When Linda Hasenfratz, EMBA '97, started at her father’s auto parts supply company, Linamar Corporation, in 1990, she worked on the shop floor running machinery.
Although far from her current role as CEO of Linamar, which she has held since 2002, Hasenfratz said the experience was invaluable for her later role as leader.
“I now understand the challenges faced by the employees and I also know what’s realistic for them to achieve. I recommend that you always try to see your company from a different perspective,” Hasenfratz told Ivey students at the 2014 Thomas d’Aquino Lecture on Leadership on February 18.
The annual lecture is a salute to the contributions of Thomas d’Aquino, the renowned former President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), which he led for 28 years. It offers Ivey students the opportunity to engage with some of Canada’s greatest leaders.
Hasenfratz talked about the five core values that have made her company successful:
- A devotion to balanced decision-making;
- Being entrepreneurial and opportunistic;
- Being respectful of its people;
- Being responsive and swift-moving;
- Having a culture grounded in hard work and innovation.
We’ve captured some of the best quotes from the event:
On success
“Your success as a leader isn’t always about what you do, but what the person after you does. The success of your successors is the most important indicator of how successful you are.”
On conformity
“In your careers, you will face a constant pressure for consistency. It’s our job as leaders to fight that pressure to make everything the same. Although consistency and conformity and control mitigate risk, it also constrains innovation and can paralyze a company.”
On the entrepreneurial spirit
“Entrepreneurs are often thought of as people who started a business. In fact, entrepreneurs are people who have the ability to see a business from a lot of different perspectives. They wear many hats and that makes them exceptional business leaders.”
On leadership
“I believe leadership is partly genetic and partly learned. I think you have to have some nugget in you that gives you good instincts, but you also need to hone those skills and develop individual leadership styles.”
On accountability
“Good leaders own their decisions. The buck stops here. It’s your business and your decision. You have to own that decision, show accountability and accept the consequences of that decision, good or bad.”
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