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Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Ballard), a Canadian disruptor in the clean energy sector, developed and produced hydrogen-powered fuel cells. The company had been revolutionary, but after many years in business the company was still research-oriented and doing more demonstration projects than selling fuel cells to customers. Revenues and stocks were sagging and employees, many of whom had been with the company for years, were disaffected. The energy company with a proud history of being a disruptor was, itself, at risk of being disrupted. The job of the new chief executive officer (CEO) was to motivate the staff and create in them a disruptive mindset that would carry the company forward into a new customer-focused future. There was an entrenched belief that Ballard was skilled at developing good ideas and that new technology needed to give way to the new ethos of being a customer-centred, disruptive, problem-solving organization. How could the CEO embed the changes and ensure the new values drove Ballard’s growth?

Why today’s business leaders need to show that great stories about fighting for what really matters can exist beyond fiction.

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders across all sectors worldwide face enormous challenges. How they behave and the decisions they make will separate the bad from the great. In 2010, the Ivey Business School established the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership with a mandate to focus on leader character. Its research resulted in a framework consisting of 11 dimensions of character and supporting behaviours that were identified as foundational to good leadership. COVID-19 is revealing things about the citizens of affected nations as well as their leaders. The singing Italians, for example, serve as a powerful reminder that we can find creative ways to remain connected as medical experts urge us to remain apart. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the dimensions of character with concrete examples of the behaviours that leaders and citizens alike are manifesting during the pandemic. The authors believe it is of paramount importance to raise awareness of the construct of character and its dimensions—not just to ensure it is brought to the forefront of leadership education and development, but so it can be used by citizens in their everyday lives and as a tool by which they measure, vote for, and follow leaders.

In January 2020, a U.S. hunter-killer drone killed Iran’s second most powerful person, without congressional approval. During the fog of Iran’s response, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot out of the sky over Tehran by jittery Iranian military defense personnel. Michael McCain, CEO of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods, blamed Trump for the accident, which claimed the lives of 176 people, including the wife and 11-year-old son of a Maple Leaf Foods employee. Without mentioning the president’s name, McCain used his company’s official Twitter account to express what he said were “personal reflections” about the tragedy. The corporate world was divided by McCain’s blunt assessment of Trump’s leadership, with critics insisting he had crossed a clear line by using the official Maple Leaf Foods Twitter account to spread personal opinions without any regard for the corporate bottom line. There is no question that CEOs are accountable to company stakeholders via corporate boards, but the guiding principles of corporate leadership and governance are constantly evolving. While fans of the shareholder primacy model are free to resist change, there is no universally accepted line that separates the duties of corporate leaders and the personal views they hold, especially not on matters of interest to the stakeholders they serve.

Jane Philpott, a federal member of Parliament and minister in the Canadian government's cabinet, had told voters during her election campaign in 2015, "For me, a seat in the House of Commons is not a target; it's a tool. It's the tool that you and I will use to make this community better-to make this country better." Four years later, Philpott was forced to examine her position and her potential to use that tool when a scandal brought to question the principles upon which the governing party had campaigned. Resigning over principles carried a great cost; was it the right decision for Philpott?

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In 2012, Griffiths Energy International Inc. had secured the land leases needed to begin drilling for oil in Chad and was preparing for an IPO. During the due diligence, the company’s lawyers found consulting contracts that appeared to be payments to a public official to gain a business advantage. While bribing officials was not uncommon in Chad, it was a criminal offence in Canada. The company’s senior executive team was new, and the founder and former chairman, who might have been able to explain the contracts, had died in a boating accident. The directors needed to decide what to do: continue with the IPO and deal with disclosure if the matter did surface at some point later or report the findings to the authorities now and bear the consequences.

Kellie Leitch, a long-time member of Canada's Conservative Party but a relative newcomer as an elected politician, ran in the party's 2017 election for a new party leader. Her platform addressed several issues, but the media focused on two: a commitment to institute screening of newcomers to the country for their adherence to Canadian values and a platform of anti-elite initiatives. By the time the election for leader was held in May 2017, Leitch had been singled out, criticized, and lambasted for a platform that was seen by many as running against not only accepted Canadian values but also her own experience and values. How had her reputation shifted from well-regarded physician and community leader to criticized political candidate? What strengths and experience would she need to rebuild her position?

Kellie Leitch, a long-time member of Canada's Conservative Party but a relative newcomer as an elected politician, ran in the party's 2017 election for a new party leader. Her platform addressed several issues, but the media focused on two: a commitment to institute screening of newcomers to the country for their adherence to Canadian values and a platform of anti-elite initiatives. By the time the election for leader was held in May 2017, Leitch had been singled out, criticized, and lambasted for a platform that was seen by many as running against not only accepted Canadian values but also her own experience and values. How had her reputation shifted from well-regarded physician and community leader to criticized political candidate? What strengths and experience would she need to rebuild her position?

The chief operating officer at Farro Biomed, an independent laboratory in the health care sector, was a talented negotiator, and could be credited with a great deal of the company's success. But inside the company, he was known to be a bully. One of his favourite targets was a middle manager who was responsible for running the executive offices and the board's secretariat. Her work subsequently declined, leading to problems with the board's secretariat. A board member complained, and the chief executive officer eliminated her position. The manager struck back with a demand for a large severance package, claiming a toxic work environment, bullying, and sexual harassment. The chief executive officer had no choice but to take the matter to the board for direction. The board needed to decide how to proceed.

The chief operating officer at Farro Biomed, an independent laboratory in the health care sector, was a talented negotiator, and could be credited with a great deal of the company's success. But inside the company, he was known to be a bully. One of his favourite targets was a middle manager who was responsible for running the executive offices and the board's secretariat. Her work subsequently declined, leading to problems with the board's secretariat. A board member complained, and the chief executive officer eliminated her position. The manager struck back with a demand for a large severance package, claiming a toxic work environment, bullying, and sexual harassment. The chief executive officer had no choice but to take the matter to the board for direction. The board needed to decide how to proceed.

America’s Business Roundtable (BRT)—currently comprised of nearly 200 CEOs, ranging from General Motors’ Mary Barra to Apple’s Tim Cook—recently issued a statement that says making money for shareholders is not the only responsibility of management. For decades, a shareholders-first model was widely considered corporate orthodoxy in the United States, where boardroom focus has long been influenced by University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman’s 1970 essay “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” In August 2019, the group of CEOs updated its thinking on the matter in a 300-word statement that doesn’t mention shareholders until the end of a list of commitments that starts with “delivering value to our customers” and “investing in our employees,” then moves on to “dealing fairly and ethically with our suppliers” and “supporting the communities in which we work,” before finishing with “generating long-term value for shareholders.” The BRT’s shift in thinking comes at a time when corporate America faces distress due to global discontent over income inequality, harmful products, and poor working conditions. The BRT has diplomatically signaled that corporations should be more careful than they were in the past when the short-term financial interests of shareholders conflict with the interests of other stakeholders. This could have significant implications for dividend and share-buyback programs.

In 2012, Griffiths Energy International Inc. had secured the land leases needed to begin drilling for oil in Chad and was preparing for an IPO. During the due diligence, the company's lawyers found consulting contracts that appeared to be payments to a public official to gain a business advantage. While bribing officials was not uncommon in Chad, it was a criminal offence in Canada. The company's senior executive team was new, and the founder and former chairman, who might have been able to explain the contracts, had died in a boating accident. The directors needed to decide what to do: continue with the IPO and deal with disclosure if the matter did surface at some point later or report the findings to the authorities now and bear the consequences.

Supplement to case W18869

Supplement to W18507

Supplement to W18507.

In July 2013, the chief executive officer (CEO) of TVOntario (TVO) was reviewing a report from consultants for the future direction of the organization. TVO was an educational media organization under the Ontario Ministry of Education, in Canada. TVO's mandate was rooted in supporting the ministry's social role of providing education-a crucial public good-to Ontarians of all ages. Over time, the mandate was broadened to include current affairs, documentary, and drama programming. But unlike its private-sector peers in the television industry who relied on commercial advertisements as a source of revenue, TVO depended on annual grants from the ministry of education to the extent of 66 per cent of its annual expenditure. For the rest, it relied on donors and on its own revenue-generating programs. At the end of the 2012/13 broadcast year, TVO reached 83 per cent of Ontarians. However, new data was emerging that showed early adopters to Internet video were beginning to watch as much as 45 per cent of their television through non-traditional channels. The consultants outlined a five-year plan with three strategic directions. The CEO must decide on the direction and the execution plan that will place TVO on a path of recurring growth.

Supplement to TVO: Leading Transformation Change (A)

Supplement to TVO: Leading Transformation Change (A)

In July 2013, the chief executive officer (CEO) of TVOntario (TVO) was reviewing a report from consultants for the future direction of the organization. TVO was an educational media organization under the Ontario Ministry of Education, in Canada. TVO’s mandate was rooted in supporting the ministry’s social role of providing education—a crucial public good—to Ontarians of all ages. Over time, the mandate was broadened to include current affairs, documentary, and drama programming. But unlike its private-sector peers in the television industry who relied on commercial advertisements as a source of revenue, TVO depended on annual grants from the ministry of education to the extent of 66 per cent of its annual expenditure. For the rest, it relied on donors and on its own revenue-generating programs. At the end of the 2012/13 broadcast year, TVO reached 83 per cent of Ontarians. However, new data was emerging that showed early adopters to Internet video were beginning to watch as much as 45 per cent of their television through non-traditional channels. The consultants outlined a five-year plan with three strategic directions. The CEO must decide on the direction and the execution plan that will place TVO on a path of recurring growth.