The Challenge of Leadership in Science-Based Organizations

A Presentation by

Linda J. Keen, President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

to the

13th Annual International Conference of 
Women Engineers and Scientists

Seoul, Korea – Republic of Korea
August 26, 2005

Introduction

• I would like to thank the organizers of the 13th Annual International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists for inviting me to speak today.
   
• I have decided to approach the topic of gender issues for women scientists and engineers from two angles:

1. By looking at the challenges facing ALL leaders of science-based organizations; and
2. By looking at the special challenges and opportunities for women leaders.

• I decided to approach the presentation in this way because, after spending more than 25 years as a manager and leader in both science- and non-science-based organizations, I believe that the vast majority of leadership challenges are common to both women and men.

The Changing Face of Leadership

• Many of you are intimately familiar with the image on the left as his theories and theorems may have challenged you to greater academic heights in your schooling endeavours.
   
• Many others of you will recognize the image on the right as the Commander of STS114, Eileen Collins, of NASA’s most recently successful shuttle mission.
   
• This is the changing face of leadership.
   
• Some of you are already leaders in your organizations.
   
• Some of you are starting management roles.
   
• And others of you are just starting your careers as scientists and engineers.
   
• You are perhaps wondering why anyone would leave the exciting, challenging life of fulltime science to be a manager and a leader.
   
• Science is exciting!
   
• To be on the cutting edge of discovery and investigation is extremely fulfilling.
   
• This excitement is likely why we undertook our education and training in science in the first place.
   
• It is this very education, which trained us in a foundation of science, which becomes an essential foundation for leadership and management of science-based organizations as well – whether they are private companies, universities, research laboratories or regulators, such as the CNSC.
   
• This seems obvious, doesn’t it?
   
• How can someone lead a science-based organization and forget its raison d’être—to ensure the delivery of the science for which it was created?
   
• Unfortunately, because of the pressure to provide strategic leadership and meet the bottom lines of boards of directors or shareholders, leaders can sometimes forget that original mission.

Keen's Leadership Rules

• Today, I would like to share my experiences with you in the hope that it helps you decide whether you are ready for the challenges of leadership and helps identify some of the key opportunities and challenges that you will face.
   
• Why does leadership matter?
   
• Aren’t scientists intelligent and capable of self-organization?
   
• Don’t shareholders and governments see the value of science and ensure enough support and funding?
   
• Regrettably, the answer is no.
   
• Science-based organizations require as much leadership and management as other organizations – sometimes more.
   
• An organization’s success is tied directly the quality of its leadership.
   
• Organizations need a strategic direction which has been designed in accordance with the mandate and opportunities facing the organization.
   
• In the end, however, it is the leader who must light the path and decide on priorities.
   
• Well-led organizations are also able to attract resources and produce results as measured against commitments.
   
• Everyone wants to be associated with successful organizations which are respected for their direction, results, values and ethics. Clearly, science-based organizations need strong leadership to prosper.
   
• So, at a practical level, what does leadership require?
   
• What follows are my six “Rules According to Keen.”
   
• These are not really hard-and-fast rules – just reflections of my past experience.
   
• The first rule is that leadership is gender-neutral.
   
• Despite all the discussion of the typical female leadership style as being more conducive to multi-tasking, team building and communicating, the truth is that leadership in today’s world is unforgiving, regardless of gender, and measured on results.
   
• Leaders must be able to harness the best talent and the best resources of both women and men.
   
• And they must be transparent and fair in all their dealings.
   
• Just as women were sometimes overlooked in the past by leadership, as women leaders, we must not make the same mistake.
   
• We must seek and promote the best.
   
• The second rule is that leaders must be performance-driven.
   
• Employees and stakeholders alike are looking for results.
   
• But what does that mean?
   
• First, it means developing a strategy.
   
• Leaders offer a long-term and practical vision for the organization that allows it to deliver results.
   
• This is the same for all organizations, whether they are private, public or academic.
   
• Second, it means establishing values and governance.
   
• Leaders ensure that the organization has a strong foundation of values and ethics and that all staff and stakeholders understand this foundation and abide by its requirements.
   
• Why the stakeholders?
   
• Because it is important that clients, suppliers and, in the case of the CNSC, the licensees, are all part of the strategy.
   
• They, too, must understand and respect the values of your organization.
   
• The quality of governance – the system whereby you deliver results – has become increasingly prominent in the evaluation of organizations.
   
• Stakeholders, be they private or public, wish to see concrete proof that resources are being used properly.
   
• Finally, being performance-driven means championing the effective and efficient use of resources.
   
• Leaders marshal needed resources – capital, technology, political support and people – to meet the short- and long-term goals of the organization.
   
• Finding the best approach to recruit and keep the right people is a key challenge for any leader.
   
• In science-based organizations, this often means recruiting and retaining scientific employees in a very competitive environment.
   
• Leaders must be flexible.
   
• Designing and delivering recruitment and retention strategies to meet the special needs of scientists and engineers is important and it is an opportunity to address the lack of women scientists and engineers.
   
• An important role for any leader is to address this issue head on, and to ensure that everyone has a chance to make a full contribution to your organization.
   
• The third rule is that leaders are both born and made.
   
• Not everyone is suited to being a manager or leader.
   
• I have found that some of the best scientists and engineers are not destined for leadership roles.
   
• The qualities of excellence in science, including the drive to perfection, focusing on specific goals sometimes to the exclusion of the broader picture and adhering to rationality, are sometimes at odds with the requirements of leaders – providing broad-based leadership, subverting your personal goals and ego to the broader goals of the organization, and sometimes using intuition as well as facts to guide decisions.
   
• Being a leader means also sometimes being ready to say “good is enough” rather than always seeking perfection.
   
• One of the most important questions to ask before assuming your role as a manager is about your motivation -- Are you able to do everything possible to see staff members succeed by themselves?
   
• To delegate responsibly but freely?
   
• Can you feel joy in their accomplishments and to stay completely in the background?
   
• Some scientists are drawn to the role of encouraging their team members and celebrating their accomplishments, some are not.
   
• This is the “born” part.
   
• However, scientists and engineers can learn to be good managers and leaders.
   
• With strong motivation and effort, we can learn, by both formal training and by learning from good examples, to be good leaders.
   
• This can be pursued in several ways, for example by management courses, by asking for formal or informal mentoring, or by simply asking regularly for feedback.
   
• Observing and evaluating good leaders is also of benefit.
   
• There is an opportunity – some could say obligation – for current leaders to be mentors and role models.
   
• The fourth rule is that leaders have usually already been managers.
   
• It is a very rare occurrence that leaders come without significant experience as managers.
   
• They have learned to marshal resources and ensure that strategies are implemented, that staff is provided direction and feedback, and that there are good day-to-day practices in place.
   
• There are many skills to learn in management and they must be learned on the job with timely training and support.
   
• Managers must learn to work in teams.
   
• Keep in mind, however, that there is more than one way to get experience.
   
• For example, working in a non-supervisory role can be very challenging and offer some great experiences in learning to achieve success by influencing others.
   
• The fifth rule is that leaders understand sacrifice—theirs and others.
   
• The best leaders will ask: “Are you willing to make the extra effort? Or do you think that you have earned the right to have special perks?”
   
• In my experience, it is a myth that staff will see you as a leader without an ongoing demonstration of your personal commitment to producing results, both in the long-term and day-to-day.
   
• Leaders have taken risks in their careers.
   
• If you look behind the CV of a CEO or President, there is often a story of international assignments, lateral assignments, and volunteering for a risky project.
   
• For example, if there is an opportunity to volunteer as an executive for your professional association, do your offer?
   
• The final rule is that leaders are courageous.
   
• The single quality which separates the best leaders from everyone else is courage.
   
• Being ready to do the “right” thing rather than succumbing to pressure.
   
• Being ready to address the risks with a multi-dimensional approach.
   
• Being decisive and taking responsibility for those decisions.
   
• This reinforces the need for a clear establishment of the values and ethics of the organization.
   
• At our organization, the CNSC, this means a clear articulation of the risk-based (or risk-informed in the world of nuclear regulators) approach.

Challenges and Opportunities for Women Leaders in Science

• But what are the particular challenges and opportunities for women who lead science-based organizations?
   
• First, be prepared to be part of a minority.
   
• Women’s representation among leaders of science-based organizations is unlikely to change in the medium term and certainly not in the short term.
   
• Consider the offer to be a manager and leader very seriously because, fair or not, your performance will be carefully scrutinized.
   
• It is an opportunity, but one that requires serious effort and dedication.
   
• Sometimes you should say “no” or “not yet.”
   
• Second, it will be an opportunity to be a role model and mentor to many scientists and engineers including, but not limited to, women.
   
• You should be prepared to separate your role as a leader who has a responsibility for delivering a mandate and motivating a diverse staff, from your role as a member of a professional organization and a mentor to women.
   
• Be ready for the many challenges and learning opportunities, but also be ready for a fulfilling experience!

How Does This Work at the CNSC?

• How does this work at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission?
   
• First, the CNSC has a vision of being “one of the best nuclear regulators in the world.”
   
• We are entrusted with regulating nuclear activities in Canada such that we ensure the protection of health, safety, security and the environment and the maintenance of international obligations respecting the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
   
• This vision has been translated into a strategic plan as well as a values and ethics strategy. We are also required to report regularly on our progress through our Annual Report.
   
• At the CNSC, I am fortunate to work with a dedicated group of scientists, engineers, policy makers, and corporate experts who are led by competent and talented leaders and managers.
   
• It is my belief that the CNSC is a good example of a science based organization whose scientists and engineers are able to deliver on our mandate.
   
• It is clear to us that we must focus on the quality of leadership and management in order to deliver on that mandate.
   
• We accomplish this by careful selection, continuous training – both formal and informal – and by ongoing, frank assessments of leadership performance.

Information on the CNSC

• If you are interested in more information on the CNSC and its regulatory activities in Canada, I have brought with me CD-ROMs on my organization that are available at this conference. Or please visit our website as is shown on this screen.

Conclusion

• While I opened with Einstein this afternoon, I would like to close with some of his words as well: “Learn from yesterday. Live for Today. Hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”
   
• In summary, I know that in the future many of you will be leading science-based organizations in each of your respective countries.
   
• Your interest in this organization and this conference reflect your interest in science and your commitment to its future progress.
   
• All countries will need good leaders to be successful in science and I hope that my comments today have helped you look at leadership as an important part of your organization’s success and potentially a part of your career path.