Sprott MBA Speaker Series: Impactful Leadership with Jerry Maniate
On Nov. 16, Sprott MBA students had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Jerry Maniate, a clinician-educator at The Ottawa Hospital. Maniate is also an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa and an equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility advisor and researcher at the Bruyere Research Institute.
During this MBA Speaker Series online event, Maniate spoke to students about impactful leadership, and embedding equity, accessibility, and social justice into organizations.
He spoke about health equity in the healthcare system—addressing unfair and unjust conditions so that everyone can attain the highest level of health possible—and posed some thoughtful questions.
“When we look at health equity, accessibility, and social justice as a bundle, what does this require us to do as leaders, as potential leaders, as influencers in our systems, in our community and our society, and within the workplaces that you find yourself? How do we address these things?” said Maniate. “One of the things that I’ve grown to appreciate over time is that all of these things are in essence, connected to a sense of belonging.”
Maniate founded the Equity in Health Systems Lab, an international transdisciplinary team who are seeking to make an impact on our health system. They are focused on addressing health equity, accessibility, and social justice challenges through collaborative partnership using a scholarly lens.
Maniate also discussed the characteristics of highly impactful leaders, and how authenticity, humility, compassion, and empathy play a role.
“We often valorize leaders as individuals who never fail. And yet, some of the most powerful leaders I’ve had a chance to work with, collaborate with, and learn from are those who are willing to share where things really went off the rails, or really struggled during a period of time or with a decision that didn’t go as well as they thought. It’s amazing what can be gleaned in those moments, not only for that individual, but for those hearing the story,” shared Maniate.
“Courage to speak one’s mind by telling all that is in one’s heart is really important. We need to create that kind of space for individuals to be courageous in this moment. And it’s interesting because we often associate it with the context of heroic acts and brave deeds. But really, it’s simply inner strength and a level of commitment to just speak honestly and openly about who we are and our experiences.”
The event concluded with an engaged question and answer period about impactful leadership and the healthcare system.
Stay tuned for more Sprott MBA Speaker Series events next semester.