Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/143141
hr headquarters SPECIALTY TEAMS BUILD YOUR OWN FRANCHISE PLAYERS By Pat St. Germain I f your employees leave everything they have in the boardroom, come to work for the full eight hours and give 110% every day, congratulations — you have a winning team. And you should do whatever it takes to keep it together. That was the advice to guests who attended the Stu Clark Distinguished Speaker series with Dr. Glenn Rowe at the I.H. Asper School of Business Executive Education Centre in early April. "If you're a star in your organization, stay there. If you have a star in your organization, keep him or her — don't let him go," Rowe says. A hockey buff and former Royal Canadian Navy commander, Rowe is an academic at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. He applies lessons from the National Hockey League's hiring history to argue that businesses should groom star leaders from within the ranks rather than hire them away from their competitors. Take the Toronto Maple Leafs — please. After failing to win a Stanley Cup for many years, the Leafs hired Brian Burke as general manager in 2008, a year after Burke won a Stanley Cup as GM of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. By the time Burke was fired 22 | SUMMER 2013 this January, the Leafs had not only failed to win a championship, they hadn't even made the playoffs. Sure, they got some bad bounces. Games didn't go their way and opposing teams just scored more goals. But Rowe could have predicted the outcome based on the experiences of managers who had a chance to win a cup with more than one team during the first 95 years of the NHL's history. Only nine GMs had that shot, and only one repeated the feat — Tommy Gorman, who scored wins with the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadians from the 1920s - 1940s. Rowe says managers and coaches who move to new teams after a winning streak turn in below-average performances across the board. And another researcher has found that's also the case when star stock analysts move to competing firms. Rowe says about 70% of a star leader's success depends on team or company resources — corporate culture, training, technology and team chemistry are all factors. When a star moves to a new company, he leaves those resources behind and has to develop new relationships with managers, customers and suppliers. And some of those relationships can be difficult when the star has to lead employees who were passed over for promotion to his job. Rowe says companies who do hire stars should be prepared to invest 10 years before they can expect a repeat performance. You're better off investing in potential stars who are already on your roster. "Mentor someone who has the potential to become a great leader. Give him a chance to learn about every aspect of your business," he says. Again, he offers an example from the NHL. Ken Holland spent 12 years with the Detroit Red Wings, working in several capacities before he became GM and led the team to three Stanley Cup victories. So what does he think of the Winnipeg Jets management team? Well, the Jets' front office doesn't have the star quality the Tampa Bay Lightning bought when it hired former Red Wings star player Steve Yzerman. But Rowe says it bodes well that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff didn't trade draft picks for an immediate-impact player last year. "Winnipeg has a better chance of winning a Stanley Cup before Tampa Bay." 'peg BIZ MBiz June 2013_final.indd Sec2:v 6/21/13 4:48:44 PM