April 16, 2025 • 31 mins
After climbing the corporate ladder at companies like Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart, David found himself trapped in the pursuit of bigger titles and salaries – working long hours while his wife raised their four young children. Everything changed when a mission trip to Mexico sparked a spiritual awakening that completely transformed his understanding of success.
Perhaps most compelling is David's evolved understanding of leadership effectiveness. Drawing from spiritual principles, he demonstrates that caring deeply for people and maintaining high performance expectations aren't mutually exclusive. This balanced approach allows leaders to motivate teams toward excellence while building genuinely supportive relationships.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the worlddedicated 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 this out.
We love talking with leaders,so if you have any questions,
comments or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
let us know.
(00:27):
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at leaderimpactca oron social at Leader Impact.
If you're listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at leaderimpactcom.
I'm your host, lisa Peters, andour guest today is David Towne.
David is a facilitator andexecutive coach with a focus on
leadership development,performance-related
communication management stylesand team dynamics.
(00:49):
David has a particular interestin leadership approaches that
optimize results, particularlyin remote and hybrid work
environments.
He authored a book entitledDon't Mistake Presence for
Performance to provide leaderswith strategies for building
stronger relationships leadingto better results.
David has been an independentleadership consultant for 20
(01:10):
years and is the co-founder ofVirtual Leadership Matters
Incorporated.
Prior to starting his ownconsulting practice, david held
senior HR leadership positionsin several prominent Canadian
retail organizations, includingLoblox Companies, shoppers, drug
Mart and Big V Pharmacies.
He also taught a first-yearbusiness course at the Ivy
(01:30):
School of Business and morerecently he taught
organizational behavior atSeneca College.
David is married with fourchildren who are all adults now.
He and his wife live inGeorgina, on the shores of Lake
Simcoe in Ontario.
Welcome to the show, david.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Thank you, lisa, glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Well, I'm a huge fan of Shoppers, drug Mart.
I've just turned 55 plus andyou know there's that deal for
seniors, so I loved reading yourbio.
Now I think you actually.
It says here prior to startinghis own consulting business do
you have another leadership firmPrior to starting?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
his own consulting business.
Do you have another leadershipfirm?
So my first foray into theleadership consulting was to
well, I started with David Townand Associates a very clever
name and then I incorporatedinto a company called your
Leadership Matters Okay, which Istill have and a friend of mine
in Saskatoon, David Smith, andI put together virtual
(02:26):
leadership matters in 2020, atthe beginning of the pandemic,
because we thought that virtualleadership was an important
topic to talk about.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, I would agree, and your book Don't Mistake
Presence for Performance.
This is a new book, I believe.
Did this just come out in thelast?
Yes, I published it.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
It was published in July of last year and I really
haven't spent a lot of timemarketing it.
Yeah, I'm in the twilight of mycareer and I'm not necessarily
in a high business developmentmode, so I wasn't really active
in promoting the book too much,except that I would love people
to to read it, just because it'sit was a passion of mine.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yeah, talk about this .
Now.
I know you're part of LeaderImpact.
Is any of the groups studyingthe book?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
No, we've talked about it in our own group.
I lead a group here in theNewmarket Aurora Georgina area
and it's something for me totalk about some more with John
Havercroft and others in LeaderImpact.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, because when I think of.
Georgiaake presence forperformance.
Too many times we think we'represence and so we're like we're
not.
But I look forward to hearingmore about it.
So we'll start the podcast andwe want to hear more about your
professional story and, moreimportantly, we love to hear
those pivots, those pivotalturning points along your
(03:42):
journey that sort of moved youto, you know, to another space.
So jump in.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Okay.
So I graduated from the IvySchool of Business in London and
I've been studying portfoliomanagement.
I was a numbers guy, thoughtthat was.
I was going to go trade bonds,make my millions.
And I played baseball with awith one of the professors who I
got to know because I had asummer job with him, and he said
why don't you come out andteach a first year business
(04:09):
course for two years?
It just strikes me you'd reallyenjoy that.
So I thought, you know what anopportunity.
I'll do that and then I'll godo my portfolio management life,
as it were.
Well, I fell in love with doingtwo years of teaching business
a first year business course.
I fell in love with doing twoyears of teaching business a
first year business course.
I fell in love with watchingthe light bulb go on for people.
So that was, you know, there'ssort of one moment where a
(04:30):
complete shift in terms of whatI thought I was going to be
doing, and then and then Itaught, so that sort of moved
into a role with a companycalled Big V Pharmacies where I
went in to help them learn howto manage stores better.
So I was in a training role,eventually became the head of
human resources at Big V,because they didn't really have
(04:50):
a human resource function, arobust one.
So I helped develop that and Iloved working for that company.
It had a great culture, areally customer-focused, very
positive values culture.
So I was there at Big V untilthe time when we merged with
Shoppers Drug Mart.
Big V was a privately heldorganization.
(05:11):
Even though it was privatelyheld, it had shareholders, so
they would trade based on PEmultiples.
And along came when we went togo public to put shares out into
the marketplace.
Along came a Masco who was theowner of Shoppers Drug Mart and
they made an offer which theemployees accepted because the
(05:34):
employees were the owners.
It's a very interesting dynamic.
Employees are voting for amerger, maybe not knowing
exactly what a merger entails interms of the you, of the
reductions of staffing becauseof synergies and so on.
It was a very interesting timeand I loved Big V.
But there was an interestingpath along the way.
(05:55):
So we talked about some of theinflection points in a person's
career.
So it was 1987, about four orfive years into my time at Big V
, I got recruited into a largemultinational organization out
of Mississauga I was living inLondon at the time.
That's where Big V was locatedand I got to the final stages.
(06:17):
I was the last man standing, asit were.
So the job offer was coming tome and there was a person coming
up from Dallas, texas, wherethe head office was, and he met
with the guy who had beeninterviewing me and I'd had, oh
my gosh, seven or eightinterviews.
I'd gone for dinner Like it wasa very robust recruitment
process and I got a phone callafter the guy from Dallas
(06:37):
arrived, a day later, from thisfellow and he said so, all bets
are off.
I'm really sorry.
He said.
I feel devastated that theychanged what they wanted to
someone who was a negotiator inthe IR function as opposed to
when I was in human resources,which is more away from the
negotiations that what happenedwas within six months, the
(07:05):
company went through, as a partof their merger process, a
shedding of a whole bunch oflayers of management and
employees, of which I would havebeen one of them if I had
joined that organization, andthe housing prices in
Mississauga took a drop becauseshortly after the interview
didn't work, housing went downthe drain.
So I would have moved, bought ahouse it would have been worth
less than that.
(07:25):
And I would have moved, boughta house it would have been worth
less than that and I would havebeen out of a job.
And it was the first time thatI sort of thought gee, I wonder
if I have an angel on myshoulder, as it were.
My faith was not strong enoughat the time to really recognize
what was going on.
But looking back, I'mabsolutely sure that God was
playing a role in my life.
I thought that was reallyinteresting.
So fast forward.
(07:47):
I'm with Shoppers Drug Mart fortwo years during the merger,
enjoying my time back and forth.
Having said that, I getrecruited again and I move to
Loblaw Companies in Toronto andI grew up in Mississauga, so it
was kind of getting back home.
My wife was from Mississauga aswell.
We both knew each other in highschool and university.
(08:08):
And so get back to Loblawcompanies and have some great
opportunities at Loblaws.
My career is growing, but Ifind myself focusing more and
more on the next big promotion,a bigger salary.
I get busier and busier.
I'm leaving the house at 6o'clock in the morning, I'm
(08:30):
getting home at 8 o'clock atnight.
We have four young children.
Looking back, you know it waspretty hard on my wife, frankly,
leaving her sort of holding thebag, and along the way we have
this conversation.
It was in early 2005,.
My wife and I and she said youshould go to Alpha.
(08:51):
And I'm going, what is Alpha?
And she says it's this programfrom Nikki Gumbel and my
calendar don't match.
So I'm saying I'm a family guy,I'm really devoted to this and
(09:21):
this and this, and my calendarsays, yeah, not as much as you
think you are, dave.
So so that was the beginning ofa real reflection time for me.
That was early in 2005.
I signed up for a mission tripand my daughter was on the trip,
so I was going to be one of theadult adults that goes, goes
(09:43):
along with the kids.
It was in Mexico and down thereI met some incredible people,
incredible leaders with greatstories, and I came back with a
determination to really investmore in my faith.
And so I actually, for thefirst time, I think, in my life,
literally sat down and prayeddeliberately, you know, speaking
(10:05):
in a prayer format and said Ineed to make better choices and
I need your help in doing that.
Well, don't you figure, withinthree months or three weeks,
pardon me, I'm part of areorganization and my job is
taken away, so I get reorged,and it was on a Friday morning,
(10:27):
which was a cardinal sin in mymind for a human resources
person to ever terminatesomeone's employment on a Friday
because people just spin overthe weekend.
I mean it's really a terriblething to do.
But I had a lot of reflection.
I had a conversation with mykids.
One of my children actually saidI think I can tear up all the
checks you sent while I'm inuniversity so that you know it
(10:50):
won't hurt you financially.
And literally I cried when Iheard that, like she's got her
priorities in order better thanI do.
So that's when I made theobservation that I think this
was an answer to my prayer.
It wasn't what I was thinkingof when I asked for that, and so
I said I need to reformat myleadership strategy, where I'm
(11:13):
going in my life, and so Iabandoned the idea of going back
into a large corporation and Ithought you know, I want to go
into private practice and doleadership development and
specifically more in the area ofcharacter, because I think
leadership and character isreally important and I think we
(11:34):
can observe in the world thatyou know there are important,
and I think we can observe inthe world that there's a lot of
absence of character in manyleadership scenarios that we are
seeing in today's world, sothat was early 2006 that I
really started down this path ofleadership development.
I wound up getting a coachingdesignation and ironically so,
(11:58):
within about three weeks oflosing my job that was in
September of 2005, a friendcalled me up just out of the
blue and he says I'm doing thisnetworking and I'm in this group
, this group of men who meet inthe morning to talk about faith.
It's a very safe environmentand I was thinking about you and
(12:19):
I'm going.
Why was he thinking like, oh,my goodness, this is like the
planets are aligning.
And so I started attending agroup.
That was in 2005.
In 2008, I stepped away fromthat group to start a group in
my own community in Aurora,because the other group was in
Markham, and we've had greatleadership discussions.
(12:42):
So you know, my leadershipjourney has been really
augmented and fruitfully addedto from the conversations I have
at these in these morningmeetings.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, I love that when you first you didn't get
the job, you didn't buy thehouse, you didn't the
Mississauga, and you at thatpoint you're like, does God have
something to do with this?
Are you looking out for me?
But I don't know if you werereally strong in your faith
because you talk about, you know, the mission trip.
That's when you maybe foundmore faith.
(13:15):
Would that be right there?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Absolutely.
And interestingly enough, ourchurch was doing a program where
in the summer, each summer,they'd ask one parishioner to
share a faith story, and so thepriest at our church knew that I
had lost my job and knew mysort of reflections on that,
(13:39):
asked me to speak the followingsummer, and that's where I
really had a chance to moredeeply reflect.
I'd had the leader impactexperience.
Things were now starting tochange for me.
The way I would articulate itis that I went from knowing
(14:00):
about God and thinking that myrole was to sort of, you know,
do a lot of good things, collectair miles to heaven, as I used
to call it, and I went fromknowing about God to knowing God
.
And it's just one word and it'sa dramatic shift in your
mindset.
So for me it was profound andit's impacted how I look at
(14:22):
leadership.
It impacted the thoughts I hadwriting the book that I wrote.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It impacts how I coach.
Yeah, I love that.
Collect air miles to heaven.
It's a good one.
I totally wrote that down.
I'm stealing it.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, so we want to talk a little bit about a
principle of success.
If you have one, what is it anda story that illustrates it.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
So a principle of success for me is to be who you
are, be who you're meant to beand act with integrity.
So I think I found out moreabout my integrity when I left
the corporate world and startedout on my own and you'd meet
with people and you'd get veryauthentic feedback about how
(15:08):
people saw you and fortunately,I had always.
I felt strongly.
My father was a tremendous rolemodel for this.
I'd always acted with integrityand that was the reputation I
had built, and for me that hasmeant everything, Because and I
(15:28):
use an analogy of a tube oftoothpaste I mean, once you
squeeze the tube, the toothpasteis out.
So integrity is not somethingto be dealt with lightly,
Because if you squeeze the tubeand you lose it, you can't put
it back in in a big fat hurry.
So that, for me, is reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Yeah, what would you say if there's people listening
and they're thinking, you knowmaybe their integrity, they just
haven't been the upstandingcitizen, been the upstanding
citizen and I know when I readabout.
You know leadership developmentthat you coach and you talk
about.
You know team dynamics whensomeone doesn't have the
integrity but they're reallytrying to get it back to the
(16:06):
person who is trying so hard toget it back.
They can do it.
Just give them the words ofencouragement.
You can do it.
You can build this Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I couldn't agree more .
You can do this, and I thinkwhat advice I would give them I
mean, as a coach, I like to helpthem find their own way what
advice I would give them is tobe authentic about that.
So stand up and say, hey, youknow what, what got me here
hasn't been everything I wantedit to be and I want it to be
(16:38):
different.
Going forward, and I think bybeing vulnerable and saying I'm
not perfect I mean, none of usare perfect I mean this is one
of the things we want to allrecognize as Christians.
We'd like to be, but we're not.
So when you admit that I'mflawed and I want to do better,
I think people will embrace thatand I think there's always a
path forward.
You asked for a story myleaving of Shoppers Drug Mart.
(17:04):
One of the challenges was Ididn't see eye to eye with the
head of human resources that Iwas now coming together with.
We had, I'll say, a differentvalue system on some things.
And so I was presented with adifferent opportunity going
forward than I had been promisedor expected.
And you know, I think a promiseis important and so when it
(17:26):
first happened, my reaction wasokay, you know, don't just
acquiesce.
You know this isn't right, andbe who you are.
So I approached the person andsaid look, you know, I don't
know why this has gone this way.
However, you know, I think it'sprobably better that we just
move on.
And I said so.
(17:47):
I know, in the merger we've hadlots of packages.
So I'm saying to you you know,if you wrote a letter and
offered me a package, I'd signthat letter.
And he goes well, do youalready have a job?
And I said no.
And he said how can you do thatwith four kids?
I said because I think it's theright thing to do and I think
if you do the right thing,things will work out.
(18:08):
And again, another angel on myshoulder story.
So we go through, we make thedeal.
I'm having lunch with a friendbecause I've been the chair of
the board of the Chamber ofCommerce in London.
I'm having lunch with a friendwho's a CEO of a local company.
A week later and we're sittingdown and he says you left
Shoppers Darkbite.
(18:29):
I said yeah.
He says, well, we need somebody.
And he offered me a job a weeklater.
So with all honesty I'd said Idon't have a job, and then I had
a job.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah, I would want to acknowledge that I think you
never gave up, right Like youput yourself out there.
You were going for lunches,right?
I mean, it doesn't just happen.
We have to work hard to.
You know, we can pray, but Godcan throw us a lot of ideas, but
if we're not outside the house,they're not.
You know, if you don't do thelunch, that you don't really
want to do and do the meetingyou don't really want to do,
yeah, For sure you can't.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
you can't just say a prayer and expect all of a
sudden everything to happen toyou.
You have to, you have to, youstill have to work.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
You have to pursue the intent of the prayer.
Yeah, good, All right, we'regoing to move on to talking
about failures and mistakes, andwe definitely learn more.
So I wonder if you have, youknow, maybe a failure or mistake
that happened in your life andwhat you learned from it?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So it was an interesting question to thinking
about that.
So I would say you know I'd goback to this idea of the mistake
I made is a little bit of thatstory of getting trapped into
pursuing the big job withoutthinking about the implications
(19:53):
to who that was making me, who Iwas becoming as a result of
that.
And it was interesting because,you know, I, as I say, I feel
like I'd acted with integrity.
Having said that, a good friendof mine said you know, part way
through, about six monthsbefore that, that, that change
in role they had said Dave, youknow like, know, like it feels
(20:17):
like you're.
You know you're a littledifferent, like your things are
more intense, you're more short,you know in the words, like
abrupt, and it just doesn't feellike you.
What do you think?
And I was a little bitdismissive of that and I think
the mistake was, is, wasn'tself-monitoring, you know, and
(20:39):
asking myself is you know what,am I what's really important?
So in many respects, you knowthe bit that was the biggest
mistake.
And then my wife suggesting Igo to Alpha and just accepting
that we love each other.
So she wanted to help and didit in a very loving way, and so
(21:02):
my solution to that was to openmy ears and listen, for, for
lack of a term, listen for theleading of the spirit, without
knowing that's really what I wasdoing for lack of a term listen
for the leading of the spirit,without knowing that's really
what I was doing.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, I think we all can resonate with getting
trapped in the pursuit of moreand it's and it can come out,
you know, in your health.
Your health starts to fail,your relationships fail when you
are just so.
I want the better car, I wantthe better house.
You know, um it's, it happens,and um your health, your health,
(21:39):
I I met with someone today andit was a health issue.
The health is just starting todecline.
So I think your story resonates.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yeah, and, interestingly enough, uh, I
remember going to the reunion ofmy business class and of course
it was always a bit competitivein the business school and it
was about the 25th reunion inshortly like 2006, the fall of
2006.
So about a year after I madethese changes and I remember
(22:08):
meeting people and a couple ofpeople were asking how's your
family?
And they were talking about.
Their definition of success wasnot how big is your job and
what's your income.
Their definition of success wasvery different and I started
going wow, and they were reallyhappy and there were some people
(22:35):
there who you could tell?
they were still in that, likethe gerbil in the spinning wheel
, and you know, if that's whatthey wanted, that's not for me
to judge.
Having said that, I wasstarting to see a different
interpretation of what reallywhat wealth meant.
In many respects, there'snothing wrong with money and
nothing wrong with the pursuitof money.
It's just when it gets out ofsorts.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yeah, there's a.
I was going to bring it up onmy phone and I don't want to get
this wrong.
But there's a study, thelongest study, the longest study
at Harvard, and it's about thestudy of happiness and it's, I
don't know, 80 some years, andit really is about who you are
surrounding yourself with,getting out and meeting people,
being in community with peoplethat's the happiest people.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Yeah, I.
Getting out and meeting people,being in community with people
that's the happiest people.
Yeah, I've read about that.
It's incredible.
It passed from one generationto the next of researchers
because, it's been so long ingoing forward.
Great study.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, and I think if anyone's listening, you can find
it on TED Talks as well.
There's the happiness, yeah,all right.
Well, you are part of LeaderImpact.
So you know that we want togrow professionally, spiritually
and personally for increasingimpact.
So I'm wondering if you'rewilling to share an example of
how the spiritual makes apractical difference in your
life as a leader.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Well, for sure, as I've gotten closer to engaging
with scripture and talking thisthrough in a safe environment
with colleagues and friends inleadership, starting to do
things like I have the fruits ofthe spirit that are in my
(24:04):
workspace, to remind myself thatthings like love and joy and
peace, kindness, faithfulnessthese are all the expectations
of us spiritually and it matchesup with I was once I was
working for I did some work fora CEO and he was a really great
guy who had huge success interms of the expectations, but a
(24:29):
fantastic relationship builder,and what he shared with me is
that soft skills don't mean softexpectations.
So, from a spiritual standpoint, what I've learned is that you
can have high expectations ofpeople.
You can be motivated, gettingpeople motivated to drive in a
particular direction.
Having said that, you alwayswant to have a loving
(24:53):
relationship with them, becausenobody cares what you know until
they know that you care, and Ithink it has really brought home
that you know.
When I think about readingscripture, for example, and
thinking about Jesus as a rolemodel for leadership, he wasn't
always the easiest.
He was demanding of hisdisciples and he was, you know.
(25:14):
You knew he cared like deeply.
So that's really the spiritualside for me is that you can have
both.
You can have high expectationsand really care.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, when you said you have the fruits of the
spirit in my workplace.
Do you have words written?
Speaker 2 (25:34):
yes, okay so so the, the seven fruits of the spirit,
as, as I know from I think it'sin galatians, if I'm not
mistaken chapters anyways, Idon't, I don't, I don't have it,
but they are the seven are love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control.
(25:55):
And you have them right infront of you and I have them
right in front of me.
And I grew up there's lots ofsnow on the roof now but I grew
up as a redhead and self-controlwas not one of the stereotypes
(26:15):
of a redhead.
I was a pretty short-fused guyand, honestly, I remember
golfing recently with myson-in-law, who I've known for
quite some time, and I told himI had occasion to lose my temper
and he looked at me.
He goes I've never seen youlose your temper ever.
Like I can't believe that.
So back to this.
(26:36):
You can do anything you want ifyou really want to, right.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Proof, you can change , yeah, all right.
So at Leader Impact, we arededicated to leaders having a
lasting impact.
And so, as you continue to movethrough your own journey and it
sounds amazing and who knowswhen the next headhunter is
coming after you, david, what doyou want your faith legacy to
be when you leave this world?
Speaker 2 (26:59):
That's a great question.
I know I had the opportunity todo some work with Paul
Henderson.
We all know from hockey fameand Paul would encourage us to
think of life verses, and so mylegacy.
I think is reflected in a verse1 Peter 3, verse 15.
And I'm going to read it hereit's In your hearts, revere
(27:23):
Christ as Lord, Always beprepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to givethe reason for the hope that you
have, and do this withgentleness and respect.
So I would love for people tosay you know, Dave was willing
to step up and you knew that hehad a faith, and it was always a
(27:44):
conversation that was embedded,where there's gentleness and
respect embedded in that.
That would be, my hope for mylegacy.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, that's pretty good.
Yeah, that's great.
Thank you, Dave, for sharingthat.
Our last question of thepodcast is what brings you the
greatest joy?
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Gosh, you know there are many things, so I have nine
grandchildren.
Oh watching them laugh and havea joy in their life brings me a
great deal of joy.
Yeah, for sure.
That, in many ways, is numberone.
But a close second, or, and aclose second, is watching people
(28:28):
change in positive ways.
So I'll go back to you know,watching the light bulb go on
has always been a lifelong joyfor me, and when I'm coaching
someone or I'm having a faithconversation or I'm talking with
someone and something changesfor them in a way that enhances
or enriches their life, like Ijust feel like wow, yeah, I was
(28:48):
very privileged to be a part ofthat.
So you know, I just lovewatching people, uh, feel joy
for themselves.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, that's pretty good.
Uh, david, I want to thank youfor joining us for the last half
hour.
Uh, just listening to yourstory and listening to to your
journey um is incredible, Ithink um, sometimes and I'm sure
this could happen to you whenyou're in the moment it's tough
when you get let go, or whenyou've got to take the package.
(29:18):
It's tough in the moment andyou know, but you look back and
go.
It was supposed to happen.
It happened exactly how it wassupposed to happen.
I wouldn't be here if I didn'tdo that.
So thank you for sharing yourjourney.
Many people will resonate withthe change that you've been
through, and so just appreciateit.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Thank you for letting me be here.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
All right Now.
If anyone is listening andthey're like I need to talk to
David Town, how can they engagewith you?
Where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I am on LinkedIn, so you look up David Town LinkedIn
and any of the companies I'vetalked about working for, or the
Leadership Matters I'm sureyou'd find me.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Awesome, well, thanks for joining us, david.
All right, well, thank you toeveryone for joining us.
If you're part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or
share this podcast with yourgroup.
And if you're not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out more about us and growyour leadership, find our
podcast page on our website atleaderimpactca and check out our
free leadership assessment.
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
(30:21):
leadershipleaderimpactca.
And if you're listening fromanywhere else in the world,
check out leaderimpactcom or getin touch with us by email.
Info at leaderimpactca and wewill connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with usand remember impact starts with
(30:43):
you.
Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast.
We are a community of leaderswith a network in over 350
cities around the worlddedicated 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 this out.
We love talking with leaders,so if you have any questions,
comments or suggestions to makethis show even better, please
let us know.
(00:27):
The best way to stay connectedin Canada is through our
newsletter at leaderimpactca oron social at Leader Impact.
If you're listening fromoutside of Canada, check out our
website at leaderimpactcom.
I'm your host, lisa Peters, andour guest today is David Towne.
David is a facilitator andexecutive coach with a focus on
leadership development,performance-related
communication management stylesand team dynamics.
(00:49):
David has a particular interestin leadership approaches that
optimize results, particularlyin remote and hybrid work
environments.
He authored a book entitledDon't Mistake Presence for
Performance to provide leaderswith strategies for building
stronger relationships leadingto better results.
David has been an independentleadership consultant for 20
(01:10):
years and is the co-founder ofVirtual Leadership Matters
Incorporated.
Prior to starting his ownconsulting practice, david held
senior HR leadership positionsin several prominent Canadian
retail organizations, includingLoblox Companies, shoppers, drug
Mart and Big V Pharmacies.
He also taught a first-yearbusiness course at the Ivy
(01:30):
School of Business and morerecently he taught
organizational behavior atSeneca College.
David is married with fourchildren who are all adults now.
He and his wife live inGeorgina, on the shores of Lake
Simcoe in Ontario.
Welcome to the show, david.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Thank you, lisa, glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Well, I'm a huge fan of Shoppers, drug Mart.
I've just turned 55 plus andyou know there's that deal for
seniors, so I loved reading yourbio.
Now I think you actually.
It says here prior to startinghis own consulting business do
you have another leadership firmPrior to starting?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
his own consulting business.
Do you have another leadershipfirm?
So my first foray into theleadership consulting was to
well, I started with David Townand Associates a very clever
name and then I incorporatedinto a company called your
Leadership Matters Okay, which Istill have and a friend of mine
in Saskatoon, David Smith, andI put together virtual
(02:26):
leadership matters in 2020, atthe beginning of the pandemic,
because we thought that virtualleadership was an important
topic to talk about.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, I would agree, and your book Don't Mistake
Presence for Performance.
This is a new book, I believe.
Did this just come out in thelast?
Yes, I published it.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
It was published in July of last year and I really
haven't spent a lot of timemarketing it.
Yeah, I'm in the twilight of mycareer and I'm not necessarily
in a high business developmentmode, so I wasn't really active
in promoting the book too much,except that I would love people
to to read it, just because it'sit was a passion of mine.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Yeah, talk about this .
Now.
I know you're part of LeaderImpact.
Is any of the groups studyingthe book?
Speaker 2 (03:10):
No, we've talked about it in our own group.
I lead a group here in theNewmarket Aurora Georgina area
and it's something for me totalk about some more with John
Havercroft and others in LeaderImpact.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, because when I think of.
Georgiaake presence forperformance.
Too many times we think we'represence and so we're like we're
not.
But I look forward to hearingmore about it.
So we'll start the podcast andwe want to hear more about your
professional story and, moreimportantly, we love to hear
those pivots, those pivotalturning points along your
(03:42):
journey that sort of moved youto, you know, to another space.
So jump in.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Okay.
So I graduated from the IvySchool of Business in London and
I've been studying portfoliomanagement.
I was a numbers guy, thoughtthat was.
I was going to go trade bonds,make my millions.
And I played baseball with awith one of the professors who I
got to know because I had asummer job with him, and he said
why don't you come out andteach a first year business
(04:09):
course for two years?
It just strikes me you'd reallyenjoy that.
So I thought, you know what anopportunity.
I'll do that and then I'll godo my portfolio management life,
as it were.
Well, I fell in love with doingtwo years of teaching business
a first year business course.
I fell in love with doing twoyears of teaching business a
first year business course.
I fell in love with watchingthe light bulb go on for people.
So that was, you know, there'ssort of one moment where a
(04:30):
complete shift in terms of whatI thought I was going to be
doing, and then and then Itaught, so that sort of moved
into a role with a companycalled Big V Pharmacies where I
went in to help them learn howto manage stores better.
So I was in a training role,eventually became the head of
human resources at Big V,because they didn't really have
(04:50):
a human resource function, arobust one.
So I helped develop that and Iloved working for that company.
It had a great culture, areally customer-focused, very
positive values culture.
So I was there at Big V untilthe time when we merged with
Shoppers Drug Mart.
Big V was a privately heldorganization.
(05:11):
Even though it was privatelyheld, it had shareholders, so
they would trade based on PEmultiples.
And along came when we went togo public to put shares out into
the marketplace.
Along came a Masco who was theowner of Shoppers Drug Mart and
they made an offer which theemployees accepted because the
(05:34):
employees were the owners.
It's a very interesting dynamic.
Employees are voting for amerger, maybe not knowing
exactly what a merger entails interms of the you, of the
reductions of staffing becauseof synergies and so on.
It was a very interesting timeand I loved Big V.
But there was an interestingpath along the way.
(05:55):
So we talked about some of theinflection points in a person's
career.
So it was 1987, about four orfive years into my time at Big V
, I got recruited into a largemultinational organization out
of Mississauga I was living inLondon at the time.
That's where Big V was locatedand I got to the final stages.
(06:17):
I was the last man standing, asit were.
So the job offer was coming tome and there was a person coming
up from Dallas, texas, wherethe head office was, and he met
with the guy who had beeninterviewing me and I'd had, oh
my gosh, seven or eightinterviews.
I'd gone for dinner Like it wasa very robust recruitment
process and I got a phone callafter the guy from Dallas
(06:37):
arrived, a day later, from thisfellow and he said so, all bets
are off.
I'm really sorry.
He said.
I feel devastated that theychanged what they wanted to
someone who was a negotiator inthe IR function as opposed to
when I was in human resources,which is more away from the
negotiations that what happenedwas within six months, the
(07:05):
company went through, as a partof their merger process, a
shedding of a whole bunch oflayers of management and
employees, of which I would havebeen one of them if I had
joined that organization, andthe housing prices in
Mississauga took a drop becauseshortly after the interview
didn't work, housing went downthe drain.
So I would have moved, bought ahouse it would have been worth
less than that.
(07:25):
And I would have moved, boughta house it would have been worth
less than that and I would havebeen out of a job.
And it was the first time thatI sort of thought gee, I wonder
if I have an angel on myshoulder, as it were.
My faith was not strong enoughat the time to really recognize
what was going on.
But looking back, I'mabsolutely sure that God was
playing a role in my life.
I thought that was reallyinteresting.
So fast forward.
(07:47):
I'm with Shoppers Drug Mart fortwo years during the merger,
enjoying my time back and forth.
Having said that, I getrecruited again and I move to
Loblaw Companies in Toronto andI grew up in Mississauga, so it
was kind of getting back home.
My wife was from Mississauga aswell.
We both knew each other in highschool and university.
(08:08):
And so get back to Loblawcompanies and have some great
opportunities at Loblaws.
My career is growing, but Ifind myself focusing more and
more on the next big promotion,a bigger salary.
I get busier and busier.
I'm leaving the house at 6o'clock in the morning, I'm
(08:30):
getting home at 8 o'clock atnight.
We have four young children.
Looking back, you know it waspretty hard on my wife, frankly,
leaving her sort of holding thebag, and along the way we have
this conversation.
It was in early 2005,.
My wife and I and she said youshould go to Alpha.
(08:51):
And I'm going, what is Alpha?
And she says it's this programfrom Nikki Gumbel and my
calendar don't match.
So I'm saying I'm a family guy,I'm really devoted to this and
(09:21):
this and this, and my calendarsays, yeah, not as much as you
think you are, dave.
So so that was the beginning ofa real reflection time for me.
That was early in 2005.
I signed up for a mission tripand my daughter was on the trip,
so I was going to be one of theadult adults that goes, goes
(09:43):
along with the kids.
It was in Mexico and down thereI met some incredible people,
incredible leaders with greatstories, and I came back with a
determination to really investmore in my faith.
And so I actually, for thefirst time, I think, in my life,
literally sat down and prayeddeliberately, you know, speaking
(10:05):
in a prayer format and said Ineed to make better choices and
I need your help in doing that.
Well, don't you figure, withinthree months or three weeks,
pardon me, I'm part of areorganization and my job is
taken away, so I get reorged,and it was on a Friday morning,
(10:27):
which was a cardinal sin in mymind for a human resources
person to ever terminatesomeone's employment on a Friday
because people just spin overthe weekend.
I mean it's really a terriblething to do.
But I had a lot of reflection.
I had a conversation with mykids.
One of my children actually saidI think I can tear up all the
checks you sent while I'm inuniversity so that you know it
(10:50):
won't hurt you financially.
And literally I cried when Iheard that, like she's got her
priorities in order better thanI do.
So that's when I made theobservation that I think this
was an answer to my prayer.
It wasn't what I was thinkingof when I asked for that, and so
I said I need to reformat myleadership strategy, where I'm
(11:13):
going in my life, and so Iabandoned the idea of going back
into a large corporation and Ithought you know, I want to go
into private practice and doleadership development and
specifically more in the area ofcharacter, because I think
leadership and character isreally important and I think we
(11:34):
can observe in the world thatyou know there are important,
and I think we can observe inthe world that there's a lot of
absence of character in manyleadership scenarios that we are
seeing in today's world, sothat was early 2006 that I
really started down this path ofleadership development.
I wound up getting a coachingdesignation and ironically so,
(11:58):
within about three weeks oflosing my job that was in
September of 2005, a friendcalled me up just out of the
blue and he says I'm doing thisnetworking and I'm in this group
, this group of men who meet inthe morning to talk about faith.
It's a very safe environmentand I was thinking about you and
(12:19):
I'm going.
Why was he thinking like, oh,my goodness, this is like the
planets are aligning.
And so I started attending agroup.
That was in 2005.
In 2008, I stepped away fromthat group to start a group in
my own community in Aurora,because the other group was in
Markham, and we've had greatleadership discussions.
(12:42):
So you know, my leadershipjourney has been really
augmented and fruitfully addedto from the conversations I have
at these in these morningmeetings.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yeah, I love that when you first you didn't get
the job, you didn't buy thehouse, you didn't the
Mississauga, and you at thatpoint you're like, does God have
something to do with this?
Are you looking out for me?
But I don't know if you werereally strong in your faith
because you talk about, you know, the mission trip.
That's when you maybe foundmore faith.
(13:15):
Would that be right there?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Absolutely.
And interestingly enough, ourchurch was doing a program where
in the summer, each summer,they'd ask one parishioner to
share a faith story, and so thepriest at our church knew that I
had lost my job and knew mysort of reflections on that,
(13:39):
asked me to speak the followingsummer, and that's where I
really had a chance to moredeeply reflect.
I'd had the leader impactexperience.
Things were now starting tochange for me.
The way I would articulate itis that I went from knowing
(14:00):
about God and thinking that myrole was to sort of, you know,
do a lot of good things, collectair miles to heaven, as I used
to call it, and I went fromknowing about God to knowing God
.
And it's just one word and it'sa dramatic shift in your
mindset.
So for me it was profound andit's impacted how I look at
(14:22):
leadership.
It impacted the thoughts I hadwriting the book that I wrote.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It impacts how I coach.
Yeah, I love that.
Collect air miles to heaven.
It's a good one.
I totally wrote that down.
I'm stealing it.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That's okay.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, so we want to talk a little bit about a
principle of success.
If you have one, what is it anda story that illustrates it.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
So a principle of success for me is to be who you
are, be who you're meant to beand act with integrity.
So I think I found out moreabout my integrity when I left
the corporate world and startedout on my own and you'd meet
with people and you'd get veryauthentic feedback about how
(15:08):
people saw you and fortunately,I had always.
I felt strongly.
My father was a tremendous rolemodel for this.
I'd always acted with integrityand that was the reputation I
had built, and for me that hasmeant everything, Because and I
(15:28):
use an analogy of a tube oftoothpaste I mean, once you
squeeze the tube, the toothpasteis out.
So integrity is not somethingto be dealt with lightly,
Because if you squeeze the tubeand you lose it, you can't put
it back in in a big fat hurry.
So that, for me, is reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Yeah, what would you say if there's people listening
and they're thinking, you knowmaybe their integrity, they just
haven't been the upstandingcitizen, been the upstanding
citizen and I know when I readabout.
You know leadership developmentthat you coach and you talk
about.
You know team dynamics whensomeone doesn't have the
integrity but they're reallytrying to get it back to the
(16:06):
person who is trying so hard toget it back.
They can do it.
Just give them the words ofencouragement.
You can do it.
You can build this Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
I couldn't agree more .
You can do this, and I thinkwhat advice I would give them I
mean, as a coach, I like to helpthem find their own way what
advice I would give them is tobe authentic about that.
So stand up and say, hey, youknow what, what got me here
hasn't been everything I wantedit to be and I want it to be
(16:38):
different.
Going forward, and I think bybeing vulnerable and saying I'm
not perfect I mean, none of usare perfect I mean this is one
of the things we want to allrecognize as Christians.
We'd like to be, but we're not.
So when you admit that I'mflawed and I want to do better,
I think people will embrace thatand I think there's always a
path forward.
You asked for a story myleaving of Shoppers Drug Mart.
(17:04):
One of the challenges was Ididn't see eye to eye with the
head of human resources that Iwas now coming together with.
We had, I'll say, a differentvalue system on some things.
And so I was presented with adifferent opportunity going
forward than I had been promisedor expected.
And you know, I think a promiseis important and so when it
(17:26):
first happened, my reaction wasokay, you know, don't just
acquiesce.
You know this isn't right, andbe who you are.
So I approached the person andsaid look, you know, I don't
know why this has gone this way.
However, you know, I think it'sprobably better that we just
move on.
And I said so.
(17:47):
I know, in the merger we've hadlots of packages.
So I'm saying to you you know,if you wrote a letter and
offered me a package, I'd signthat letter.
And he goes well, do youalready have a job?
And I said no.
And he said how can you do thatwith four kids?
I said because I think it's theright thing to do and I think
if you do the right thing,things will work out.
(18:08):
And again, another angel on myshoulder story.
So we go through, we make thedeal.
I'm having lunch with a friendbecause I've been the chair of
the board of the Chamber ofCommerce in London.
I'm having lunch with a friendwho's a CEO of a local company.
A week later and we're sittingdown and he says you left
Shoppers Darkbite.
(18:29):
I said yeah.
He says, well, we need somebody.
And he offered me a job a weeklater.
So with all honesty I'd said Idon't have a job, and then I had
a job.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah, I would want to acknowledge that I think you
never gave up, right Like youput yourself out there.
You were going for lunches,right?
I mean, it doesn't just happen.
We have to work hard to.
You know, we can pray, but Godcan throw us a lot of ideas, but
if we're not outside the house,they're not.
You know, if you don't do thelunch, that you don't really
want to do and do the meetingyou don't really want to do,
yeah, For sure you can't.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
you can't just say a prayer and expect all of a
sudden everything to happen toyou.
You have to, you have to, youstill have to work.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
You have to pursue the intent of the prayer.
Yeah, good, All right, we'regoing to move on to talking
about failures and mistakes, andwe definitely learn more.
So I wonder if you have, youknow, maybe a failure or mistake
that happened in your life andwhat you learned from it?
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So it was an interesting question to thinking
about that.
So I would say you know I'd goback to this idea of the mistake
I made is a little bit of thatstory of getting trapped into
pursuing the big job withoutthinking about the implications
(19:53):
to who that was making me, who Iwas becoming as a result of
that.
And it was interesting because,you know, I, as I say, I feel
like I'd acted with integrity.
Having said that, a good friendof mine said you know, part way
through, about six monthsbefore that, that, that change
in role they had said Dave, youknow like, know, like it feels
(20:17):
like you're.
You know you're a littledifferent, like your things are
more intense, you're more short,you know in the words, like
abrupt, and it just doesn't feellike you.
What do you think?
And I was a little bitdismissive of that and I think
the mistake was, is, wasn'tself-monitoring, you know, and
(20:39):
asking myself is you know what,am I what's really important?
So in many respects, you knowthe bit that was the biggest
mistake.
And then my wife suggesting Igo to Alpha and just accepting
that we love each other.
So she wanted to help and didit in a very loving way, and so
(21:02):
my solution to that was to openmy ears and listen, for, for
lack of a term, listen for theleading of the spirit, without
knowing that's really what I wasdoing for lack of a term listen
for the leading of the spirit,without knowing that's really
what I was doing.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Yeah, I think we all can resonate with getting
trapped in the pursuit of moreand it's and it can come out,
you know, in your health.
Your health starts to fail,your relationships fail when you
are just so.
I want the better car, I wantthe better house.
You know, um it's, it happens,and um your health, your health,
(21:39):
I I met with someone today andit was a health issue.
The health is just starting todecline.
So I think your story resonates.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Yeah, and, interestingly enough, uh, I
remember going to the reunion ofmy business class and of course
it was always a bit competitivein the business school and it
was about the 25th reunion inshortly like 2006, the fall of
2006.
So about a year after I madethese changes and I remember
(22:08):
meeting people and a couple ofpeople were asking how's your
family?
And they were talking about.
Their definition of success wasnot how big is your job and
what's your income.
Their definition of success wasvery different and I started
going wow, and they were reallyhappy and there were some people
(22:35):
there who you could tell?
they were still in that, likethe gerbil in the spinning wheel
, and you know, if that's whatthey wanted, that's not for me
to judge.
Having said that, I wasstarting to see a different
interpretation of what reallywhat wealth meant.
In many respects, there'snothing wrong with money and
nothing wrong with the pursuitof money.
It's just when it gets out ofsorts.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yeah, there's a.
I was going to bring it up onmy phone and I don't want to get
this wrong.
But there's a study, thelongest study, the longest study
at Harvard, and it's about thestudy of happiness and it's, I
don't know, 80 some years, andit really is about who you are
surrounding yourself with,getting out and meeting people,
being in community with peoplethat's the happiest people.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Yeah, I.
Getting out and meeting people,being in community with people
that's the happiest people.
Yeah, I've read about that.
It's incredible.
It passed from one generationto the next of researchers
because, it's been so long ingoing forward.
Great study.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
Yeah, and I think if anyone's listening, you can find
it on TED Talks as well.
There's the happiness, yeah,all right.
Well, you are part of LeaderImpact.
So you know that we want togrow professionally, spiritually
and personally for increasingimpact.
So I'm wondering if you'rewilling to share an example of
how the spiritual makes apractical difference in your
life as a leader.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Well, for sure, as I've gotten closer to engaging
with scripture and talking thisthrough in a safe environment
with colleagues and friends inleadership, starting to do
things like I have the fruits ofthe spirit that are in my
(24:04):
workspace, to remind myself thatthings like love and joy and
peace, kindness, faithfulnessthese are all the expectations
of us spiritually and it matchesup with I was once I was
working for I did some work fora CEO and he was a really great
guy who had huge success interms of the expectations, but a
(24:29):
fantastic relationship builder,and what he shared with me is
that soft skills don't mean softexpectations.
So, from a spiritual standpoint, what I've learned is that you
can have high expectations ofpeople.
You can be motivated, gettingpeople motivated to drive in a
particular direction.
Having said that, you alwayswant to have a loving
(24:53):
relationship with them, becausenobody cares what you know until
they know that you care, and Ithink it has really brought home
that you know.
When I think about readingscripture, for example, and
thinking about Jesus as a rolemodel for leadership, he wasn't
always the easiest.
He was demanding of hisdisciples and he was, you know.
(25:14):
You knew he cared like deeply.
So that's really the spiritualside for me is that you can have
both.
You can have high expectationsand really care.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, when you said you have the fruits of the
spirit in my workplace.
Do you have words written?
Speaker 2 (25:34):
yes, okay so so the, the seven fruits of the spirit,
as, as I know from I think it'sin galatians, if I'm not
mistaken chapters anyways, Idon't, I don't, I don't have it,
but they are the seven are love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control.
(25:55):
And you have them right infront of you and I have them
right in front of me.
And I grew up there's lots ofsnow on the roof now but I grew
up as a redhead and self-controlwas not one of the stereotypes
(26:15):
of a redhead.
I was a pretty short-fused guyand, honestly, I remember
golfing recently with myson-in-law, who I've known for
quite some time, and I told himI had occasion to lose my temper
and he looked at me.
He goes I've never seen youlose your temper ever.
Like I can't believe that.
So back to this.
(26:36):
You can do anything you want ifyou really want to, right.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Proof, you can change , yeah, all right.
So at Leader Impact, we arededicated to leaders having a
lasting impact.
And so, as you continue to movethrough your own journey and it
sounds amazing and who knowswhen the next headhunter is
coming after you, david, what doyou want your faith legacy to
be when you leave this world?
Speaker 2 (26:59):
That's a great question.
I know I had the opportunity todo some work with Paul
Henderson.
We all know from hockey fameand Paul would encourage us to
think of life verses, and so mylegacy.
I think is reflected in a verse1 Peter 3, verse 15.
And I'm going to read it hereit's In your hearts, revere
(27:23):
Christ as Lord, Always beprepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to givethe reason for the hope that you
have, and do this withgentleness and respect.
So I would love for people tosay you know, Dave was willing
to step up and you knew that hehad a faith, and it was always a
(27:44):
conversation that was embedded,where there's gentleness and
respect embedded in that.
That would be, my hope for mylegacy.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, that's pretty good.
Yeah, that's great.
Thank you, Dave, for sharingthat.
Our last question of thepodcast is what brings you the
greatest joy?
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Gosh, you know there are many things, so I have nine
grandchildren.
Oh watching them laugh and havea joy in their life brings me a
great deal of joy.
Yeah, for sure.
That, in many ways, is numberone.
But a close second, or, and aclose second, is watching people
(28:28):
change in positive ways.
So I'll go back to you know,watching the light bulb go on
has always been a lifelong joyfor me, and when I'm coaching
someone or I'm having a faithconversation or I'm talking with
someone and something changesfor them in a way that enhances
or enriches their life, like Ijust feel like wow, yeah, I was
(28:48):
very privileged to be a part ofthat.
So you know, I just lovewatching people, uh, feel joy
for themselves.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, that's pretty good.
Uh, david, I want to thank youfor joining us for the last half
hour.
Uh, just listening to yourstory and listening to to your
journey um is incredible, Ithink um, sometimes and I'm sure
this could happen to you whenyou're in the moment it's tough
when you get let go, or whenyou've got to take the package.
(29:18):
It's tough in the moment andyou know, but you look back and
go.
It was supposed to happen.
It happened exactly how it wassupposed to happen.
I wouldn't be here if I didn'tdo that.
So thank you for sharing yourjourney.
Many people will resonate withthe change that you've been
through, and so just appreciateit.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Thank you for letting me be here.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
All right Now.
If anyone is listening andthey're like I need to talk to
David Town, how can they engagewith you?
Where can they find you?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I am on LinkedIn, so you look up David Town LinkedIn
and any of the companies I'vetalked about working for, or the
Leadership Matters I'm sureyou'd find me.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Awesome, well, thanks for joining us, david.
All right, well, thank you toeveryone for joining us.
If you're part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or
share this podcast with yourgroup.
And if you're not yet part ofLeader Impact and would like to
find out more about us and growyour leadership, find our
podcast page on our website atleaderimpactca and check out our
free leadership assessment.
You can also check out groupsavailable in Canada at
(30:21):
leadershipleaderimpactca.
And if you're listening fromanywhere else in the world,
check out leaderimpactcom or getin touch with us by email.
Info at leaderimpactca and wewill connect you.
And if you like this podcast,please leave us a comment, give
us a rating or review.
This will help other globalleaders find our podcast.
Thank you for engaging with usand remember impact starts with
(30:43):
you.
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