Welcome to my first blog entry. I have been thinking of writing a blog for a while now. I’ve been told that people actually want to know about the things that are important to me and about the things I think about. This was a little surprising to me, since I never thought there was much to tell. I put my all into everything I do, and I do the things I am passionate about. I believe in genuine connections and relationships, and a blog seems like a great way to develop these. I feel this blog is a way to share and engage with you, my colleagues; it is less formal, and it also gives me a chance to get to know you.
I felt November was a fitting time for me to begin my blog-journey since I hit my three-year anniversary as Vice President, Finance and Administration last month. For me all anniversaries represent a milestone and a chance to reflect. As I consider my time here at York, I am truly grateful for this leadership opportunity with one of Canada’s leading Universities.
For the past three years my experience has been rewarding and fulfilling. The exceptional character of York’s community, the quality of its people, and the unwavering commitment to students and the communities we serve, makes York a truly distinguished place.
This pandemic has added a layer of challenge to learning, leading, managing, and working; it has changed the way we live and work. It has also demonstrated that passion can result in great things with the right team. I believe we have the right team in our division and the right team leading the University. I feel honoured to be working with a senior executive team that is visionary, focused, caring, and flexible. I am always in awe at the entire management team in the Division of Finance and Administration (DFA), it has been and continues to be a pleasure to work with all of you. Most importantly, I am humbled by you, my colleagues in our division, each one of you a leader in your own right. The consistent professionalism you demonstrate, your ability to adjust in this constantly changing environment, your dedication and commitment, which I am fortunate to witness on a daily basis, makes me proud to be a part of this division and this organization.
When I joined DFA in 2017, I was committed to enhancing divisional stability and to providing clarity about future directions. My commitment today remains the same and I feel we have put the right people in the right leadership roles to propel us forward. What we have now I believe is a management dream team. An enthusiastic and motivated group of leaders with a shared commitment to achieving the goals of the division in support of the University’s mission and vision, this leadership team is driven by passion and guided by the principles of service excellence. I am excited to be a part of this team and to work with such an amazing group of people, I look forward to a future of fantastic things from this team and this division.
Over the past three years the structure in our division has been evolving. Today we have a high-performing division that embraces collaboration and focuses on our clients, innovation, and the delivery of professional services, all guided by the principles of service excellence. The Human Resources department has been moved to the Division of Equity, People and Culture, we have created the department of Budgets and Asset Management, and we have realigned units within Facilities Services into a more service centric model, placing our customers at the heart of all that we do.
There are many initiatives underway at the University and colleagues in DFA are all very much involved and essential to those projects. One initiative, Service Excellence, will advance a service culture within our division and across the University and take our service delivery capability to the next level. An integral part of Service Excellence is the creation of a University Services Centre, which will live within our division. The University Services Centre will focus on enhancing processes and consolidating transactional services into one portfolio so that we can deliver consistent services that meet or exceed the expectations of our customers.
Another initiative, the Student System Renewal Program (SSRP), is a multi-year program that will provide technology solutions to support the needs of 21st century learners; once implemented the SSRP will reflect service excellence in action. It will provide students with access to services and systems to make their university experience a positive one. The SSRP is an integrated service delivery program that is currently fostering collaboration and engagement from across the University including colleagues from UIT, Financial Services, Budgets and Asset Management.
Other initiatives being supported by our team-mates include, construction of the new Markham Campus in which colleagues from Facilities Services, Community Safety, Ancillary Services and UIT play key roles; the Classroom renewal project is being supported by co-workers from Financial Services, Facilities Services and Community Safety. These are just a few initiatives that are being strengthen by you; it is a journey of learning and growing. It will require patience, understanding and open-mindedness, but I have confidence that together we in our division and colleagues across the university will help to take us to that next level of being truly “world-class”. Your involvement will contribute to the success of these initiatives and your steadfast commitment makes me proud to be a member of this team.
You can expect to hear from me next month as we come to the close of 2020; a different year, certainly a challenging year and definitely a year of firsts for all of us. As my blog matures, I will write about aspects of our division which I hope will serve as a general source of information. I welcome your feedback about the blog and your suggestions regarding content and topics.
As I close, I wanted to share this picture with you. It is a scene I get to enjoy almost everyday. I reside on a hobby farm where I am fortunate to experience the beauty of nature. So sometimes while on a Zoom meeting, a bright smile might flash across my face, chances are this gentle doe has passed by, or the antics of her kids make it impossible not to smile.
I hope you too can carve out some time to experience the beauty that nature provides, and as we trade in our sandals for boots, do enjoy the fresh brisk air and beautiful colours of fall.
Stay well, stay safe and continue to support each other.
Carol
3 Comments
Hi Carol,
Thanks for creating this blog and sharing updates about the Division. I also appreciate that you shared a little bit about yourself and the scenery that you enjoy on your farm. I agree that it is important to seek things, that bring us joy. For me its sunshine and a clean kitchen!
In your next blog, would you consider speaking a little more about the journey of creating a management dream team. Did you know what you wanted? Was the journey fully intentional or somewhat coincidental? What were some of the pain points in the evolution and how did you navigate?
I'd love to hear your thoughts....
thanks,
Diane
Hi Diane,
Thank you for your comments. I can understand the joy in sunshine and a clean kitchen; sunshine makes everything feel light and happy. Thank you for sharing that.
Your question about my process and journey to creating my management dream team is an interesting one.
The journey was definitely intentional. I am fortunate to have joined a division with so many talented people. I did follow some basic principles as part of the process.
I had a vision of what my team should look like and I felt if the leaders in our division had certain core traits, the vision would be realized. Technical skills and knowledge aside, I feel the following traits are important for leaders:
Self-awareness: This is at the top of my list because the qualities most people tend to identify for good leadership are usually a result of self-awareness. Self-aware leaders see themselves clearly. They know their strengths and their vulnerabilities. They put their strengths forward in what they do, and they can objectively and honestly examine their vulnerabilities. They also know that we can all have blind spots when it comes to ourselves, and they are not afraid to get feedback. They take input and suggestions offered by others in the manner in which it was intended, and they use the feedback so to work on being the best version of themselves.
Calm. People respond positively to someone who is calm under stressful situations. A self-aware leader will know the triggers that can throw them off and are mindful of how to address these to ensure they instill confidence in the people around them. A calm leader inspires trust.
Humility. A humble person is not afraid to be vulnerable; they show that they are people too. They ask questions, they ask for help, they show their vulnerability. This allows for true connection with people and facilitates an environment for sharing and trust.
Compassion. People make up organizations and we are all unique, I think it is a strength when leaders understand the people they work with and can be thoughtful and aware of what others’ lives and experiences are like.
Strong problem-solving skills. This is a skill that goes beyond solving business challenges. This contributes to new ideas, better ways of doing things and making things easier for people to understand, which in turn leads to smooth operations.
A sense of humour. Humour has always been known to relief stress, but it can also help to relax people. When people are relaxed, they can be creative , engage others and problem solve. Engaging others and fostering communication helps to build trust and a cohesive culture.
Flexible and adaptable. A person who is flexible and adaptable recognizes that things are always changing, and they can quickly and easily adapt to the changing environment. They have vision and can see the big picture, and they know that a path forward is not always a straight road. They know that there will be twists and turns, and necessary adjustments to get to the end goal. They fearlessly embrace change and are open to different views, with a willingness to accept a different way of doing things.
Service oriented. Service oriented leaders are committed to people- their clients and their colleagues. They can anticipate, recognize, and meet the needs of others-sometimes even before it is articulated.
Strong prioritizing skills: Being able to align priorities to the changing needs of the business is key to an organization’s success. Knowing how to deal with competing priorities and deciding what should be done first, what can be delayed and what can be delegated, demonstrates a person with strong strategic vision. A self-aware person with this skill will empower people and trust them, without the need to micro-mange.
There are other traits that can be considered, but when looking to identify leaders, I really look for individuals with these traits. Knowing the traits that you want to have in a team really helps the process. Then it really is not painful.
Carol
Hi Carol,
This was a very informative blog, thank you for doing this. It was nice getting to know a little about you, and the goats are really cute.
You’ve shared some valuable information about key initiatives happening at the University. The SSRP, the SEP and the University Services Centre are initiatives that will definitely help transform and modernize York into a truly world class institution.
It is very interesting that so many people from across this division are, in some form of fashion, involved in these initiatives. As a leader with such reach, influence and responsibility, I would be interested in knowing your thoughts on the biggest issue we face regarding these multiple and very important projects?
I look forward to your next blog and I am hopeful my children will benefit from these initiatives.
Yours truly, Omar