October 11, 2023 • 34 mins
Did you ever wonder what the journey to becoming a successful leader looks like? Meet Leonard Herschen, a Vice President with GLJ Limited, who grew up on a rural farm in Alberta, experienced working internationally, and found his spiritual calling. Leonard takes us through his leadership journey, sharing how experiences from his shaped his career.
Throughout our conversation, Leonard unveils his three fundamental principles - connecting with people, testing ideas, and delivering feedback from a place of love. Leonard stresses the importance of learning from failures and using them as stepping stones towards success. He further elaborates on the importance of building and sustaining relationships..
He also shares his views on the joy of learning, overcoming challenges, and the value of commitment - even when faced with tough times. Join us in this enriching conversation that encapsulates the essence of leadership, personal growth, and faith on professional success.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the world,dedicated to optimizing our
personal, professional andspiritual lives to have impact.
This show is where we have achance to listen and engage with
leaders who are living us out.
We love talking with leaders,so if you have any questions,
comments or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
(00:27):
let us know.
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at LeaderImpactca oron social media at Leader Impact
.
If you are listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at LeaderImpactcom.
I'm your host, lisa Peters, andour guest today is Leonard
Herschin.
Leonard is a vice presidentwith GLJ Limited.
(00:48):
Glj is a major Canadian energyconsulting firm founded in 1972.
Glj is a known market leader inreservoir engineering,
geoscience and petroleumeconomics.
Glj also offers services in theemerging energy space, such as
carbon sequestration, geothermenergy and lithium extraction
from brine.
(01:09):
Leonard's career started with adegree in engineering physics
from Queen's University.
He worked internationally forseveral years providing
well-born geophysicalmeasurements services in the
field in the United Kingdom,india and Yemen.
Leonard joined GLJ Limited in1993.
His current role is intechnical advisory.
In this role, leonard is ableto express his passion for human
(01:31):
beings reaching their fullpotential as scientists and
engineers.
Leonard is known for his lovefor training and development of
younger engineers.
He will frequently confrontengineers in training with the
question so tell me, why doesoil come out of ground?
He believes when the complex isexplained simply, it is
understood.
Leonard regularly attendsLeader Impact events in Calgary.
(01:54):
Leonard is married to Maritzaand they have two children, son
18 and daughter 14.
Welcome to this show, leonard.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I read you have an 18-year-old son and you're an
engineer.
Maybe he's going to university.
Is he going to be an engineer?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yes, he is A little bit more to that.
I didn't push or expect him tostudy engineering, because
obviously that's his personalchoice.
He's good at math and so hewants to go into engineering,
but he's also a very skilledmusician and so he's going to be
(02:36):
studying engineering and musicperformance.
He's doing a dual degreeprogram at the university of
Calgary.
He starts in a week.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
My son starts tomorrow online at U of S
Engineering.
There's some online for a dayand a night, but he's doing some
pre-testing right now.
Yeah, it's going to be ajourney.
I want to thank you again forjoining us.
Over the past few weeks, we'vesort of been asking these four
questions.
Well, it's six in total, butthe four ones are really
(03:10):
focusing on pivotal turningpoints, principles of success
and how failures and mistakescan actually they're important
and how important they are toour success.
I am loving these questionsbecause the journeys are
incredible.
Thank you again and I lookforward to beginning.
Okay, yes, all right.
(03:32):
So obviously we're looking fora bit of your professional story
and how you got to where youare today.
You've had a great journey.
Can you give us a couplesnapshots that were pivotal
turning points along thatjourney?
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well, there's, yeah, sure there's been a couple, and
I honestly think that journeystarted in childhood.
I grew up in rural Alberta on afarm and my father was a
veterinarian and my motherworked at home until she became
a music teacher later in life.
But I think that practicalcountry life and exposure to
(04:07):
science that I got through myfather's work impacted my whole
life, even though I'm not adoctor or anything like that.
And then, but so and thenobviously the next turning point
was to go to your school and Iwas a.
I was a math geek and in schoolI loved it, and so I studied in
basically with a mouse whoapplied physics in university
(04:29):
and I loved every minute of it.
It was just so much fun.
And a major turning point alsoin my life is might be unusual
is I took some training in in inthe late 80s so I was 19, 20
years old from a company calledLandmark Education and it kind
(04:50):
of provided me a new way oflooking at life and that really
opened my eyes to what waspossible.
And out of that I really setbigger goals for myself and and
I also kind of got some toolsthat made big goals became
achievable and and I got somekind of personal tools that
(05:11):
dealt with some of the thingsthat I need to deal with in life
.
And then the next turning pointwould have been definitely
getting work in the oil business.
I always wanted to travel, andI got to.
I got work working on all rigsfor a major consulting firm, and
it was fun.
(05:31):
I traveled to many interestingcountries, like you mentioned.
I worked with big machines andit was outside, and it was
really interesting and I wasusing what I learned in school.
I understood how all thesetools worked, and it was really,
really fun, but, and then soprofessionally.
(05:53):
The next turning point, though,was I kind of decided to move
back on land and live in morenormal, less nomadic life, so I
moved back to Canada from India,and I joined my current company
in 1993, which is actually 30years ago now.
So I've been here 30 years, andthe current president and I we
started on exactly the same day,in April 1, 1993.
(06:17):
And we're still here.
So we were the fools, and thatwas.
That's been good, and I thinkturning points here in my in my
career here at GLJ is really theleadership that was in place
when I was a junior engineerwere really effective and just
(06:40):
to work at the side of veryeffective business people and
leaders and see how they actedand see how they solve problems
and customers and the business.
Really it wasn't like a turningpoint but it was an eye opener,
right, yeah.
And obviously I mean we'retalking about leader impact and
(07:00):
so I I didn't.
I didn't grow up in a, in a, ina religious home or anything
like that.
There wasn't anything about Godin our home.
It was not really discussedmuch and I grew up in kind of in
a Christian culture.
What we had in Canada in thosedays, but not really a personal
relationship and that changedfor me in the early 2000s and I
(07:25):
I decided to walk into a churchand see what was happening and
that made a big difference in mylife obviously.
Obviously it's been the well,it's been the biggest impact of
all the things and turningpoints.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
And professionally another.
I think the last couple of onesI'll mention was I.
I decided to learn Spanish forfun and I love learning and I
love learning things that lookdifficult, and so I took on the
and Spanish isn't that bad butand that actually really was
(07:57):
very interesting because throughthat knowledge I met my wife,
who's from Latin America, and Imet, I opened up my company's
business in Latin America and wehad a very small kind of
international arm and I usedthat to get projects in Latin
America, particularly big onesin Mexico and Bolivia, someone's
(08:19):
Columbia and, and so that kindof really out of that hobby I
kind of led my company'sexpansion into Spanish speaking
world.
And so now it was a kind of anamazing coincidence that I
decided to have a weird hobby oflearning a foreign language and
it turned into like now ourinternational work is over 20,
(08:42):
25% of my company's business,right, and so I think I've
contributed to that.
So that's kind of the, the mylife story in five minutes.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Oh, I have written notes, I have so many questions
on those pivotal turning points,but you, everything you have
said, it sounds like you'rehaving so much fun and there's
these, these, these points inyour life and I think of this
landmark education, a new way oflooking at life and provided
you the tools, because wegraduate high school and I think
(09:15):
sometimes we're done with thecoaching and I think I've
mentioned this before, but,right like we, we need to
continue.
We need to continue with thecoaching or the Spanish lessons,
the learning.
We can't always do things alone, that's.
And so Spanish, did you go toclass for that or did you do
Duolingo?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I did two things, for the Spanish is I I.
I I got a teacher who taught me, and she was at Monterey
University and her name actually, which is unusual, is exactly
the same name as my wife's name,although she was Peruvian and
she's.
They're the only two peopleI've ever met in my life who
have that name, which is Maritza, as you mentioned.
Yeah, and she's a very commonname.
(09:58):
So, and then, being being anengineer, what I did?
To learn the learn conjugations, as I wrote code that asked me
questions in different verbtenses, and I just practice.
Yeah so I learned how to saythat.
You know, I will be doing thatand I should have done that and
all these right.
So that's what I did for thelearn Spanish.
(10:19):
And then I traveled, andtraveled, and traveled, and I
talked to people yeah, so mynewest hobby is paint by numbers
.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I'm not sure if it'll take me anywhere.
I'm kidding I do.
I do love doing it.
Well, those are great, greatpivots.
Thank you for sharing.
Yeah, our second question isgive us your best principle of
success and tell us a story thatillustrates this.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, I wish there was thinking about that,
principles of success.
I wish there was only one,because then life would be easy,
because Sometimes you have toadapt yourself to the
circumstance and differentprinciples will apply in
different situations.
Yeah, a different degree, butthere's been, I would say, three
(11:12):
or four things that I reallyconcentrate on.
One is what I call Integrity,and what I by integrity I mean
leaving things whole, and Idon't mean like, oh my god, you,
you said something wrong, youmeet, you did something immoral,
you're a bad person.
(11:33):
That's not what I'm talkingabout.
I'm talking about Leavingthings whole so that that, and
when you don't think you'regonna do something, you tell the
people who are affected by thatas soon as you know.
So it's not about being perfect, but it's just having your
situation be whole, so thatthere's because whenever you
find in your life something'snot working, you'll often find
(11:56):
connected to that, there'ssomething that's incomplete,
there's not that's unhaul,there's things unsaid or or
there's things unsaid or there'sShortcuts taken in the
background and that, and sothat's a really big principle
that I use.
Another one is that I focus onis is how would I put this?
(12:20):
It?
Kind of connection with people.
So relatedness, relationships,networking, and which is
probably one of the ones thatI've struggled with the most of
my life Is just being beingconnected and staying in
relationship with people,because other people Help one
another, and so you have mentorsand you become a mentor and you
(12:42):
have people.
Other people have solved yourproblems often, okay, and so
there is or other people haveproblems that you can solve for
them, which is kind of what abusiness is, and so that's
another one I would say it'simportant.
The other thing is Great ideascan be exciting, but you have to
(13:02):
kind of keep them in existence,okay.
So when you have an, you havean idea, you want to measure and
test and understand what's thestatus.
So if I have, if you have, aproject, okay, well, how am I
going?
Do I have goalposts?
Do I have meeting schedule?
Do I?
Do I know who I'm meeting?
Do I have proper in littlepractical things and sometimes
(13:23):
big?
Who's involved in this project?
Where is the data?
Is it organized?
Who do I talk to?
When are these things?
And so you kind of want to keepthings in existence and measure
results right, and that's Onething.
So it's another principle.
And the last thing kind ofrelates to the first comment you
made about having fun.
(13:44):
Is another principle.
I would say is is kind of thatfun or engagement, enrollment,
so you speak to people that in away that Brings brings and
doesn't have to be nice topeople, or it can be even in the
if you give criticism, but ifyou you speak to people in a way
(14:05):
that causes them to see what'spossible for themselves in
whatever project you're doing.
Yeah, and that's not, that's areal skill that I had to
practice a lot to learn how todo that Right, and I don't even
know if I'm good at it yet.
I would say those are the kindof things that I really kind of
focused on.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Those are really great.
I usually have the one bestprinciple of success, but I love
yours.
I love just passing onintegrity and being connected
and keeping ideas in existence.
There are people out there thatjust they're the ideas and they
just throw them and then theywalk away.
(14:46):
You're like hello, but toactually project, manage that
idea.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, exactly, and sometimes I was just walking
around and asking people sowhere are we at and how did this
go and what have we achieved?
Okay, you went to a conferencein London.
Who did you meet?
What are their phone numbersRight, things like that.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, I love it.
I think of something I'mworking on right now and I need
to think of those principles ofsuccess.
I need to put my head down andmap it out.
I'm a mind mapper, so I love it.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Yeah, you kind of asked me there and I don't know
if I've answered it yet.
You said to give an example ofthose leadership principles, I
would say like I don't know ifthis is a good example or not,
but it's always strapped with me.
I've always come as a leader,I've always come with kind of
(15:47):
this.
I try to come, and always isthe wrong word because I'm a
human being.
But at my best I'm coming froma position of love, and love for
people and love for thebusiness.
And obviously it doesn't happenevery day because I'm a human.
(16:09):
But I can think of a time oncewhere I had a staff member who
had an area to do, somethingthat was within her or his
specific job description and thestaff person just simply said
no, I refuse to do that, I'm notgoing to do that, Go away.
And instead of coming at thatsituation with like, oh, I'm the
(16:33):
boss, you must or you'll befired, or something like that, I
just said I really thoughtabout being in a position of
love and I just said do you seehow unhappy you're making
yourself right now?
And that's all I said.
Right, and in that moment itwas the right thing to say in
that moment.
I'm not saying that for everysituation, but obviously the
(16:57):
work got done and when my sonwas talking about was born, that
staff member bought himpresents and so it wasn't long
after that conversation and soshe was impacted by that.
So that's kind of this.
That last one I'm talking aboutabout enrolling people in
(17:19):
what's possible.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, and I think of just caring leadership.
Yeah, you know, it makes agreat sense.
As I said, I'm working on aproject right now.
I'm trying to answer thatbecause the experts will come
back and give us an answer.
But is it what's right for thepeople?
And I have to ask myself that,is this right for my team?
(17:45):
Is this right for my community?
I have to ask myself a verypersonal question.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
So it's a great answer.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I will continue on to the next question.
So I think we all know we learnmore from our failures and
mistakes than our successes, andit's very hard.
Would you share one of yourgreatest failures or mistakes
and what you learned from it?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yeah, just one.
I was going to come on here andtalk about my good things.
Yeah, I would say the thing.
I would say it's been a failure.
The thing I struggled with themost because I'm kind of I can
easily become a math geek is Ihave to.
(18:33):
Sometimes I'll disappear andforget.
I've disappeared and forgottento stay in touch with customers
because I'm living in thisengineering world.
You know and so then you've beenbusiness related and I've had
business relationships weekendright, and you get open to
competitors right, and so Iwould say that's something.
(18:53):
What I've learned from that isWell, when you're a leader, you
have to deal with areas of yourlife that you're not good at.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Right, it's just a fact of life, and when you make
mistakes, you, you, you, well,you, you figure out.
You look at yourself and seewhat was it about yourself that
had you not be engaged the wayyou should have been, and and
then, and then find the way tonot have that not happen and be
aware that that's your kind ofdefault manner is to yeah.
(19:28):
Right and to kind of.
You have to make yourself stepout of the kind of the machinery
of living and be active ingenerating yourself, and even
when it's not fun or interestingbecause it's not your natural
to you.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, yeah.
So I think of you know anyonelistening and just disappearing
and forgetting and it's justignoring.
You know we don't want tohandle that.
We're, you know, maybe andmaybe, and I think you know I
don't know in your instance butit was it out of your wheelhouse
(20:02):
?
Was it too much for you?
Was it?
Was there something we all haveso much going on in our lives?
Right, If it's personal, and Ithink sometimes we need to grant
the grace, grant grace as well.
And, and you know, like Leonard,you didn't get this done, are
you okay?
Yeah, you know, there's twodifferent ways.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Yeah, it is.
You definitely.
I mean, I mean I've seen I'vebeen in this company 30 years
and I've seen our best peoplemake mistakes, including myself.
So you, when people makemistakes, you, you, you, it's
actually the best trainingthey're getting Right.
And you, you should havesystems in place that prevent
mistakes Anyone individualmistake from like seriously
(20:46):
causing harm.
Right, and sometimes thingskind of grind over time and you
make the mistake without reallynoticing and then the problem
shows up and you're like and youdidn't have your eye on the
ball.
All right and for me it'sdefinitely in that area of
relationships and stayingconnected with people.
Yeah, I have to work at that.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, and I think COVID was.
I mean, we're out of it, youknow, but we all sort of
cocooned and we stepped back andwe became this zoom environment
and it's really easy now tohide behind this.
Yeah, I mean, we're indifferent cities.
So, but it's really easy to youknow.
Just, I'll just zoom.
(21:26):
Yeah, I won't why go personallymeet with you, or we need to
build those relationshipsbecause your competitor is just
going to.
You know.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Exactly, and you got to sustain them, and you got to
keep them in existence, right.
I love that existence principleI talked about.
You have to make therelationships and then you got
to keep them in existence.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Oh yeah, good one.
All right, do you want to keepdoing more on there?
You want to continue?
Speaker 1 (21:48):
No, this is great.
I mean, I'm having fun actually.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Good Good, you are meant to have fun.
So at Leader Impact we want togrow personally, professionally
and spiritually for increasingimpact.
So would you be willing toshare an example of how the
spiritual makes a practicalimpact or practical difference
in your life as a leader?
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Well, I think that example I gave you a few minutes
ago about bringing love, yeah,I think that's a really good
example of kind of life as aspiritual thing.
Even though you know we'recalculating these machineries
and pressures and flow rates andall these interesting oil and
gas things, Fundamentally thatlove is kind of the spiritual
(22:35):
space that I try to be in, andso I would think that's kind of
an example that's always stuckwith me and it impacted me.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
So, yeah, I can see that.
I can see you're a very caringI mean in this whole interview
and in your best principles ofsuccesses and you hold the ideas
of pivotal turning points.
You have so many and I thinkyou've always seen them as
positive, like I think there's.
I'm going to do this.
I don't know why I'm learning.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Spanish.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
You know and you just , your mind is open and I wonder
sometimes if anyone listeninggoes.
I can't do that.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I, you know we close the doors before we even looked
you know, you know, and that'ssomething you know I, that's
something I had to learn to like.
I kind of you know that metthat little voice in our head
that tells us, I don't know howright you know, that little
voice in our head that says,well, I don't know how I can't
(23:35):
do that, other people knowbetter.
I'm going to sit here and watchthe experts right and just take
what I can.
That little voice is not alwaysour friend, right?
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
You know no.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I think, did you ever grow up watching the
Flintstones?
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
And the little angel and the little devil.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Yeah, oh, I think of that often.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
That voice, just you.
I don't know how you think thatvoice.
I don't think you how you couldthink you can do this, or you
know.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Go do it.
Yeah, yeah.
But I think of back even toyour principles of success.
You talked about relationshipand connectedness.
We need to surround ourselveswith people that are either move
us along, help us.
In return, we give them love,right, yeah, it's who we're
surrounding ourselves with.
(24:29):
I think of people who you knowthey crap on you or they're, and
you want to love them.
Yeah, you're going to love youand it's hard sometimes, but you
sound like you're again havinga great time and your answers
are great, Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
So the last two answers we ask all our guests is
back to leader impact, and Iknow you are a member in Calgary
, is that right?
Did I say it Okay?
So I mean you know we'rededicated to leaders having a
lasting impact.
And so, as you continue to movethrough your own journey and it
sounds like an awesome one haveyou considered what you want
your faith legacy to be when youleave this world?
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Yeah Well, you well, I'll.
Sometimes I've thought aboutthat.
I've never really thought thatI need to be remembered.
Okay, and I leave this world,I'll leave, I'll die, and I
don't really have the big desireto be famous or remembered in
(25:34):
that way.
Yeah, I guess with a faith.
Thing is I didn't grow up as aChristian and I came to it as an
adult, and so I know that atour home, my wife and I have
created a Christian home for ourchildren, and so that legacy
(25:55):
will be there and I think that'sgoing to be my main faith
legacy, to be honest, just in myhome life and my children and
my kind of extended family.
But I think that's going to bewhere it'll be, probably.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, I love that because it is our children.
If we just change, you have ason and a daughter, two little
lives.
Those two little lives willmake four lives, and you know
what I mean.
It has to start somewhere andI've done the same thing.
I was raised in a home that hadchurch every Sunday and that
(26:35):
was about it, and I married aman who had faith and love and
had a relationship, and that'show we're raising our children.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So that's a good one, yeah, and I was surprised like
how big an impact it has onchildren because, although you
can always tell, they do payattention to what they're
hearing.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
And they listen in church and Sunday school.
They listen in a different waythan they listen to parents and
because I didn't grow up withany of that and so I didn't know
what it would be like.
But my wife is, you know, she'svery deeply, deeply faithful
person, deeply believing person,and so you know she went to a
(27:26):
school with nuns and these kindof things, and so she was used
to all that.
But for me it was new and Ididn't know what would happen.
You think about things likewell, what are their friends
going to think in school If theymiss hockey because they're in
church, right?
Like what does that do to theirlives?
Right.
But like it's been great, it'sbeen a really good benefit for
(27:47):
them.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, you comment that the kids are listening to
you.
I think they're also watchingyou, so they're watching you and
your relationship with yourwife.
They're watching you.
When you come home from workand talk about people.
They're watching you with yourfriends.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
You know, yeah, yeah, exactly.
I'm thinking about that becauseI'm talking to my son about
going to university and I'mtrying to avoid coaching him.
I don't think they listen andthey'll take things from the
hockey coach or the pianoteacher that they won't take
from the parents and reallyimplement them, and I don't know
(28:21):
what the I don't.
I wish I was like a deeppsychologist.
I don't understand exactly why,but kids absorb through osmosis
from their parents more thanthrough words.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
And they watch you in action right, and they feel you
and they sense your innermotivations and your inner bad
things, whatever the word is,your inner self.
They sense that more and thataffects them more, I think, than
a lot of the quote words thatwe give them.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Yeah, it is so true.
I love when you talk about thecoach and those other people,
that the kids, they'll listen tothem, they'll tell our coach.
Can you please tell our sonthat he needs to clean toilets
and we used to joke because thecoach said it You're not your
mother, you know it's funny.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
I did a course I did a landmark course once and that
one of the tasks we had to takeon was to leave every bathroom
cleaner than when we walked in.
Oh, you made me think of that.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Yeah, I don't know.
I don't know what my son'sgoing to do now that he's moving
away.
Maybe he'll be the guy thatcleans the toilets for all the
guys in the house, yay, anyway.
So my last question all myguests, I love this one.
What brings you the greatestjoy?
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Well, definitely learning.
I love learning, overcomingkind of challenges, not problems
, but challenges, you know, notlike, oh I got to go, my car had
a flat and I have to go makethis meeting and I don't know
vehicles or something like that,not those kind of problems, but
like figuring out a solution toa problem.
(30:09):
I mean I just like and there'slittle things, you know I like
the travel, I like the traveland family time and being with
my wife.
I like that.
But just being exuberant aboutlife and being exuberant about
what's possible, that brings mea lot of joy.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
I love that.
I'm a solutions person.
I love the old computerprogramming if this, then what
you know and I'm a solutionsbased person.
So I never really thought aboutdo I love the challenge or do I
love the.
You know, maybe I just love thechallenge.
It's sometimes really hard,though which goes right back to
(30:58):
all the things.
When I ask you snapshot of yourlife and pivotal points.
You had a lot of things and I'msure you weren't going to come
at all of them.
You know you start something.
It's like this is really hard.
I'm going to keep going, Ithink that's really hard for
people.
We want to be perfect, and whenwe're not perfect, I'm quitting.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Well, I remember, like first, my first physics
exam.
I failed, right, because it wasso much harder in high school
and I was like holy smokes, thisis not easy, right?
And but I kept going, rightyeah.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
That's really good.
Yeah, well, it has been afabulous half hour spent with
you, leonard.
I hope that went well with you.
Get all your answers out.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
We can always talk about ourselves you know I
should interview you one day.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Okay, I think how would have I answered that?
And every time I hear storiesand that's why I love showing up
here is I think we putpresidents fight, we put them up
on a pedestal and we, we don'tthink you have problems and we
don't.
We think your life is awesomeand you can just buy everything,
(32:10):
and I don't know, and it's.
It is good to just sit down andhear the simple principles of
success and the pivotal turningpoints, and they're just like
everybody else's.
You know, yeah, but.
but I and I remember being youngand putting my boss on a
pedestal and thought, you know,oh, I shouldn't, I shouldn't say
that to them and afraid.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
And so I love showing up here.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Well, you know thank you, I've really enjoyed this.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Awesome.
So if anyone is listening andthey want to engage with you,
where can they find you, youknow?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Oh sure, my name will be somewhere in your
description notes.
Yup, yeah, so they can just goon LinkedIn and if they just put
in the name and the name of mycompany, glj LinkedIn, you'll
find me and just message me.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Maybe there'll be some follow-ups on engineering,
or I mean, I think I should justset up a Zoom with my son.
It's like he, you know, firstyear they don't have to choose.
Right.
The engineering it well atuniversity, don't so?
He likes his chemistry though,so who knows?
Yeah, yeah, all right.
Well, thank you again, Leonard.
It has been an absolutepleasure waiting you.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
It was great, great to speak with you, lisa.
I appreciate this chance to bewith you.
It was really fun.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Thank you.
I want to thank everyone forjoining us.
If you're part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or
share this podcast with yourgroup.
And if you are not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out on how to grow yourleadership, visit our podcast
page on our website atLeaderImpactca or check out our
free leadership assessment.
You will also find on ourwebpage chapter one of Braden
(33:45):
Douglas's book Becoming a Leaderof Impact.
It is an amazing leadershipbook.
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
LeaderImpactca or, if you'relistening from anywhere else in
the world, check outLeaderImpactcom or get in touch
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And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
(34:07):
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with usand remember Impact starts with
you.
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the world,dedicated to optimizing our
personal, professional andspiritual lives to have impact.
This show is where we have achance to listen and engage with
leaders who are living us out.
We love talking with leaders,so if you have any questions,
comments or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
(00:27):
let us know.
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at LeaderImpactca oron social media at Leader Impact
.
If you are listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at LeaderImpactcom.
I'm your host, lisa Peters, andour guest today is Leonard
Herschin.
Leonard is a vice presidentwith GLJ Limited.
(00:48):
Glj is a major Canadian energyconsulting firm founded in 1972.
Glj is a known market leader inreservoir engineering,
geoscience and petroleumeconomics.
Glj also offers services in theemerging energy space, such as
carbon sequestration, geothermenergy and lithium extraction
from brine.
(01:09):
Leonard's career started with adegree in engineering physics
from Queen's University.
He worked internationally forseveral years providing
well-born geophysicalmeasurements services in the
field in the United Kingdom,india and Yemen.
Leonard joined GLJ Limited in1993.
His current role is intechnical advisory.
In this role, leonard is ableto express his passion for human
(01:31):
beings reaching their fullpotential as scientists and
engineers.
Leonard is known for his lovefor training and development of
younger engineers.
He will frequently confrontengineers in training with the
question so tell me, why doesoil come out of ground?
He believes when the complex isexplained simply, it is
understood.
Leonard regularly attendsLeader Impact events in Calgary.
(01:54):
Leonard is married to Maritzaand they have two children, son
18 and daughter 14.
Welcome to this show, leonard.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I read you have an 18-year-old son and you're an
engineer.
Maybe he's going to university.
Is he going to be an engineer?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yes, he is A little bit more to that.
I didn't push or expect him tostudy engineering, because
obviously that's his personalchoice.
He's good at math and so hewants to go into engineering,
but he's also a very skilledmusician and so he's going to be
(02:36):
studying engineering and musicperformance.
He's doing a dual degreeprogram at the university of
Calgary.
He starts in a week.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
My son starts tomorrow online at U of S
Engineering.
There's some online for a dayand a night, but he's doing some
pre-testing right now.
Yeah, it's going to be ajourney.
I want to thank you again forjoining us.
Over the past few weeks, we'vesort of been asking these four
questions.
Well, it's six in total, butthe four ones are really
(03:10):
focusing on pivotal turningpoints, principles of success
and how failures and mistakescan actually they're important
and how important they are toour success.
I am loving these questionsbecause the journeys are
incredible.
Thank you again and I lookforward to beginning.
Okay, yes, all right.
(03:32):
So obviously we're looking fora bit of your professional story
and how you got to where youare today.
You've had a great journey.
Can you give us a couplesnapshots that were pivotal
turning points along thatjourney?
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Well, there's, yeah, sure there's been a couple, and
I honestly think that journeystarted in childhood.
I grew up in rural Alberta on afarm and my father was a
veterinarian and my motherworked at home until she became
a music teacher later in life.
But I think that practicalcountry life and exposure to
(04:07):
science that I got through myfather's work impacted my whole
life, even though I'm not adoctor or anything like that.
And then, but so and thenobviously the next turning point
was to go to your school and Iwas a.
I was a math geek and in schoolI loved it, and so I studied in
basically with a mouse whoapplied physics in university
(04:29):
and I loved every minute of it.
It was just so much fun.
And a major turning point alsoin my life is might be unusual
is I took some training in in inthe late 80s so I was 19, 20
years old from a company calledLandmark Education and it kind
(04:50):
of provided me a new way oflooking at life and that really
opened my eyes to what waspossible.
And out of that I really setbigger goals for myself and and
I also kind of got some toolsthat made big goals became
achievable and and I got somekind of personal tools that
(05:11):
dealt with some of the thingsthat I need to deal with in life
.
And then the next turning pointwould have been definitely
getting work in the oil business.
I always wanted to travel, andI got to.
I got work working on all rigsfor a major consulting firm, and
it was fun.
(05:31):
I traveled to many interestingcountries, like you mentioned.
I worked with big machines andit was outside, and it was
really interesting and I wasusing what I learned in school.
I understood how all thesetools worked, and it was really,
really fun, but, and then soprofessionally.
(05:53):
The next turning point, though,was I kind of decided to move
back on land and live in morenormal, less nomadic life, so I
moved back to Canada from India,and I joined my current company
in 1993, which is actually 30years ago now.
So I've been here 30 years, andthe current president and I we
started on exactly the same day,in April 1, 1993.
(06:17):
And we're still here.
So we were the fools, and thatwas.
That's been good, and I thinkturning points here in my in my
career here at GLJ is really theleadership that was in place
when I was a junior engineerwere really effective and just
(06:40):
to work at the side of veryeffective business people and
leaders and see how they actedand see how they solve problems
and customers and the business.
Really it wasn't like a turningpoint but it was an eye opener,
right, yeah.
And obviously I mean we'retalking about leader impact and
(07:00):
so I I didn't.
I didn't grow up in a, in a, ina religious home or anything
like that.
There wasn't anything about Godin our home.
It was not really discussedmuch and I grew up in kind of in
a Christian culture.
What we had in Canada in thosedays, but not really a personal
relationship and that changedfor me in the early 2000s and I
(07:25):
I decided to walk into a churchand see what was happening and
that made a big difference in mylife obviously.
Obviously it's been the well,it's been the biggest impact of
all the things and turningpoints.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
And professionally another.
I think the last couple of onesI'll mention was I.
I decided to learn Spanish forfun and I love learning and I
love learning things that lookdifficult, and so I took on the
and Spanish isn't that bad butand that actually really was
(07:57):
very interesting because throughthat knowledge I met my wife,
who's from Latin America, and Imet, I opened up my company's
business in Latin America and wehad a very small kind of
international arm and I usedthat to get projects in Latin
America, particularly big onesin Mexico and Bolivia, someone's
(08:19):
Columbia and, and so that kindof really out of that hobby I
kind of led my company'sexpansion into Spanish speaking
world.
And so now it was a kind of anamazing coincidence that I
decided to have a weird hobby oflearning a foreign language and
it turned into like now ourinternational work is over 20,
(08:42):
25% of my company's business,right, and so I think I've
contributed to that.
So that's kind of the, the mylife story in five minutes.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Oh, I have written notes, I have so many questions
on those pivotal turning points,but you, everything you have
said, it sounds like you'rehaving so much fun and there's
these, these, these points inyour life and I think of this
landmark education, a new way oflooking at life and provided
you the tools, because wegraduate high school and I think
(09:15):
sometimes we're done with thecoaching and I think I've
mentioned this before, but,right like we, we need to
continue.
We need to continue with thecoaching or the Spanish lessons,
the learning.
We can't always do things alone, that's.
And so Spanish, did you go toclass for that or did you do
Duolingo?
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, I did two things, for the Spanish is I I.
I I got a teacher who taught me, and she was at Monterey
University and her name actually, which is unusual, is exactly
the same name as my wife's name,although she was Peruvian and
she's.
They're the only two peopleI've ever met in my life who
have that name, which is Maritza, as you mentioned.
Yeah, and she's a very commonname.
(09:58):
So, and then, being being anengineer, what I did?
To learn the learn conjugations, as I wrote code that asked me
questions in different verbtenses, and I just practice.
Yeah so I learned how to saythat.
You know, I will be doing thatand I should have done that and
all these right.
So that's what I did for thelearn Spanish.
(10:19):
And then I traveled, andtraveled, and traveled, and I
talked to people yeah, so mynewest hobby is paint by numbers
.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I'm not sure if it'll take me anywhere.
I'm kidding I do.
I do love doing it.
Well, those are great, greatpivots.
Thank you for sharing.
Yeah, our second question isgive us your best principle of
success and tell us a story thatillustrates this.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Well, I wish there was thinking about that,
principles of success.
I wish there was only one,because then life would be easy,
because Sometimes you have toadapt yourself to the
circumstance and differentprinciples will apply in
different situations.
Yeah, a different degree, butthere's been, I would say, three
(11:12):
or four things that I reallyconcentrate on.
One is what I call Integrity,and what I by integrity I mean
leaving things whole, and Idon't mean like, oh my god, you,
you said something wrong, youmeet, you did something immoral,
you're a bad person.
(11:33):
That's not what I'm talkingabout.
I'm talking about Leavingthings whole so that that, and
when you don't think you'regonna do something, you tell the
people who are affected by thatas soon as you know.
So it's not about being perfect, but it's just having your
situation be whole, so thatthere's because whenever you
find in your life something'snot working, you'll often find
(11:56):
connected to that, there'ssomething that's incomplete,
there's not that's unhaul,there's things unsaid or or
there's things unsaid or there'sShortcuts taken in the
background and that, and sothat's a really big principle
that I use.
Another one is that I focus onis is how would I put this?
(12:20):
It?
Kind of connection with people.
So relatedness, relationships,networking, and which is
probably one of the ones thatI've struggled with the most of
my life Is just being beingconnected and staying in
relationship with people,because other people Help one
another, and so you have mentorsand you become a mentor and you
(12:42):
have people.
Other people have solved yourproblems often, okay, and so
there is or other people haveproblems that you can solve for
them, which is kind of what abusiness is, and so that's
another one I would say it'simportant.
The other thing is Great ideascan be exciting, but you have to
(13:02):
kind of keep them in existence,okay.
So when you have an, you havean idea, you want to measure and
test and understand what's thestatus.
So if I have, if you have, aproject, okay, well, how am I
going?
Do I have goalposts?
Do I have meeting schedule?
Do I?
Do I know who I'm meeting?
Do I have proper in littlepractical things and sometimes
(13:23):
big?
Who's involved in this project?
Where is the data?
Is it organized?
Who do I talk to?
When are these things?
And so you kind of want to keepthings in existence and measure
results right, and that's Onething.
So it's another principle.
And the last thing kind ofrelates to the first comment you
made about having fun.
(13:44):
Is another principle.
I would say is is kind of thatfun or engagement, enrollment,
so you speak to people that in away that Brings brings and
doesn't have to be nice topeople, or it can be even in the
if you give criticism, but ifyou you speak to people in a way
(14:05):
that causes them to see what'spossible for themselves in
whatever project you're doing.
Yeah, and that's not, that's areal skill that I had to
practice a lot to learn how todo that Right, and I don't even
know if I'm good at it yet.
I would say those are the kindof things that I really kind of
focused on.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Those are really great.
I usually have the one bestprinciple of success, but I love
yours.
I love just passing onintegrity and being connected
and keeping ideas in existence.
There are people out there thatjust they're the ideas and they
just throw them and then theywalk away.
(14:46):
You're like hello, but toactually project, manage that
idea.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Yeah, exactly, and sometimes I was just walking
around and asking people sowhere are we at and how did this
go and what have we achieved?
Okay, you went to a conferencein London.
Who did you meet?
What are their phone numbersRight, things like that.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, I love it.
I think of something I'mworking on right now and I need
to think of those principles ofsuccess.
I need to put my head down andmap it out.
I'm a mind mapper, so I love it.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Yeah, you kind of asked me there and I don't know
if I've answered it yet.
You said to give an example ofthose leadership principles, I
would say like I don't know ifthis is a good example or not,
but it's always strapped with me.
I've always come as a leader,I've always come with kind of
(15:47):
this.
I try to come, and always isthe wrong word because I'm a
human being.
But at my best I'm coming froma position of love, and love for
people and love for thebusiness.
And obviously it doesn't happenevery day because I'm a human.
(16:09):
But I can think of a time oncewhere I had a staff member who
had an area to do, somethingthat was within her or his
specific job description and thestaff person just simply said
no, I refuse to do that, I'm notgoing to do that, Go away.
And instead of coming at thatsituation with like, oh, I'm the
(16:33):
boss, you must or you'll befired, or something like that, I
just said I really thoughtabout being in a position of
love and I just said do you seehow unhappy you're making
yourself right now?
And that's all I said.
Right, and in that moment itwas the right thing to say in
that moment.
I'm not saying that for everysituation, but obviously the
(16:57):
work got done and when my sonwas talking about was born, that
staff member bought himpresents and so it wasn't long
after that conversation and soshe was impacted by that.
So that's kind of this.
That last one I'm talking aboutabout enrolling people in
(17:19):
what's possible.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, and I think of just caring leadership.
Yeah, you know, it makes agreat sense.
As I said, I'm working on aproject right now.
I'm trying to answer thatbecause the experts will come
back and give us an answer.
But is it what's right for thepeople?
And I have to ask myself that,is this right for my team?
(17:45):
Is this right for my community?
I have to ask myself a verypersonal question.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
So it's a great answer.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I will continue on to the next question.
So I think we all know we learnmore from our failures and
mistakes than our successes, andit's very hard.
Would you share one of yourgreatest failures or mistakes
and what you learned from it?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Yeah, just one.
I was going to come on here andtalk about my good things.
Yeah, I would say the thing.
I would say it's been a failure.
The thing I struggled with themost because I'm kind of I can
easily become a math geek is Ihave to.
(18:33):
Sometimes I'll disappear andforget.
I've disappeared and forgottento stay in touch with customers
because I'm living in thisengineering world.
You know and so then you've beenbusiness related and I've had
business relationships weekendright, and you get open to
competitors right, and so Iwould say that's something.
(18:53):
What I've learned from that isWell, when you're a leader, you
have to deal with areas of yourlife that you're not good at.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Right, it's just a fact of life, and when you make
mistakes, you, you, you, well,you, you figure out.
You look at yourself and seewhat was it about yourself that
had you not be engaged the wayyou should have been, and and
then, and then find the way tonot have that not happen and be
aware that that's your kind ofdefault manner is to yeah.
(19:28):
Right and to kind of.
You have to make yourself stepout of the kind of the machinery
of living and be active ingenerating yourself, and even
when it's not fun or interestingbecause it's not your natural
to you.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, yeah.
So I think of you know anyonelistening and just disappearing
and forgetting and it's justignoring.
You know we don't want tohandle that.
We're, you know, maybe andmaybe, and I think you know I
don't know in your instance butit was it out of your wheelhouse
(20:02):
?
Was it too much for you?
Was it?
Was there something we all haveso much going on in our lives?
Right, If it's personal, and Ithink sometimes we need to grant
the grace, grant grace as well.
And, and you know, like Leonard,you didn't get this done, are
you okay?
Yeah, you know, there's twodifferent ways.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Yeah, it is.
You definitely.
I mean, I mean I've seen I'vebeen in this company 30 years
and I've seen our best peoplemake mistakes, including myself.
So you, when people makemistakes, you, you, you, it's
actually the best trainingthey're getting Right.
And you, you should havesystems in place that prevent
mistakes Anyone individualmistake from like seriously
(20:46):
causing harm.
Right, and sometimes thingskind of grind over time and you
make the mistake without reallynoticing and then the problem
shows up and you're like and youdidn't have your eye on the
ball.
All right and for me it'sdefinitely in that area of
relationships and stayingconnected with people.
Yeah, I have to work at that.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yeah, and I think COVID was.
I mean, we're out of it, youknow, but we all sort of
cocooned and we stepped back andwe became this zoom environment
and it's really easy now tohide behind this.
Yeah, I mean, we're indifferent cities.
So, but it's really easy to youknow.
Just, I'll just zoom.
(21:26):
Yeah, I won't why go personallymeet with you, or we need to
build those relationshipsbecause your competitor is just
going to.
You know.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Exactly, and you got to sustain them, and you got to
keep them in existence, right.
I love that existence principleI talked about.
You have to make therelationships and then you got
to keep them in existence.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Oh yeah, good one.
All right, do you want to keepdoing more on there?
You want to continue?
Speaker 1 (21:48):
No, this is great.
I mean, I'm having fun actually.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Good Good, you are meant to have fun.
So at Leader Impact we want togrow personally, professionally
and spiritually for increasingimpact.
So would you be willing toshare an example of how the
spiritual makes a practicalimpact or practical difference
in your life as a leader?
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Well, I think that example I gave you a few minutes
ago about bringing love, yeah,I think that's a really good
example of kind of life as aspiritual thing.
Even though you know we'recalculating these machineries
and pressures and flow rates andall these interesting oil and
gas things, Fundamentally thatlove is kind of the spiritual
(22:35):
space that I try to be in, andso I would think that's kind of
an example that's always stuckwith me and it impacted me.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
So, yeah, I can see that.
I can see you're a very caringI mean in this whole interview
and in your best principles ofsuccesses and you hold the ideas
of pivotal turning points.
You have so many and I thinkyou've always seen them as
positive, like I think there's.
I'm going to do this.
I don't know why I'm learning.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Spanish.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
You know and you just , your mind is open and I wonder
sometimes if anyone listeninggoes.
I can't do that.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I, you know we close the doors before we even looked
you know, you know, and that'ssomething you know I, that's
something I had to learn to like.
I kind of you know that metthat little voice in our head
that tells us, I don't know howright you know, that little
voice in our head that says,well, I don't know how I can't
(23:35):
do that, other people knowbetter.
I'm going to sit here and watchthe experts right and just take
what I can.
That little voice is not alwaysour friend, right?
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
You know no.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I think, did you ever grow up watching the
Flintstones?
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
And the little angel and the little devil.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
Yeah, oh, I think of that often.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
That voice, just you.
I don't know how you think thatvoice.
I don't think you how you couldthink you can do this, or you
know.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Go do it.
Yeah, yeah.
But I think of back even toyour principles of success.
You talked about relationshipand connectedness.
We need to surround ourselveswith people that are either move
us along, help us.
In return, we give them love,right, yeah, it's who we're
surrounding ourselves with.
(24:29):
I think of people who you knowthey crap on you or they're, and
you want to love them.
Yeah, you're going to love youand it's hard sometimes, but you
sound like you're again havinga great time and your answers
are great, Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
So the last two answers we ask all our guests is
back to leader impact, and Iknow you are a member in Calgary
, is that right?
Did I say it Okay?
So I mean you know we'rededicated to leaders having a
lasting impact.
And so, as you continue to movethrough your own journey and it
sounds like an awesome one haveyou considered what you want
your faith legacy to be when youleave this world?
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Yeah Well, you well, I'll.
Sometimes I've thought aboutthat.
I've never really thought thatI need to be remembered.
Okay, and I leave this world,I'll leave, I'll die, and I
don't really have the big desireto be famous or remembered in
(25:34):
that way.
Yeah, I guess with a faith.
Thing is I didn't grow up as aChristian and I came to it as an
adult, and so I know that atour home, my wife and I have
created a Christian home for ourchildren, and so that legacy
(25:55):
will be there and I think that'sgoing to be my main faith
legacy, to be honest, just in myhome life and my children and
my kind of extended family.
But I think that's going to bewhere it'll be, probably.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, I love that because it is our children.
If we just change, you have ason and a daughter, two little
lives.
Those two little lives willmake four lives, and you know
what I mean.
It has to start somewhere andI've done the same thing.
I was raised in a home that hadchurch every Sunday and that
(26:35):
was about it, and I married aman who had faith and love and
had a relationship, and that'show we're raising our children.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So that's a good one, yeah, and I was surprised like
how big an impact it has onchildren because, although you
can always tell, they do payattention to what they're
hearing.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
And they listen in church and Sunday school.
They listen in a different waythan they listen to parents and
because I didn't grow up withany of that and so I didn't know
what it would be like.
But my wife is, you know, she'svery deeply, deeply faithful
person, deeply believing person,and so you know she went to a
(27:26):
school with nuns and these kindof things, and so she was used
to all that.
But for me it was new and Ididn't know what would happen.
You think about things likewell, what are their friends
going to think in school If theymiss hockey because they're in
church, right?
Like what does that do to theirlives?
Right.
But like it's been great, it'sbeen a really good benefit for
(27:47):
them.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, you comment that the kids are listening to
you.
I think they're also watchingyou, so they're watching you and
your relationship with yourwife.
They're watching you.
When you come home from workand talk about people.
They're watching you with yourfriends.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
You know, yeah, yeah, exactly.
I'm thinking about that becauseI'm talking to my son about
going to university and I'mtrying to avoid coaching him.
I don't think they listen andthey'll take things from the
hockey coach or the pianoteacher that they won't take
from the parents and reallyimplement them, and I don't know
(28:21):
what the I don't.
I wish I was like a deeppsychologist.
I don't understand exactly why,but kids absorb through osmosis
from their parents more thanthrough words.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
And they watch you in action right, and they feel you
and they sense your innermotivations and your inner bad
things, whatever the word is,your inner self.
They sense that more and thataffects them more, I think, than
a lot of the quote words thatwe give them.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Yeah, it is so true.
I love when you talk about thecoach and those other people,
that the kids, they'll listen tothem, they'll tell our coach.
Can you please tell our sonthat he needs to clean toilets
and we used to joke because thecoach said it You're not your
mother, you know it's funny.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
I did a course I did a landmark course once and that
one of the tasks we had to takeon was to leave every bathroom
cleaner than when we walked in.
Oh, you made me think of that.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Yeah, I don't know.
I don't know what my son'sgoing to do now that he's moving
away.
Maybe he'll be the guy thatcleans the toilets for all the
guys in the house, yay, anyway.
So my last question all myguests, I love this one.
What brings you the greatestjoy?
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Well, definitely learning.
I love learning, overcomingkind of challenges, not problems
, but challenges, you know, notlike, oh I got to go, my car had
a flat and I have to go makethis meeting and I don't know
vehicles or something like that,not those kind of problems, but
like figuring out a solution toa problem.
(30:09):
I mean I just like and there'slittle things, you know I like
the travel, I like the traveland family time and being with
my wife.
I like that.
But just being exuberant aboutlife and being exuberant about
what's possible, that brings mea lot of joy.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
I love that.
I'm a solutions person.
I love the old computerprogramming if this, then what
you know and I'm a solutionsbased person.
So I never really thought aboutdo I love the challenge or do I
love the.
You know, maybe I just love thechallenge.
It's sometimes really hard,though which goes right back to
(30:58):
all the things.
When I ask you snapshot of yourlife and pivotal points.
You had a lot of things and I'msure you weren't going to come
at all of them.
You know you start something.
It's like this is really hard.
I'm going to keep going, Ithink that's really hard for
people.
We want to be perfect, and whenwe're not perfect, I'm quitting.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Well, I remember, like first, my first physics
exam.
I failed, right, because it wasso much harder in high school
and I was like holy smokes, thisis not easy, right?
And but I kept going, rightyeah.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
That's really good.
Yeah, well, it has been afabulous half hour spent with
you, leonard.
I hope that went well with you.
Get all your answers out.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
We can always talk about ourselves you know I
should interview you one day.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Okay, I think how would have I answered that?
And every time I hear storiesand that's why I love showing up
here is I think we putpresidents fight, we put them up
on a pedestal and we, we don'tthink you have problems and we
don't.
We think your life is awesomeand you can just buy everything,
(32:10):
and I don't know, and it's.
It is good to just sit down andhear the simple principles of
success and the pivotal turningpoints, and they're just like
everybody else's.
You know, yeah, but.
but I and I remember being youngand putting my boss on a
pedestal and thought, you know,oh, I shouldn't, I shouldn't say
that to them and afraid.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:30):
And so I love showing up here.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Well, you know thank you, I've really enjoyed this.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Awesome.
So if anyone is listening andthey want to engage with you,
where can they find you, youknow?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Oh sure, my name will be somewhere in your
description notes.
Yup, yeah, so they can just goon LinkedIn and if they just put
in the name and the name of mycompany, glj LinkedIn, you'll
find me and just message me.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Maybe there'll be some follow-ups on engineering,
or I mean, I think I should justset up a Zoom with my son.
It's like he, you know, firstyear they don't have to choose.
Right.
The engineering it well atuniversity, don't so?
He likes his chemistry though,so who knows?
Yeah, yeah, all right.
Well, thank you again, Leonard.
It has been an absolutepleasure waiting you.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
It was great, great to speak with you, lisa.
I appreciate this chance to bewith you.
It was really fun.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Thank you.
I want to thank everyone forjoining us.
If you're part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or
share this podcast with yourgroup.
And if you are not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out on how to grow yourleadership, visit our podcast
page on our website atLeaderImpactca or check out our
free leadership assessment.
You will also find on ourwebpage chapter one of Braden
(33:45):
Douglas's book Becoming a Leaderof Impact.
It is an amazing leadershipbook.
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
LeaderImpactca or, if you'relistening from anywhere else in
the world, check outLeaderImpactcom or get in touch
with us by email at info atLeaderImpactca and we will
connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
(34:07):
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with usand remember Impact starts with
you.
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