Creating a Culture of Courage: Johanne McNally Myers Of High Liner Foods On How to Create a Culture Where People Feel Safe to be Authentic & Why That Helps the Bottom Line
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Ask questions and do not pass judgment — Engage in a conversation with employees. The more you ask, the better you will understand their points of view, ideas or concerns and the more they will feel heard. This works in business and in our personal lives.
In today’s social media filled, fast-paced world, authenticity in the workplace and in our personal lives has become more difficult to come by. Business leaders must focus on the bottom line of profits and corporate success, but does that have to be at the expense of the authenticity of their employees? I believe it is quite the opposite. I know from my own experience that a culture of authenticity allows the hiring of a team that will bring their all to the workplace. That fosters innovation, creativity and a level of success that few companies dream of. Yet, fostering an environment where individuals feel secure enough to express their true selves remains a challenge. The importance of authenticity cannot be overstated — it is the foundation of trust, innovation, and strong relationships. However, creating such a culture requires intention, understanding, and actionable strategies. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Johanne McNally Myers.
Johanne joined High Liner Foods in April 2019 as Vice President, Human Resources, after providing consulting services to the Company. She was promoted to Executive Vice President, Human Resources in July 2021 and today, oversees the Company’s People & Culture strategy, which fosters a “people-first” focus on driving high performance through strong employee engagement and development support to ultimately achieve the Company’s business objectives.
Johanne brings over 30 years of Human Resources experience and has held senior leadership roles at iconic Canadian companies, including Tim Hortons Inc. and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Johanne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from York University, Ontario. She is an advisory board member for Helping Hands Healthcare and a volunteer at the Trillium Health Partners Mississauga Hospital.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, before relocating to Toronto to pursue a university degree in psychology. My bilingual (English/French) abilities were instrumental in securing my first job as an HR receptionist marking the beginning of my career in Human Resources. Throughout my tenure, I developed expertise across various HR functions including Labour Relations, Talent Acquisition, and Employee Health and Safety, and gained a deep appreciation for the profession.
In 2001, following the birth of my second child, I returned to work but soon after, made the difficult decision to step away from my career after fifteen years in HR to focus on my family.
When I re-entered the workforce, I joined a well-established Canadian company and quickly advanced in my role, eventually taking on the position of Head of HR and supporting the company through a transformational acquisition. Recognizing the new corporate culture was not aligned with my values, I transitioned out of the organization and began my own HR consulting practice, targeting small and medium-sized businesses to help with their HR strategy and infrastructure.
High Liner Foods became one of my clients, and when the opportunity to lead the HR function arose, I accepted it. I was already aware of and aligned with High Liner’s culture, people and leadership team and knew where I could make positive impacts and drive change and I’ve been here ever since.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I would have to say that leaving my career twice, to focus on what felt best for me and for my family at the time, are the standout moments of my career. I’ve always been authentic to who I am. Those moments taught me a lot about myself and about what I am capable of. I am resilient, I took risks and I learned not to be afraid of potential failure.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Define success? Success is when you feel comfortable with who you are and feel happiness.
I think I am successful overall because I am authentic, results oriented, compassionate and empathetic while still knowing when to make tough decisions. I’ve seen these traits come to life in many ways throughout my career:
- Authentic — Be true to who you are. Others feel more at ease when you are genuine.
- Results oriented — Where I see opportunities in an organization, I work to make sure they happen. There is a strong element of reliability in being results oriented. If I say I am going to do something, then I ensure that I do it. You build more trust and equity amongst others when they know they can count on you.
- Compassionate and empathic but I know when to make tough decisions — Compassion and empathy are important as a people leader. When considering any situation, I try to put myself in the employees’ shoes. I always think about how I would receive this information if I was in their position. That empathy is critical. However, equally as important is the ability to make difficult decisions. Earlier in my career, I was provided feedback from a leader in one of my performance reviews, that she appreciated my ‘courage to speak the truth’. When you pair compassion with the ability to cut to the chase and make difficult decisions when needed, it is valued.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a pivotal moment in your career or personal life when being authentic made a significant impact on your success or well-being?
Leaving my career for the first time was pivotal. It played such a big role in my life because it took courage and was a big risk to take but I knew I had to be true to myself. Before I left, I made a personal business plan, which didn’t only include a financial assessment, but also included what I would do with my time in order to stay current and maintain my skills as well as a series of pros and cons on how it would affect our lifestyle (we were cutting our income in half).
Looking back on it, this choice had a significant impact on my wellbeing in that it alleviated stress and allowed me to focus on my biggest priorities at the time, my family and the children’s upbringing.
This was also when I began honing my decision-making skills. As a leader you have to make very hard decisions at times. There are times when you know what the right decision is but there is fear or risk associated with that, and you need to be able to push through that fear. This pivotal moment in my career, fueled my confidence as a decision maker and secured within me that I am comfortable with risk.
How do you navigate the challenges that come with encouraging authenticity in a diverse workplace, where different backgrounds and perspectives may sometimes lead to conflict?
I come back to authenticity here. Being genuine and seeking to understand employees’ perspectives has always helped me navigate challenges. In order to best understand different perspectives, I ask a lot of questions and actively listen to the responses.
I am also a firm believer in leading by example and leading with respect. Diversity of backgrounds and diversity of thought make any organization a better place to work, which in turn increases company performance.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Ways to Create a Culture Where People Feel Safe to be Authentic?” What strategies have you found most effective in fostering an environment where employees or team members feel safe to express their true selves, including their ideas, concerns, and aspirations? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.
1 . Ask questions and do not pass judgment — Engage in a conversation with employees. The more you ask, the better you will understand their points of view, ideas or concerns and the more they will feel heard. This works in business and in our personal lives.
2 . Lead by example — Be yourself and be transparent. Employees will feel more comfortable in their interactions with you and feel safe to be themselves. Leading by example is engrained in our culture at High Liner Foods. Our leadership team puts emphasis here and strives to live this each day in their interactions as an executive team and leaders through the organization. We show our employees that it’s possible to work hard together, focusing on the business and strategy but that there is always room for camaraderie and strong relationships.
3 . Foster an environment of participation — Our employees know that we want to hear from them and that their voices matter and can have an impact on the business. When comments come in through our engagement surveys, I read every single one. Employee feedback and comments give us a greater understanding of ideas or concerns and help us consider how we can take action and improve on being an even better place to work.
We recently had 91% participation in an employee engagement survey which is a very high participation rate. These results show me that our employees feel safe and comfortable sharing feedback and opinions.
4 . Continuously evaluate your corporate values and policies — Times and needs change and with that, so should our areas of focus as an organization. As an example, we changed our bereavement policy to include pets — recognizing that there was an opportunity here to better serve our employee population.
It meant a lot to hear from an employee after they needed to make use of this new addition to our policy and how it helped them navigate a difficult personal situation.
5 . Encourage diversity of thought — Different cultures and genders tend to think differently and it’s important for the business to hear from everyone. We have a program at High Liner Foods called SWiM (Supporting Women in Management) aimed at increasing the demographic of female leaders in the organization. The program is open to everyone and includes ongoing leadership seminars, webinars and talks. I am proud that we are increasing female representation in our leadership roles.
In your opinion, how does authenticity within an organization influence its relationship with customers, clients, or the broader community?
Authenticity creates a positive influence in all areas. Being authentic helps customers trust in our brand and our company because they know what they are going to get. It deepens the relationship and the connection you have with clients, suppliers and partners. And it strengthens our ties to the community.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
It’s difficult to choose just one! If I could start a movement, it would be centered around wellness and self-care.
There is far too often a misinterpretation between the idea of self-care and being selfish, but the two are very different. Putting yourself first doesn’t mean you are selfish, because if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. I often use the example you hear on an airplane before take-off, when the safety video informs you to “put your own mask on first before assisting others”.
I’d advocate for greater opportunity for everyone to take time to figure out what you need to be your best self. For me, I do yoga every morning, even if I can only fit in 10 minutes. But it allows me to enter my day more present and with a clear mind, ready to take on anything the day has to offer and I feel like I’ve accomplished something for myself so I can then provide for others.
How can our readers further follow you online?
You can find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanne-mcnally-myers/
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle
