POWER 5 INTERVIEW

Miranda Keating Erickson

Corporate Director | Retired Electricity Sector Executive

This week we are thrilled to have Miranda Keating Erikson taking the Power 5 Interview. Miranada has had held a number of leadership roles in industry and as a volunteer in the non-rprofit sector. Currently she is on the BOD for Calgary Co-op and Via Rail as well as the Chair for AIESEC International.

1. Who had a big influence on your success and development as a leader?

There are a huge number of people who have influenced my career path, my development as a leader, and my life. That list starts with my family, and goes on to include teachers, coaches, co-workers, friends, mentors and many others. One of the keys to my leadership has been keen observation of the people around me – noticing how leaders communicate, and how others respond to them. I’ve learned something from every leader I have ever had, as well as from others I have worked alongside. Sometimes I pick up a tool or an approach that is very effective, while other times the greatest learning is what doesn’t work. I feel like I’ve had opportunities to learn from the best on both ends of that spectrum!

Ultimately, a big part of my success as a leader has come from having developed an approach based on open, transparent two-way communication, that relies on being inquisitive rather than directive, and that emphasizes both accountability and empathy. I firmly believe that everyone has a superpower – something they are particularly great at – and it’s my job as a leader to find a way to let that shine.

2. Tell us about your career journey and how you ended up where you are today?

I often describe my career journey as a bit of a zig zag. I never really had a specific plan, which gave me the freedom to jump on opportunities as they presented themselves.

While completing my business degree at McGill, I became very involved with a volunteer, youth-driven global organization called AIESEC. It opened up leadership opportunities for me that I previously couldn’t have imagined, so I spent my first year and a half post-graduation in not-for- profit leadership roles in Latin America and Europe before moving to Calgary to start my career.

With bills and student loans to pay, I jumped on the first job opportunity that presented itself. While this was an example of a time I learned a lot of lessons about what not to do as a leader, it also introduced me to the electricity sector, which led to the next stage of my career at TransAlta. They had a philosophy that those with high potential should take on new roles in new areas of the business every 2-3 years, so that by the time they are leading at a senior level they understand the whole business. Over the next decade, they created the space for me to grow and learn in almost every aspect of their business – including roles I never would have considered for myself.

Ultimately, a leader that I had worked for previously convinced me to work with her again at the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), an arm’s length provincial agency tasked with

coordinating the industry in the province. It was at the AESO that I was promoted to my first

executive role, as VP of Operations reporting to the CEO. All of that moving around outside of my comfort zone at TransAlta paid off, because operations was certainly not my direct area of expertise! A decade later, I had held multiple executive roles accountable not only for operations, but also regulatory, external affairs, markets and commercial. The role of the AESO gave me great insights into the workings of government, and through the series of executive roles I developed strong working relationships with our Board of Directors.

My interest in the role the Board played in leadership and decision-making in the organization led me to pursue my ICD.d designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and ultimately, to my most recent career shift. I now serve on the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Human Resources Committee at VIA Rail Canada, a federal crown corporation responsible for passenger rail across Canada, and on the Board of Directors at Calgary Co-op, a multi-faceted retail cooperative. Things have also come full circle – I am the volunteer Chair of the Supervisory Group (an advisory board) globally for AIESEC, supporting young people just getting started on their leadership journey.

3. What is the greatest challenge you have faced in your career path and how was this overcome?

Like for so many of us, managing being a parent with a successful career was an ongoing

challenge. I became much more successful at it once I realized that it truly does take a village – it’s critical to have help. My husband and I were building our family and careers far away from extended family, so we created a network of support besides sharing the load between the two of us, and outsourced what we could. That support included friends (in many cases they were in the same situation, so the support was mutual), an amazing daycare when our children were young, an even more amazing nanny once that became an option we could afford, and a housekeeper. I created boundaries where I could, and requested flexibility at work where I needed it. For example, I negotiated to work from home one day each week long before hybrid work was common, and often finished tasks in the evening after the kids had gone to bed, because having dinner at home almost every night was important to us. I also used flex days or vacation days to volunteer at school or travel to hockey or baseball tournaments.

4. What shifts in transformation have you seen within your workplace(s) or industry to overcome these challenges?

Technology advances and the learnings from the pandemic have made flexibility much more

commonplace today. Attitudes have also shifted – it’s no longer only working mothers trying to

balance it all. Workplaces today recognize that both women and men may have caregiving

responsibilities, whether for children or aging parents, that sometimes require flexibility either in

working hours, or location, or both. The technology is now in place to enable that to happen

without negatively impacting productivity or requiring any special set-up.

5. What 3 pieces of advice would you give to women who are building their careers?

My first piece of advice is perhaps obvious based on my own career path: don’t get overly

focused on a narrow plan. I admire those that have a plan and drive towards their end goal, but often that focus leads you to miss opportunities that weren’t on your radar when you created the plan. In fact, I would take it one step further and say make sure to try something that terrifies you. My two favourite roles in my entire career were both ones that I felt unqualified to do and would never have applied for, but someone else gave me the nudge I needed.

The second piece of advice is one that was given to me thirty years ago: always have someone prepared to step into your shoes, because otherwise you can’t be promoted. It’s important to give your best in every role you take on, but once you are in a leadership role always have succession planning in mind. Having someone you trust ready to step into your role is incredibly liberating.

And lastly, be kind. You never know what someone else may be going through. Lead with

empathy. But also, be kind to yourself – show yourself the same empathy you show others.