A new approach to leadership emerges at Kinross Gold
When Matthew Hart stepped into a new role at Kinross Gold Corp., the mining engineer already had the technical background and dedication required to succeed. But it was the people skills he developed through the company’s Emerging Leaders program that helped him to thrive.
“It’s been an essential step in moving forward,” says the project manager for the Great Bear gold project in Ontario. “It solidifies that I have the foundation to be a good leader – not just a technical expert.”
Emerging Leaders was founded in 2021 to help new managers develop the tools to lead successfully. It is the newest of several leadership development opportunities at Kinross and has been hugely popular since its inception.
“It's about building future resilience through leadership,” says Kathleen Grandy, senior vice-president human resources. Grandy helped found the program, which is sponsored by Joseph Kemp, vice-president and general manager for Kinross Nevada.
“The further you go up the chain,” says Grandy, “leadership skills – which sometimes get neglected for technical skills – are critical to the success of a business over the long term.”
Grandy saw the opportunity for a structured leadership program after seeing staff move into a leadership role for the first time. “Going from contributor to leader can be a tough transition,” she explains.
The program goes beyond practical skills to teach leadership through a people-focused lens.
“We aim to give them some self-awareness,” she says. “Leading people is different – you have to take a bit of a different view of yourself and your role to be successful.”
For Hart, a key takeaway has been helping him better understand his role, particularly when navigating the dynamics of technical experts who are not direct reports.
“It’s helped me with how to motivate people towards our common goal and to lead with influence, rather than authority,” he explains.
Having entered the program midway through his transition to project manager, Hart has also found the Emerging Leaders program helped reinforce positive behaviours.
“It's been an interesting before and after lens,” he says.
When he first joined the Great Bear project, Kinross’s major development project in northern Ontario, Hart had a tight timeline to perform an important scoping study. Leveraging the team was essential, and Hart completed the robust study and was recognized with a Living Our Values Award from Kinross.
“We have a very talented technical team. Delegating properly and making sure your team is fully engaged is critical to success,” he explains. “That was something that I was already doing that was reinforced during the program, so I've continued to latch on to it.”
The program also encouraged Hart to continue focusing on what matters. “The morale of the team and the key objectives are what is important – not just getting a lot of tasks done,” he says.
In the big picture, both Hart and Grandy appreciate how the program recognizes the values of the next generation – which go beyond a pay cheque or climbing the corporate ladder.
“Things have shifted,” says Grandy. “There are different expectations – particularly with the younger generation – and some of the old ways of managing aren’t going to attract and retain top talent as we go forward.”
“There's been a reinvestment by Kinross in its people development,” says Hart. “Mining is a really competitive market and paying people more won’t keep them. You need to be able to develop and motivate your people.”