Episode 28. Why Kindness Is The Must-Have Superpower For Leaders - Julie Adam

Why is kindness such an important characteristic for leaders? Julie Adam, author of Imperfectly Kind and the Executive Vice President & General Manager at Universal Music Canada, discussed this, her successful career in the music industry and much more on Episode 28 of the Reframe & Reset Your Career podcast. In this episode, we will learn about: Her love of baseball and music from childhood; The creative process and how taking time for yourself outside work helps; Dealing with nerves; How her mentors helped her realise that her skills lay in working behind the scenes rather than on air; Making the most of an unexpected opportunity in an interim role as Program Director which became permanent; Overcoming limiting beliefs to write her book; How Julie created a management style of being kind which aligned with her values but was also great for her business; Being kind does not mean you can’t make tough decisions; Taking ownership for your career development; Why it pays to be nice to everyone not just those with power; Being flexible and dealing with uncertainty; and Finding a job that you find fulfilling and is true to yourself and your values. Julie is currently the Executive Vice President & General Manager at Universal Music Canada. Prior to this, she was responsible for driving the strategy and overseeing the management and development of Rogers Sports & Media’s local and national News & Entertainment brands, including the likes of CityNews, 98.1 CHFI, Citytv, KiSS 92.5, Pacific Content, Frequency Podcast Network, FX/FXX, OLN, OMNI Television, and Rogers tv. As President of News & Entertainment, her portfolio included Rogers Sports & Media’s 54 radio stations, 2 podcast networks, 29 local television stations, and 15 television channels. With decades of experience in radio and broadcasting, Julie is a passionate and dedicated leader in her industry. She began her career at Rogers in 1999 as the KiSS 92.5 Program Director. Since then, Julie has been recognized as Canada’s first female Vice President of Programming and is a recipient of the Rosalie Award from Radio Trailblazers. Julie is a graduate of Ryerson University and holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree, with a major in Radio and Television. Julie is proud to sit on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, MusiCounts, Radioplayer Canada, and Canadian Broadcast Sales. At Rogers, Julie was Chair of Rise for Women, a part of the Rogers Women’s Network, and sat on the board of the company’s Inclusion & Diversity Council. I met Julie through Seth Godin’s writing in community course, which led to her book “Imperfectly Kind: Why Kindness Is The Must-Have Superpower You Need To Lead”, which is an enjoyable read. Julie and I talked about how you can be kind but firm as a leader and told me "Sometimes, people mistake kindness with weakness and that you can’t be a kind boss because then you’re giving up your power, that’s not it at all. In fact what I’ve learned in business is that often by being kind, you get more as a leader, people want to try harder because you treat them well. That does not mean that you let them do whatever they want or no matter how good or bad people are at their job, they get to stay in it, it’s the opposite."    Resources & People mentioned The Dalai Lama Vincent Walsh TEDx talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyU-AbYiEd0   Contact Julie Website - https://julieadam.ca/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieadamcanada/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/julieadam   Reframe & Reset Your Career Resources & Contact Info YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHASU4QApsJ3RsOFo1zTnhQ LinkedIn Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/reframe-reset-your-career/?viewAsMember=true E-mail - [email protected] It would be great to hear from you, the listeners, and your thoughts about the podcast, YouTube channe