Sometimes you hear or read a quote that really resonates with your own worldview, or that completely shakes up how you think. May the following quotes from industry leaders inspire you.

On lessons that shape leadership:

“The third lesson is to know who you are. If you don’t, you just become a chameleon that changes within each circumstance that it finds itself in. Knowing who you are, knowing what you value, actually gives you the ability to make choices, to move forward, and to create congruency and alignment with what you do and how you deliver products to the community.” — Renée Merrifield, CEO, Troika Developments

“First, that we all participate in settler colonialism and white supremacy. Second, that we have all inherited a system not of our making; our conditioning can be examined and changed without personal judgement. Third, speaking truth to power is easier when people realize the first two points, after which we can work together through making real change.” —Rena Soutar, Reconciliation Planner, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation

“Be consistent. Walking the walk and talking the talk are important, but these are ineffective unless I also ‘walk the talk.’ Consistency is the key to good leadership and the foundation of trust. Words and actions must be aligned so that I remain reliable and accountable to my team. Effective leadership is about how your team responds to where you want to guide them.” —Christina Bhalla, Executive Director, Appraisal Institute of Canada, British Columbia Association

“You have to trust your people. If you trust and respect their work, they will solve problems you didn’t even know you had.” —Wendy Royle, Executive Officer, Real Estate Compensation Fund Corporation

“Keep learning! The only way to see the future is to stay out in front. To do that, you must be a curious and active lifelong learner. You will see patterns and connections that elude others, that you can then share as a new vision.” —Teresa Coady, Director, Certified Professional Program, Architectural Institute of British Columbia, Engineers and Geoscientists BC

“I wish people truly understood that planning is not neutral or value-free, and that every day that we do not engage in anti-racist discussions are days that we continue to permit the embedding of bias and inequity into policies and regulations that have monumental impacts on all of our lives and how we continue to coexist in cities.” —Amina Yasin, Regional Planner, Metro Vancouver

“When things get difficult, it’s important to remember why you’re doing the work that you do. I always think of the people I came to serve.” —Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and Parliamentary Secretary for TransLink, Legislative Assembly of BC

Download Summer 2020

To read more about leadership, see the Summer 2020 edition of Input. Download Summer 2020

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