Canadian businessman and Dragon’s Den star Wes Hall says inclusive and empathetic leadership has never been more crucial in a world where the push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is facing new challenges.
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not buzzwords; they are the foundation of a just society.” said Hall.
Hall, who received the title of Canadian Business Leader of the year award in 2022 from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, was speaking during an event for Scotiabank on inclusive leadership.
The event held as part of ScotiaRISE, Scotiabank’s 10-year, $500-million initiative to support economic resilience in disadvantaged groups, featured Hall in conversation with Mark Mulroney, Vice Chair & Head, Financial Sponsors, Investment Banking at Scotiabank.
Hall's background growing up in a zinc-roofed shack in Jamaica taught him empathy early on.
He recalled his "self-sacrificing" grandmother, who took him in along with seven other grandchildren after his mother abandoned him at 18-months.
Climbing the corporate ladder in Canada after arriving as a newcomer when he was 16 allowed him to see the world from different perspectives.
Hall overcame many challenges to become a successful entrepreneur, founding Kingsdale Advisors, a leading shareholder services and business consultancy in North America, in 2003. With offices in Toronto and New York, Kingsdale Advisors has acted on large, high-profile proxy fights and transactions. In 2014, he launched his private equity firm, WeShall Investments (formerly known as KSS HoldCo).
He has also dedicated himself to combating anti-Black racism. In 2020, Hall launched the BlackNorth Initiative, an organization that works to remove anti-Black systemic barriers. In 2021, he released his memoir, No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot: My Rise From A Jamaican Plantation Shack To The Boardrooms Of Bay Street.
Here are four key insights from Hall’s discussion on leadership and inclusion.
1. Diversity and inclusion are better for the bottom line
A report by McKinsey & Company found that companies with diverse workforces are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians.
"We're seeing the results," said Hall. "Diverse teams bring unique perspectives, creativity, and innovation to the table, which ultimately translates into increased profitability."
However, it is about more than bringing together a diverse team. It is about monitoring the office environment and adjusting to create an inclusive culture as well. "We as leaders can't delegate that to somebody else," he said.
His private equity firm, WeShall Investments, focuses on providing access to capital to women and BIPOC entrepreneurs. The firm recently conducted an economic impact study highlighting that businesses backed by WeShall have generated approximately $1.1B in total economic output from 2020 to 2022.
2. Don't let society's misconceptions hold you back
When reflecting on the early stages of his career, Hall said: “I'm glad I was naive when I started this whole journey."
He recalled the time he donned his best suit and a briefcase, hoping to land a law clerk position working for the general counsel of a company.
When it came time for the interview, an assistant addressed a white man wearing jeans and a T-shirt with "Mr. Hall." Hall did not pick up on the "social cue" of the assistant not associating a Black applicant with a highly coveted corporate job.
"I overlooked that because I was naive," he said. But this naiveté kept him from being discouraged going into the interview, and he seized the opportunity.
"I killed the interview and got the job."
Hall says in today’s society, “people aren’t naive anymore” and when they recognize these instances, they can be discouraged.
"It can have a disastrous impact on them, their career, their families and our community."
For Hall, it is important as a leader to create an environment where race and sexual orientation, for example, do not matter. He hopes that by doing so, he “can change the future.”
When you have great leaders, you accomplish great things. In the corporate world, poor leadership weighs on the value of the company.”
3. ‘Poor management’ results in a ‘massive discount’
Hall believes that truly exceptional leaders grasp the essence of leadership as a force for motivation rather than coercion.
He gives the examples of generals who truly motivate their teams, and when they order their soldiers to charge the hill, they press forward with unwavering determination even though they know some may not return alive.
“When you have great leaders, you accomplish great things. In the corporate world, poor leadership weighs on the value of the company. "There's a massive discount to poor leadership,” he said.
He has seen this pattern in his work through Kingsdale.
"I go after companies and replace management. The thing about activism is activists don't go after poor companies, they go after poor leaders running great businesses."
Once lacklustre management is eliminated, including through the efforts of shareholder activism, "we see a massive increase in the stock price," he added.
4. Empathy is critical to inclusive leadership
Hall cited his friend Justice Donald McLeod, one of the only Black judges in Peel Region, as a key example of the role empathy plays. McLeod was raised by a single mother in Regent Park, a historically underserved area of Toronto, and that experience informs his work, Hall added.
"He's empathetic as a leader, as a judge, because he can take into account the lived experiences of the person in front of him when he hands down sentences," Hall said.
For Hall, empathy is the centrepiece of effective leadership.
“I always like to think of the difference between diversity and inclusion too, where diversity is getting people in the room,” he said. Inclusion means ensuring people are heard and valued by empathetic leaders, he added.
“Empathy and emotional intelligence — those are really what sets you apart,” Hall explained. “Your ability to understand your employee or your team and their needs.”
