Every organization needs strong leadership. But what does the word “leadership” really mean? What are the characteristics of a good leader? What happens when things go wrong and how can we course-correct after a leadership crisis?
In recent weeks and months, we have seen very public examples of both triumphs and crises in leadership. Let’s start with the positive. After his inauguration, the first international call that President Joe Biden made was to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The President has affirmed that America’s most important friend is Canada. Regardless of one’s political and partisan preferences, it is difficult to dispute the importance of this bilateral relationship. While President Biden seems to want to avoid explicit references to his predecessor, Prime Minister Trudeau has acknowledged the wear and tear on the Canada-U.S. relationship during the unpredictable tenure of Donald Trump. The President and the Prime Minister have demonstrated a commitment to shared values, including democracy, equality, fairness, and global multilateralism, and on the basis of these will move ahead together on common goals.
This makes for a good start, but it is just that: a start. The hard work begins now. Leadership from both countries will need to work together to make progress on the shared goals captured in the “Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.- Canada Partnership,” including public health, climate change, and job creation. There is also a commitment from President Biden to support Canada in our efforts to bring back Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained in China since December of 2018.
Canada’s relationship with China will continue to be among the most urgent, important, and complex files facing the government for the foreseeable future. Canada and its allies are facing tough questions about what leadership looks like in the context of China’s growth as a world power. Many have observed the gap in global leadership left by Donald Trump’s time in the White House. This vacancy leaves a space and a responsibility for new global leaders to emerge, but what will that look like? What role will Canada play?
Prime Minister Trudeau has acknowledged that a multilateral framework is the best way for Canada to manage its interactions with China as one of the world’s “great powers”. Some commentators, as well as Opposition leader Erin O’Toole, have criticized the Canadian government for not standing up to China and for tip-toeing around in order to avoid retaliation. There are middle powers, like Australia, that have taken a hard line, for example by banning Huawei’s 5G network due to threats to national security. This is notwithstanding Australia’s heavy dependence on its trade relationship with China. In Canada, the House of Commons passed a motion labelling China’s treatment of the Uighur minority as genocide. The motion was supported by all 266 MPs who participated but the Liberal cabinet abstained. This might be a useful strategy for the government, as the motion articulates a strong stance against China’s actions without forcing the government’s hand on any future action or sanction. China has taken notice of this development in the House of Commons, as it has similar statements by other countries.[1]
In addition to these global considerations, there are questions about the theory and practice of leadership in the domestic context as well. For the first time in Canada’s history, a Governor General stepped down in scandal. An independent review documented allegations of workplace harassment against Julie Payette and Assunta di Lorenzo, now the former Secretary to the Governor General. This is a crisis in leadership that has prompted calls for a revised, more stringent vetting process for the next person who occupies the position.
The Governor General is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister; no vetting process, regardless of how comprehensive, restricts the Prime Minister’s prerogative to advise the Queen on this appointment. However, the Prime Minister is facing uncomfortable questions about his own leadership, particularly with respect to his rationale for appointing Payette to the position in the first place. The Prime Minister has been accused of focusing on her celebrity rather than her suitability for the role. The power of appointment is one of the most important tools at a Prime Minister’s disposal; it provides opportunities to affect how governing institutions operate by populating other leadership positions with trusted individuals. The independent report on Rideau Hall paints an alarming picture of a toxic workplace, one that is all too familiar to those who have experienced bullying and harassment at work.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are in the midst of a leadership crisis of their own: Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Art MacDonald stepped aside just two months after being appointed, while the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service conducts an investigation into allegations against him. His predecessor, General Jonathan Vance, is also facing allegations of inappropriate conduct. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is facing hard questions about what the government knew about the allegations against General Vance and when. Former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne has said that he informed Minister Sajjan of the allegations back in 2018.
This situation cries out for leadership both from the elected government and the CAF. Both are essential to any meaningful change in military culture. As Maya Eichler and Marie-Claude Gagnon write in Policy Options:
The military is a workplace (not unlike the RCMP) that is designed around an unstated but institutionally assumed white, heterosexual male norm. This norm was perpetuated by a long history of legally sanctioned sex and gender discrimination. The legal discriminations have been removed but the culture hasn’t changed. Those labelled as “other” for not fitting into the preconceived “norm” of what a Canadian soldier should be are too often still treated as second-class soldiers.[2]
Going forward, we would be wise to take a broad, ambitious view of leadership that includes responsibility for meaningful organizational change. There is hard work that needs to be done across organizations that will require strong guidance from leaders who have credibility both within and outside their organizations. At the political level, expectations of leadership are evolving as global power relationships are shifting and as countries around the world respond to challenges related to public health, economics, and security. Appointments and elections to leadership positions must therefore be considered very carefully; the tasks ahead for leaders are daunting.
[1] Fisher, Matthew. 2020. “With Trump rebuffed, Canada should join other western leaders standing up to China.” Available at: https://globalnews.ca/news/6932424/coronavirus-china-global-inquiry/
[2] Eichler, Maya and Marie-Claude Gagnon. 2021. “Only a fundamental culture change will address military sexual misconduct.” Policy Options. Available at: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2021/only-a-fundamental-culture-change-will-address-military-sexual-misconduct/
