Today’s Mindful Leader: An Interview with CyberNB’s Tyson Johnson
Although challenging, the Covid-19 pandemic has affirmed for companies, with even the most enduring and resilient business models, that strong organizational leadership is at the heart of all high-performing businesses.
Leaders are looking to develop high-performance work teams while fostering an environment that is more human-centered. Employees are looking to be valued by their leader, feel a sense of belonging and be a part of something significant.
As the head of CyberNB, a provincial non-profit organization, CEO Tyson Johnson passionately works to fill a crucial skills gap in Canada’s cybersecurity ecosystem. Being mindful, he knew he wanted to work alongside his employees to feel the same energy, momentum and connection he feels for this work.
“I was in my role and realized that I needed to find ways to sharpen my saw and continually move the needle forward on my professional skills… I knew Opportunities New Brunswick had a number of their leadership team with Parrill + Co,” says Johnson.
Parrill + Co is a performance excellence firm that works with leaders and organizations to realize more of their potential and supports transformational change from within. They support a broad portfolio of business professionals and emerging leaders, ranging from non-profits and small business owners to large firms and C-suite executives.
Through accessing executive coaching and leadership training offered by Parrill + Co, Johnson began working one-on-one with Amy Parrill, CEO of the Fredericton-based firm.
“Amy is a force when it comes to her level of emotional intelligence, understanding how all things fit together and helping facilitate that conversation, even if it’s a conversation with yourself,” says Johnson, who completed the Effective Personal Leadership® program in 2019.
“That helped me have more clarity in terms of my role and how I was engaging with my ecosystem, including my staff, my internal stakeholders and my external stakeholders,” says Johnson.
Noticing a positive change in his own awareness, Johnson wanted to give his leadership team the same opportunity to experience Amy’s training. The CEO supported several members of his staff to complete the Effective Personal Productivity® program earlier this year.
After completing Parrill’s training management program, Johnson says, “We now have a common lexicon, and everyone’s gone through a shared experience, and it really is a powerful team builder and a professional development tool for all of our staff.”
Had Johnson chosen not to address his own leadership outlook, and the needs of his team, he agrees it would have taken more time and money to get CyberNB to where they are today.
“For each of my staff to be able to go through that – it was their own journey and at the end of it, they had their own ‘a-ha moments’ in terms of what they can do differently or where there were opportunities to improve,” says Johnson.
For Johnson’s team, they now have a better understanding of not only his needs as CEO but also their colleagues and external stakeholders’ needs.
Johnson was also able to mentor members of his staff as they experienced the program with Parrill, providing him another opportunity to collaboratively engage with his staff.
“I’ve learned to really empower staff,” says Johnson. “I’ve taken the journey that many do. Which is you go from subject matter expert in a particular area to what I like to perceive as a kind of a ‘servant leader’ role and learning really how to have stronger connections on the emotional intelligence side of the business.”
For Johnson, that meant cultivating an understanding of the needs of his team and to focus on where he was not as empowering as he needed to be.
“I began to actively reflect and learn how to understand how each person responds to certain leadership styles and behaviours and then making sure I’m making it personally effective for each person”
Since completing the training with Parrill + Co, Johnson and his team have had a more productive and positive workforce at CyberNB. Each team member understands the value they bring to the organization, and they have built a culture of interdependence and trust between members.
“What I’ve told the staff here as they go through the programs with Amy, is you have to buy in mentally to really be open to what the program is going to bring to you,” says Johnson.
When it comes to business management, it’s very linear. What you learn through her training is to bring emotional intelligence into it; you become more capable, perceptive, and dynamic. It does open doors,” says Johnson.
Today, Johnson and Parrill touch base regularly, and with each new hire at CyberNB, employees have the opportunity to take Parrill + Co’s personality assessments. The results allow Johnson and his team to personalize their approach with each new team member, and ensure they provide the best ways to support and engage their people now and into the future.
“For our employees, we’re demonstrating that we’re here for their success, and that really gets reinforced through that leadership training,” says Johnson. “Engaging with Parrill + Co has been a game-changer for our team.”
This article was sponsored by Parrill + Co.