It’s 6:30 pm Sunday and I’m sitting down to write this week’s blog. I was working on other projects and almost missed keeping my promise to myself to write and publish a blog each week.

For today’s topic I’m going to cover something that’s been on my mind lately. Who is easier to work with? Someone who has lots of initiative, occasionally oversteps their job description and makes mistakes or someone who is more cautious, reluctant to take risks, leading to less mistakes.

I’ve had the privilege of working with many different types of people, with varying skills sets and strengths. If you considered Initiative and Caution to be the two end points of a spectrum, then I’d feel safe to say I’ve worked with people at all points along the spectrum. Depending on which jobs I’ve held, what was expected of me, and who my bosses were, I’ve been on different points of this spectrum myself.

When I worked for bosses who tended to micro-manage their direct reports, I found myself being more cautious, and checking in with them frequently, to make sure I didn’t show “too much” initiative.  I would seek approval before pursuing new ideas and ways of doing things.

Luckily most of the bosses I’ve worked for have granted me a great deal of autonomy, and empowered me to charge off wherever my initiative led me. At times this led to them having to chastise me when I overstepped my authority.

As I ponder what sort of person, I’d prefer to work with, someone near the Initiative or Caution end of the spectrum, my answer keeps coming up “it depends.”

If I’m going for X-rays, I want the person taking the X-rays to be cautious, methodical and precise in their work. I want them to follow all the health and safety rules to help keep me and them safe, with the least exposure to the X-rays possible.

If I’m looking for someone to lead a team through what appears to be an impossible tangle of problems, I want someone who falls half way between the middle of the spectrum and the Initiative end. I want them to take background information and feedback from others into consideration before jumping to conclusions. However, I also want them to have enough initiative to see new solutions, that others hadn’t thought of before.

If I’m looking for someone to create a start-up with, then I’d like them to be closer to the Initiative end of the spectrum, with just a splash of caution (not all the way over to the initiative end). Creativity and initiative seem to work hand in hand. A splash of caution helps keep people from diving off a cliff without looking to see if there is water for them to dive in to.

Where are you on this spectrum? Are you cautious with a dash of initiative, do you dive off cliffs without looking at what you’ll land in. or are you somewhere in between?
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Do you act differently depending on the circumstances?  I know I do!

Western society expects leaders to be in charge, to give tasks, and make sure that these tasks are completed. My style of leadership follows a different path. I genuinely believe that every person has something to offer their team. I make a point of learning what each individual on my team likes to do, is good at doing, and would prefer to do. I also find out where they need help. Once I know my teams, then we can figure out who is going to do what tasks. In my experience, people perform much better if most of the tasks they’re given are things they enjoy and are good at doing.

A team can be many different things: a company, a group of work colleagues, a group of volunteers, a professional organization, a chamber of commerce, a group of City Councillors and their Mayor, you get the idea.

Everyone is part of at least one team. No one makes it completely on their own. I acknowledge you, introverted loner, who works remotely, and rarely interacts with other people face to face. Even you have a loosely defined team. A team of people who grow, produce, cook and deliver food to you, a team of others who support the remote work that you do, by paying you for your work, which allows you to pay for the food, shelter and other basic necessities of life. A team that keeps electricity flowing to your home, if you’re off grid, then a team who manufactured the equipment you use to generate your own electricity, and the electric devices that you use.

Most of us can identify the teams we belong to more easily. If you work for an employer, then your work colleagues, supervisor and others at the same organization are part of your work team. If you’re in University or College, then the people you take classes with and study with are part of your team. As are your professors, the library and support staff, and everyone else you come in contact with while learning. If you’re a solo-entrepreneur like me, then your team includes all those who you form strategic alliances with, those you outsource tasks to, and your clients.

This weekend, I had the honour of being asked to do more for one of my professional associations’ teams. A wonderful group of women planned and held our first ever virtual Business and Professional Women (BPW) Ontario Conference. About 50 women from across the province participated in a seven and half hour conference. I had the honor of doing the land acknowledgement.

One of the things BPW is known for is advocating for better futures for women and girls. Part of how we do that is to create a set of resolutions that are refined until the majority of our members agree with the wording, before they are formalized and sent to the Government as part of an annual brief. One of my BPW Club’s members was the Resolutions Chair this year, she was responsible for coordinating the process. She asked me to be the “recorder” to capture any changes made to the resolutions live while we held the conference. It was a fabulous experience!
 
I’m not an expert on writing resolutions, all I had to do was capture the changes as they were presented, and save the approved version for my colleague. Others with much more experience with resolutions, and the topics covered, did the detail work. At least a dozen women were involved in keeping things on track, from ensuring all voting members were present and able to vote, to time keeping, presenting our financials and more. It was a great case study in people playing to their strengths as part of a team, united by a common goal.

Last week, during a virtual meeting hosted by BPW Edmonton, I learned of another team, where the City Council, in partnership with a number of agencies, companies and different levels of government, planned, and is building one of the first (if not the first) sustainable urban communities in Canada – Blatchford. I’ve quoted the top two paragraphs of their vision page:

“Building one of the world’s largest sustainable communities doesn’t happen without strong leadership and a strong vision.

Blatchford will be home to up to 30,000 Edmontonians living, working and learning in a sustainable community that uses 100% renewable energy, is carbon neutral, significantly reduces its ecological footprint, and empowers residents to pursue a range of sustainable lifestyle choices.”

This is what a team can accomplish, when people with different skills, knowledge, strengths and abilities work together towards a common goal.

I’m working in partnership with local organizations and other small Canadian companies on a few different and exciting projects. I expect to share news of some of these projects as they get nearer to completion.

In the mean time, I hope that you are open to finding and working with teams to achieve your vision for the future. Have a fabulous week!

 I like to learn new things and I believe in paying it forward by volunteering. I belong to two professional associations and a number of groups of people who share common interests. More than once this had led to stepping up to take a leadership role.
 
This year, I’ve participated in a number of global webinars hosted by members of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International): Intergenerational Dialogue, Leadership in BPW, #BPWGoesDigital and The Future of BPW series.  Its been a fascinating and rewarding experience. I was honoured to share some of my knowledge about mentoring in the video “Mentoring Models and Programmes” and to be invited to record a short video for “Leadership and the Future of BPW: Cameos” (my video starts at 33 minutes and 19 seconds).

This summer, I learned that the President for BPW Canada position would be filled by an election during our National Convention and AGM in October. I was approached and asked if I’d be interested in running. I spoke with a couple of people on the BPW Canada Executive, to learn what the volunteer role involves.

I also reached out to some people I know, from a few different political parties, who understand how to run a campaign. They all shared the same advice. Find out where the people who’d be voting for you are and what they want. Since I like meeting new people and learning about them, this seemed like a great idea. Turns out that living in a pandemic actually makes it easier to get to know the members of the BPW clubs across Canada. Many are holding virtual meetings, and have let me join their events as a participant.

I’ve signed up for as many virtual BPW Canada clubs’ meetings as I can fit in my schedule, so I can learn more about our clubs and members. So far, I’ve attended two other clubs’ meetings. From BPW Greater Moncton, I learned about the International Collect, and several strategies that I’ve started using to organize my home office. During the BPW Canada Online club meeting, I got to meet and learn from Senator Marilou McPhedran, C.M., B.A., LL.B., LL.M., and LL.D. who has been at the forefront of improving women’s rights since she was a university student and her mother asked her “what are you going to do about this?”

I’m looking forward to learning from other clubs through the Fall, regardless of the election results!

During the September global Intergenerational Dialogue session LinkedIn was suggested as the social media platform to connect with and get to know BPW members. I started searching LinkedIn for BPW Canada members. I’m honoured to say that over 30 BPW Canada members have accepted an invitation to connect, so far. We have so many fascinating members! With accomplishments in a wide variety of career fields. As I read LinkedIn profiles, I keep finding things in common with the members of this fabulous professional association.

Nominations for the BPW Canada President election close on September 15. I’m looking forward to an amazing line up of potential leaders for BPW Canada. To help spread the word of why I’m running, and what I believe in, I’m co-opting my weekly company blog post.

For those who are interested, the rest of this post includes my Nomination Information.

Lieutenant-Colonel (retired) Chantal Fraser, MBA: BPW Canada Vision for the Next Biennium
Between the election and the end of January 2021, I would contact all members of the BPW Canada Board, the Provincial Presidents/Liaisons, and Club Presidents for one to one phone/video discussions.  During these discussions I would learn their aptitudes, interests and areas where each of these leaders needs help.  I would also ask what themes they would prefer to work towards to help create the future of BPW that they want.

By the end of March 2021, I’d set up the first working group(s) to tackle some of the aspirational goals for BPW Canada identified during these conversations and in this vision. 

This team and BPW members from across Canada, would develop plans, and put them in action to do the following sorts of projects:

Leverage the value of BPW Canada as a community of women who advocate for a better world for women and girls, at the global, regional, country and local community level.  Determine ways to highlight that BPW is relevant to women from all generations across Canada.  With a goal of attracting and recruiting new members, persuading those who left BPW in the last 10 years to return, and increasing the retention of younger members.  Any community without young members risks extinction.

Lead BPW Canada to become a more interconnected inclusive community of women of all abilities, ages, backgrounds, cultures and languages.

Welcome ideas from all generations, and encourage women of all ages to take on leadership roles.
Set the conditions for our members to learn from each other, to celebrate each other’s successes, and to encourage our sisters from coast to coast to coast to thrive.

Reach out to those who are currently underserved by BPW Canada, to help show them that BPW welcomes members from all abilities, ages, communities, languages and socio-economic levels.

Leverage both our rich history and new ways of doing things and explore investing in online resources such as LinkedIn and Mighty Networks, to connect our members to each other, both virtually and in real life.

Encourage collaboration with people from all genders as we advocate for a world where future generations can thrive.

It would be my honour for you to join me in making this vision for the future of BPW Canada a reality.
 
Why would someone vote for me?  Here’s the bio I shared with the nomination committee:

Chantal Fraser started leading people as an Air Cadet in her teens, she then served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for 28 years. During her military career she served in a variety of leadership roles including being the Commanding Officer of the Joint Support Group Headquarters for four years. In her last military posting, as the Canadian Defence Academy Senior Staff Officer Plans, Chantal and her team determined the training needs for all support occupations and for common leadership courses; 974 qualifications to 49,000 students per year across Canada and managed the CAF Aboriginal programs. In addition, she chaired the Basic Training List Management Working Group, improving the management of 10,000 personnel awaiting initial training due to increased recruiting and limited CAF training capacity.  She was also a member of the Personnel Generation Committee chaired by Director General Military Personnel (DGMP), and drafted new human resources policies related to selection/staffing. The DGMP recruited Chantal to participate in a CAF Working Group to suggest ways to attract, recruit and retain more women in the Canadian military.

When Chantal became a veteran in 2012, she founded Empowered Path Inc. to help people learn how to help themselves, their communities and organizations thrive.  She offers a variety of services including: Professional Speaking, Coaching, and Mentoring. She offers tangible and practical solutions that can be applied immediately, using a conversational approach and Canadian examples. Chantal covers a number of topics, including: Leadership, Storytelling, Career Development and Inclusion. For example, Chantal delivers Indigenous Inclusion Recruiting and Retention sessions, for Indigenous Link clients and Mentoring sessions for MentorCity clients, in both official languages.

Chantal has close to 40 years of leadership experience, 27 years of experience in leadership roles as a community volunteer, and more than 20 years mentoring experience. Chantal first led virtual teams in 2009. In 2018, Chantal volunteered to be the Chair of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) Eastern Ontario Conference. As Chair, she leads a team of 30, most of whom are volunteers. The 2018 inaugural conference drew 150 people. In 2019, 250 people participated.
 
Chantal first became a community volunteer in 1993. She is currently a Mentor and the Eastern Ontario Conference Committee Chair with HRPA. Chantal is also the Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Trenton & District Club Past-President, the Gleaners Foodbank (Quinte) Inc. Treasurer, and is an editor for Aboriginal Veterans Autochtones. In addition, Chantal has served on not for profit boards with the Girl Guides of Canada, Kingston Daycare Inc., and the Trenton Military Family Resource Centre.

Chantal joined BPW in 2007. She held the roles of Club President and Past President, and spoke about the Women’s Empowerment Principles to local audiences and to MP Kirsty Duncan, when she was the Opposition Critic on Women’s issues. Since 2014, when Chantal became President, she forged partnerships on BPW’s behalf with the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce, the Centre for Workforce Development and the Women’s Small Business Network. In October 2015 the first annual Celebrating Women in Business Event was held during Quinte Business Week. Planning for the 6th annual event to be held on October 20, 2020 is underway.

Chantal Fraser holds an MBA from the Royal Military College of Canada and is a recipient of the HRPA Honourary Life Award.

For more information visit Empowered Path and/or Chantal Fraser's LinkedIn. 

If you’re a BPW Canada member, and you’d like to pick my brain to find out if I’m the right person for the job, I encourage you to contact me, through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or an email through my webpage, so we can set up a one on one phone call, video or WhatsApp chat.

Did you know that people can’t read your mind? That your boss can’t reliably guess that you want a lateral transfer? That your clients won’t guess you’d like more money? That your dream career might be a question away?

One of the lessons I learned early as a child, was to ask for what you want, because you might just get it. Best case scenario you get what you asked for. Worst case scenario, whoever you ask says “no.”
I’ve come to realize that this applies to many different facets of life. I’ve shared this teaching during a few different talks, where I also share the family legend that taught us this lesson. I’ve also shared the concept of asking for what you want with anyone who I come in contact with long enough to get mentored and/or coached.

Most recently, while volunteering at a local food bank, I participated in a send off for one of the summer employees, a university student who was going back to Ottawa to finish their final year at Carleton University.

One of the other people there asked what career the departing employee wanted to pursue after graduation. This resulted in a round robin of those of us with more experience sharing our thoughts to the young adults also present. My contribution was the advice to ask for what you wanted, because you just might get it.

This can apply to jobs, funding for a business or not for profit, the hourly rate you charge as a consultant, and pretty much anything else up to and including relationships.

Let’s focus on two examples.

I’m a member of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International). This year I’ve attended many virtual events hosted in Zoom. During a recent session I met an American woman veteran. We set up a follow-up Zoom meeting to chat about services that BPW could provide Military Affiliated Women (women who are serving military, veterans, or the spouse of someone in these categories). I have to admit Military Affiliated Women is the best name for this group of women that I’ve ever heard. My new friend Barbara Bozeman told me it wasn’t trademarked and we should use it widely, within BPW and beyond.

Barbara also shared a story about asking for what she wanted. A couple of years ago, she was organizing a working lunch with speakers to help raise funds for the Military Affiliated Women’s grant that her BPW group offers. While organizing the event she explored a number of catering websites, looking for an affordable option. The catering site that most appealed to her didn’t list any prices, it suggested that potential clients complete an online form explaining what their event was, including the purpose, and what sort of meals were being sought. The website stated that a quote would be sent to the client after the company reviewed their request. Barbara was looking for affordable, high quality food and catering. After the company read her submission, they came back with an offer to do the catering for free! You can’t get more affordable than that!

One of the most challenging things about running my own business is figuring out what to charge for my services. Over time, I’ve learned that it’s OK to ask for the fees you want from clients. Sometimes they say yes, which means if I’d asked for less, I would have left money on the table. Sometimes they negotiate for a fee that is more in line with their budget, and that’s OK! When both sides ask for what they want, and are willing to discuss the terms of the contract, both can walk away feeling like they’ve won. Because they asked for what they wanted.

I encourage you to ask for what you want, for your education, your work and your personal life. You might just get what you ask for! If you don’t, you can ask someone else, revise what you’re willing to accept, or stay with the status quo.  We all have so many opportunities!
 
​Post script
Sometimes people even offer to help without the ask. I'm grateful to Shawn Adams, Human Resources Management, Leadership & Management, Training & Development, Facilitation/Instruction, Guidance & Service Delivery Specialist, for pointing out a couple of typos which have been corrected!