About Tim Jackson Ph.D.
I first started learning about leadership around the dinner table.
My father was a consultant in the field for over 50 years, working with a wide range of senior executives. He loved his job. Every evening he would burst through the front door, sit at the dinner table, and gush colourful stories about the influential leaders he advised. Inspired by my Dad, I later pursued a PhD in psychology, for the sole reason that it seemed like the best way to learn as much as I could about leadership. By the time I graduated, my Dad was in his early 80s, trying to retire, and he invited me to join him in his practice. We worked together for a couple of years, during which I followed him around like a duckling, meeting the clients and learning the business. After my initiation, he retired at 84 years of age, and became a contractor to me, sending me invoices from time to time. It’s because of him that the study of leadership became my life’s work. Now I am carrying on his legacy.
These days what keeps me energized is creating a different kind of legacy – value and impact for my clients that will reverberate for years. On every project I ask myself, ‘if I succeed only if my client does … what would I say to them?... what would I do when working with them to ensure their success?’ I live for the moments when clients say to me ‘you’ve made a huge difference, you’ve helped me, thank you.’
I believe that deepening thinking about leadership enables behaviour change. I also believe the best way to foster this contemplation is with dialogue rooted in curiosity.
And while I strive to advise clients by sharing my knowledge with them, I’ve learned enough about leadership to be intellectually humble, and to realize that each client has something to teach me. I’m grateful for the moments when clients allow me to see leadership through their eyes, so I can learn from them.
To facilitate my work, I rely on my deep knowledge of leadership frameworks and psychology to suggest ways for clients to make sense of their experience, and to master leadership skills.
I also treat every consulting engagement like an intensive research project, making detailed notes after every meeting, rigorously analyzing them to discern patterns and novel insights that I can share back and discuss with clients. I also use qualitative research techniques to uncover insights during my interview-based 360, advisory, and organizational analysis services, that other approaches might miss.
A question that’s animated me over the last few years is how can leaders challenge, push, or pull their teams to achieve high performance goals, but do so in ways that preserve relationships, motivation, culture and long-term health? I became so interested in this topic that I conducted 37 interviews with executives about it, to find out how leaders can achieve great results while minimizing human costs. This knowledge base equips me to work with leaders that need to guide their teams to reach highly difficult or stretch goals, but want to do so without damaging motivation and relationships.
I have a PhD in Industrial/Organizational psychology, during which I conducted and published research on how inspirational leadership fosters employee commitment. I’ve worked in the leadership development field for 20 years, focusing on developing executive skills using in-depth assessment and one-on-one advisory.
I’ve worked with executives in Canada, the US, Western Europe, and China, across 11 industries, and within every major functional area. Some of my past clients include BASF, Maple Leaf Foods, Canada Packers, Equinix, Husky Injection Molding, Spin Master, Greater Toronto Airport Authority, Algonquin Power and Utilities, Onex, AstraZeneca, Harlequin, SunOpta, Creation Technologies, Gatestone, Leadiant Biosciences, and Protein Industries Canada.
I’ve published my ideas about leadership in The Globe and Mail, Forbes.com, HR Executive, SmartBrief, peer-reviewed journals, and in my newsletter at www.timjacksonphd.com.
I’m based in Toronto, though I work with senior leaders and organizations who seek the limits of performance, wherever they’re located.
Email: tjackson@jacksonleadership.com
Phone: 647-969-8907
Website: www.jacksonleadership.com
Newsletter: www.timjacksonphd.com