. While his stories, filled with encounters involving drug cartels and pirates at sea seemed almost fictional, I couldn’t help but see significant similarities in key aspects of leadership.

As a leader and as someone who is responsible for helping support leaders to be the best they can be, there were three concepts that resonated with me in particular.

1. Define Expectations

The first is that everyone needs to know what’s expected of them. Granted, at sea, understanding your roles and expectations can be the difference between life and death – this principle is just as important in the workplace. This isn’t just about ensuring our teams understand what’s on their job description or that they received the proper training during onboarding. It means understanding at an individual level what value they specifically bring to the table. We all want to feel like what we do matters and that what we spend our time on is important and contributes in a meaningful way. This requires leaders to know their team members well, leveraging their specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for the benefit of the entire team.

2. Don’t Dictate. Give Autonomy

The second is autonomy. That doesn’t mean delegation or giving a directive. It means trusting that your team can do and will do what they were hired to do. In other words, trust the experts. An analogy I like to use to describe what this looks like is if a pipe burst in my home I hire a plumber. When they arrive, I notify them of the problem whether it’s in the kitchen or in the bathroom and then I get out of the way. I don’t hover. I don’t tell them what tool to use or give instructions of any kind because I trust and expect that the person I hired will have the skill set to do what they need to do the job right.

3. Diversity of Thought is a Must

Lastly, as a leader one of the best things we can do is to encourage a culture where people have the courage to speak up regardless of their “rank”. Even in an environment where rank is on display by the colour of their uniforms and the badges on their sleeves or breasts, Commander Smith shared examples of how he fostered this and the positive outcomes it rendered. Because sometimes, the most junior person’s questions can lead us to have to think about the why. It can make us pause to consider why we do things a specific way and whether that practice still makes sense. Or perhaps the newest member of the team has seen things done differently that can be more efficient for us now too. Leaders should embrace the diversity of thought and be humble enough to know that our way isn’t the only way and more importantly, it may not be the best way either.

Want to stay informed about the latest in investor protection, market trends, and financial insights? Head to CIRO's Newsroom for more articles and updates.