“It’s Not About You” & Other Key Leadership Insights from One of Atlantic Canada’s Top CEOs

For The Chapman Group founder and CEO Tanya Chapman, good leadership isn’t about being able to tell others what to do— It’s about creating an environment for others to thrive. 

“It’s about creating an environment where people can perform at their best,” says Tanya. 

It’s not about micromanagement; it’s about truly understanding how to bring out the best in each individual.

Good leadership is about setting up your team for success and allowing them the space and opportunities to grow.

“You need to allow them to grow, allowing individuals to explore their talents, both known and unknown,” says Tanya, “Never create a ceiling for them.”

Tanya’s approach to leadership recently led Atlantic Business Magazine to name her among the Top 50 CEOs in Atlantic Canada. Of course, this wasn’t a surprise for any of us on the Chapman Group team who work alongside Tanya daily. But for her, the honour is not just for her but for the entire team. 

“What it means to me is that we have an organization that is well respected and that we’re considered leaders in our field,” she says. 

Businesses and organizations across the region and beyond reach out to Tanya and The Chapman Group for our expertise in strategic planning and human resource development, including our ability to inspire and effectively lead. Though an expert in the field, her passion for learning from others, including from the clients we work with, is key to her continued success. 

“It’s about learning from others. The reason why I do what I do is so I can learn more about how to innovate or build organizations and create greater economic opportunities for communities. That’s my focus,” she says. “Learning that it’s important to challenge the status quo, challenge thinking, and do it respectfully.”

Throughout her impressive career, Tanya has helped managers and executives across Canada and beyond become effective leaders. Here’s her key piece of advice: Empower your team. 

“It’s not about you,” Tanya says. “Success is created when you share leadership.”

How do you “share your leadership? Here are some examples:

·       Trusting your team to do the work, 

·       Giving people in your team opportunities to grow. 

·       Allowing people to course correct if they go off course

·       Being available when your team needs you

As Atlantic Business Magazine highlighted in its Top 50 CEOs list, our region is rich with incredible leaders in executive positions. Even more are in middle management roles, leading internal teams and doing amazing work. 

“We have many different leaders who are doing remarkable things at all levels of the organization whether it’s leading a community project, or acting on a board, or driving an innovation, creating a startup, taking the risk to start their own business,” says Tanya 

“All of that is leadership, and leadership isn’t a title; leadership is a state of being. And we should never mistake the position for the action, which is leadership.”