Meeting Summary by Denise Craine and Teri Morrison

“My definition of leadership is getting people to do what they don’t necessarily want to do—and have them enjoy the experience,” says Major-General (ret’d) Lewis MacKenzie.

Lewis MacKenzie, Major-General (ret’d) Canadian Armed Forces

Whether they wanted to or not, the capacity crowd of over a hundred pharma marketers at the Weston Golf & Country Club on Monday, September 14th certainly gave every indication of enjoying the experience.

The first time it was suggested to MacKenzie that he should give a presentation about leadership, he refused. He didn’t feel that he was an expert on the subject. That’s hard to believe considering his illustrious military career commanding troops in dozens of countries, most famously establishing and commanding the United Nations peacekeeping forces during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992.

Eventually, he was persuaded to share his leadership insights, and from his experience he distilled these 10 essential elements for engendering loyalty and commitment:

1. Be Yourself
Don’t undergo a personality change when you take on a leadership role. “The perks of the job are not for you. They are for the position, not the individual,” said MacKenzie.

2. Leadership by Walking Around (LBWA)
Don’t get trapped by your inbox. Stay abreast of what is going on in the organization by engaging with employees at all levels.

3. Listen
“It took me 20 years to start listening,” said MacKenzie. “I was always getting ready to respond because I was sure that I knew more about the subject than the person talking to me. When I started paying attention, I realized that at least half the people were smarter than me and had a lot of great ideas.” MacKenzie also suggested that the best way to find out what people are thinking is to ask them about their passions. “If you know someone’s passion, you have a way to get inside and find out what they are really thinking.”

4. Encourage Courageousness – To Disagree
Create an atmosphere where people can disagree (not be disagreeable) without fear of reprisal. To explain his point, MacKenzie offered an example from his last job as the commander of 16,000 Canadian troops. After 10 days on the job, he called all the officers into a large gymnasium at Canadian Forces Base Downsview. “When I told them we had a major problem in the unit, they looked worried. I explained that the problem was that I had been working with them for 10 days and not one person had disagreed with me. They were ready to implement whatever I said before I finished a sentence; but I needed the people with expertise in a particular area to tell me when I was going off half-cocked.”

5. Have Difficult but Achievable Objectives
Difficult objectives are those that, once achieved, you can brag about, but they can’t be so difficult that you break the organization.

6. Accept Responsibility—Even when you’re not responsible
Accept responsibility for problems, but never qualify it with a “but.” “In my experience, 9 times out of 10, when you take responsibility problems disappear without lasting impact,” said MacKenzie.

7. Recognize Ethical Dilemmas
“The best way to deal with an ethical dilemma is to imagine someone you love looking over your shoulder,” said MacKenzie. “We make poor ethical decisions when we’re alone, either literally, or figuratively.”

8. Think Outside the Box
Make time for thinking so that you’re not trapped by the status quo. “Getting to work early and leaving late doesn’t equate to problem-solving,” said MacKenzie. “If your days are spent dealing with crises, you need to set aside time to think about problems from different angles.”

9. Have a Sense of Humour
Don’t be offended by being the butt of the joke.

10. Be an Actor
Don’t be inconsistent. “Even on your bad days, act like you do on your good days.” That way you won't have people second-guessing when would be a good day to approach you, explained MacKenzie.

In his concluding remarks, MacKenzie acknowledged that these leadership tips don’t work all the time, but can provide a framework for the role of leader. “Leadership is not the same as management; which is about doing things right. Leadership is about doing the right thing.”

MacKenzie also noted that it’s easy to be a leader when times are good. “When the market is booming and business is growing, you don’t need real leadership,” he said. “In times of crisis and challenge—which seems to be a perpetual state these days—good leadership is essential for survival and success.”

His final tip: "Don’t be complacent."

About the Authors:

Denise Craine is Director, Client Services and Teri Morrison is Senior Copywriter at WordCheck / iContent, a specialized team of healthcare writers, editors and translators, who create quality communications for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations. You can contact Denise Craine at denise@icontent.ca, or 905-415-0558.