Business | Lack of leaders to become big problem for employers

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By GLENNA HANLEY
For The Daily Gleaner

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An aging population and other factors will soon bring a shortage of workers in Atlantic Canada and a dearth of leaders, says the author of a new book on leadership.

"The Conference Board of Canada says by 2031, we'll have 23 people available to do the work that 50 people do today," said Brad McRae, author of The Seven Strategies of Master Leaders.

Because of our demographics, declining birth rates, out-migration, minimal immigration and a failure of companies to retain their "star" employees, McRae said the situation is expected to be worse in the Atlantic provinces than in the rest of Canada.

McRae is director of the Halifax-based Atlantic Leadership Development Institute, which offers leadership training and learning strategies.

He was in the city recently to promote his book.

"We under-recognize, under-acknowledge and under-celebrate our own Canadian leadership. As a result, we are not providing role models for this generation or for the up- -and-coming generation."

The world has become more complex and more competitive and organizations need to address that.

"In the past, we could have one or two leaders at the top of an organization. But in order to stay competitive, you have to have leadership throughout the organization," said the author.

McRae interviewed 32 prominent Canadian leaders to develop his seven strategies for creating master leaders.

Among them were Louise Arbour, chief prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, former Assembly of First Nations chief Phil Fontaine, Jim Balsillie, founder of Research in Motion, former Gen. Romeo Dallaire and Westjet president and CEO Clive Beddoe.

Once the recession is over, McRae predicts a resumption of "the war for talent," with companies raiding other organizations of their top employees.

In the book, McRae said companies need to recognize "generation X" and the "millennials'' only want to work for organizations that are green and have a good track record in social corporate responsibility.

For Atlantic Canada, the backlog of immigrants waiting to get into Canada needs to be addressed and the region needs to make immigrants feel more welcome so they won't move elsewhere in the country.

To retain and increase leaders, the four provinces need to work together to build a "more robust economic engine, McRae said.