Lesson in Leadership
In 1984, his engineering degree going unused in recession-ravaged Alberta, Sam Kolias decided to follow the self-made model of his Greek immigrant father. With his brother Van, Sam bought the dilapidated Calgary apartment that would serve as the foundation of Boardwalk Rental Communities, the biggest real estate investment trust (REIT) in Canada. Refurbished and affordable, that walk-up also established the company’s governing ethic. Call that the Golden Rule, but Kolias wouldn’t be shy about pointing it out as Matthew 7:12. Now head of a corporate empire of more than 36,000 rental units across the country, he does his best to do unto others as he’d have done unto him.
You anticipated a challenging 2010. What has been your strategy?
We discussed later in 2009 what we saw as more competition and more inventory of homes and condominiums. So our focus was on customer service and value and quality.
How much of a hands-on role have you played in this?
It’s a real balance between being hands-on and letting your team pitch in. One of our core values is teamwork and that requires a high degree of trust and faith in one another. An important element of a leader is to have trust and faith in everybody and a belief that they can do the job. When a leader trusts and believes in a team, the performance comes through.
It sounds like part of a leader’s job is to develop new leaders.
Absolutely true. A good, effective leader hires smarter people and complementary people that can do the job with or without that leader. Always grow a team that can succeed that leader. We are always asking ourselves, “Do we have the right succession plan? Is it in place? What do we have to do to improve it?”
What has shaped your approach to leadership?
There have been several pivotal moments. When we first started, we were completely hands-on… so we were working at the site, dealing with customers and we learned first-hand how valuable that direct link can be. We now are putting more emphasis on visiting our sites and trying to spend more time with our customers and less time with our computers and emails. We’ve learned that we can do more at the site level, understanding the challenges, working together to overcome them.
What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve made?
I think the decision of whether we should go public or not was one of the most difficult business decisions. Being public has a lot of benefits and it has a lot of challenges. Overall, I think there are more benefits and it was a great decision in hindsight.
Did that teach you anything about yourself as a leader?
Absolutely. I think during those times, the biggest thing a leader has to do is let go and let others do what they do best. Probably the most challenging thing a leader does is letting go.
Should the approach to leadership change in good times versus bad?
No, the focus must always be on people, on your customer, on your relationships, on your quality. And the focus should always be on your values. Your values are always the same. Our guiding principle is the Golden Rule.
You’ve been described as religious. How does that influence your approach to leadership?
When I get into a really tough situation, I find prayer is the best way to solve anything. Whether you call it meditation, or if it’s working out or self-reflection or yoga, if it works, great. It’s always worked for me. I can’t give any better advice.
Do you openly express your faith at the office?
No. If somebody asks me, absolutely. I try to be respectful of everybody’s different views and perspectives and faiths. That’s the foundation of everybody’s faith, really: be respectful of another person’s different thoughts and try to understand them, try to ask where they come from and learn from them.
When you talk about prayer, it sounds to me like the pursuit of clarity.
You have to take yourself away from that situation and try to look at things from all perspectives: from outside of your organization and from within your heart and soul. You’ve got to ask yourself, “How do the decisions being made make you feel? And, are you absolutely sure the decisions you are making are the right ones?” It’s that constant pursuit of doing the right thing, and knowing that you’re going to make mistakes and that you’re going to have to keep on learning and trying to do it the right way.
Is there a particular quality that serves as the basis of leadership?
It’s really important to have a passion and love for people. From that comes leadership, comes innovation, comes success.
What’s missing in leadership today?
When we forget about people and relationships, I think that’s when we make mistakes.
Born: 1961
Education: B.Sc. in civil engineering, University of Calgary, 1983
Key to leadership: Foster relationships; Trust your team; Take time to reflect
Model leader: Jesus; brother Van Kolias, Boardwalk senior VP, quality control
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