The Globe and Mail - 22.02.2020

MANITOBAAUDITORGENERAL

The Manitoba Legislative Assembly is accepting

applications for the position of Auditor General for the

Province of Manitoba.

The Auditor General is an independent, non-partisan officer

of the legislature who is required to conduct audits on

the accounts of the government and to express opinions,

provide advice and make recommendations in accordance

with the provisions ofTheAuditorGeneralAct. The Auditor

General must present an annual report to the Assembly and

may make special reports as allowed under the Act.

The Auditor General provides leadership and strategic

direction to a team of professional staff who are auditing

the accounts of the government, auditing the financial

statements of government organizations and conducting

value for money and special audits as deemed necessary.

The Auditor General is responsible for overseeing

accounting policies, strategic planning, development

and implementation of sound evaluation methodology,

standards of professional practice and training of staff.

As Auditor General, you will have proven leadership and

management experience at the senior executive level

in a complex and independent environment. You will

have extensive executive audit management experience,

in-depth experience with accounting practices and

audit standards, financial reporting standards, complex

information systems auditing, the theory and practice of

accountability in large public sector organizations and the

implementation of sound policies, programs and services

at a senior level. You will have proven consultation,

advisory, oral and written communication skills critical to

building relationships with a variety of stakeholders. You

will also have an understanding of provincial governments

and will be comfortable and confident dealing with public

and private sector officials and the media. You must have

a recognized professional accounting designation and be

a member in good standing in the applicable professional

association.

This appointment is for a ten-year term and, upon review,

may be renewed for further terms of ten years each.

The successful candidate must be a Canadian citizen;

must be willing and able to travel and mustprovide a

satisfactory Criminal Record Registry check.

Applyto:

Human Resource Services

302-386 Broadway

Winnipeg MB, R3C 3R6

Phone: 204-945-7279

Fax: 204-948-3115

Email: [email protected]

Competition Number: 010420

Salary: Senior Officer 8 (SF8) $141,262 - $170,502

Closing Date: March 3, 2020

Employment Equity is a factor in selection. Applicants

are requested to indicate in their covering letter or

resumé if they are from any of the following groups:

women, Indigenous people, visible minorities and

persons with disabilities.

We thank all who apply and advise that only those

selected for further consideration will be contacted.

Your cover letter, resumé and/or application must

clearly indicate how you meet the qualifications.

B10 CAREERS OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2020

A

n employee’s job title in-
forms those in and outside
of the organization of their
role and responsibilities. “People
make assumptions about your
knowledge, skills, abilities and
status based on those titles,” ex-
plains Glen Whyte, a professor of
organizational behaviour and HR
management at the Rotman
School of Management. “[Job ti-
tles] do have value in the market-
place for people.” But what hap-
pens when job titles are used by
employers as a talent attraction,
or retention, tactic? An appealing
job title becomes a bargaining
chip for companies that may not
have the funds to back up a lucra-
tive role. “One way to compensate
people, if you can’t pay them dol-
lars, is to compensate them
through some form of conferring
of status,” Prof. Whyte says.
This results in job title inflation

• a manager becomes a director
  even if they have only a handful of
  direct reports. A director becomes
  a senior director when they ask
  for a promotion, but their em-
  ployer can only offer a bump in
  their title and not in their salary.
  The trend has been happening
  for decades, according to Prof.
  Whyte, but has become more
  commonplace in recent years. “I
  think it’s a phenomenon that is
  fairly general across industries,”

he says. “You see a lot of it in tech

and creative industries like mar-

keting and advertising.” Mike Fox,

a recruiter in tech for more than

two decades, has noticed a famil-

iar trend among his clients. “Earli-

er stage companies will get some

funding, but they don’t really

have a whole lot to dangle into the

marketplace in terms of interest

level for sophisticated candi-

dates,” he says. “So oftentimes,

they’ll dangle job titles like chief

financial officer and that leads to

inflation.”

Mr. Fox says he believes that

job title inflation can be harmful

for employees, organizations and

the job market at large. He likens

the trend to the inflation of grades

in high school for university ad-

mission. “To get into McGill, you

need a 94 per cent or something,”

Mr. Fox says. “When I was going to

school, nobody got 94 per cent.”

While an individual employee

may find it tempting to accept a

boost in job title, Mr. Fox warns of

the impact of an inflated role

when re-entering the job market.

“You’re setting a non-replicable

sense of entitlement to somebody

that’s not applicable to the mar-

ketplace at large,” he says. “By

calling a director of finance a CFO,

you’re not doing their career any

great favours.”

As BC Transit’s vice-president

of human resources, Greg Conner

acts as the gatekeeper to desirable

job titles. “From an HR perspec-

tive, we get a lot of pressure to in-

flate job titles,” Mr. Conner says.

“Director to executive director is

one that everyone wants.”

Mr. Conner says that inflated

job titles have a “domino effect”

on a company’s organizational

structure. A manager that has

been promoted to director, even

though they don’t have any man-

agers reporting to them, can in-

cite jealousy within other direc-

tors in the company. “It doesn’t

take long for other directors to

come to me and say ‘This isn’t

fair,’” he explains. “We get that a

lot.” The ripple effect can also run

downward as well as laterally. “So

I’ve made you a director – now

what about the staff that you have

beneath you?”

Mr. Conner says he believes

that job title inflation is largely a

result of younger employees ea-

ger to see a forward progression in

their careers. “It used to be that

for five years, you’d be satisfied

being a supervisor,” he says.

“Now, after six months, you want

to be a manager and then in an-

other year you want to be a direc-

tor.”

Mr. Conner says he believes

that it’s the responsibility of a

company’s chief executive and

the HR department to keep job ti-

tles in check. So, instead of ap-

peasing to an eager employee’s

whims, Mr. Conner encourages

HR professionals to address the

requests directly. “Be clear and

transparent about why it’s not

possible,” he says. “Look at the or-

ganizational structure, the im-

pact of giving them that inflated

title and what it would do to ev-

erybody else.” Mr. Conner also

suggests using requests for inflat-

ed job titles to start a conversa-

tion about that employee’s career

path. “Someone in that situation

is interested in moving upward

and onward,” he says. “Ask what

roles they’re seeking and how you

can help get them into a better

role. It’s an opportunity to do

some development activities.”

SpecialtoTheGlobeandMail

Jobtitleinflationcanbeharmfulforstaff,organizations

Apositionboostcan

becomeabargaining

chipforcompaniesthat

don’thavethefundsto

backupalucrativerole

ANDREA YU

ISTOCK

OPINION

I

nfluencers are a new job cate-

gory, spawned by the digital

world. So history doesn’t make

this a uniquely female or male

job, with wage disparities be-

tween the genders from the past.

Yet it’s another job where men

are paid more than women, ac-

cording to a recent study of Insta-

gram influencers from over 40

countries, pulling in 7 per cent

more than their female counter-

parts for promotions in posts.

Progress is slow. Patriarchal

thinking is entrenched.

Consultants Natacha Catalino

and Kirstan Marnane spent a dec-

ade working on McKinsey’s Re-

markable Women Program, de-

veloping promising female lead-

ers around the globe.

They say one of the overlooked

benefits of the program is that it

holds up a mirror to the organiza-

tion. And the result is not always

appealing.

After interviewing 150 partici-

pants, they found women and

men experience work quite dif-

ferently – and it’s the system, not

the women, that needs fixing.

Most of the women said their or-

ganization defined leadership

clearly, but the benchmark was

the stereotypically masculine

style.

Interestingly, some women

said their organization expressed

appreciation for other leadership

characteristics, such as listening

and collaboration, but in the end

promotions were on the basis of

the more traditional leadership

behaviours associated with men.

“These dynamics are problem-

atic for organizations, not just for

women. McKinsey research into

the leadership behaviours that

are most effective for addressing

future challenges concludes that

the traditional behaviours of con-

trol, corrective action and indi-

vidualistic decision making are

the least critical for future suc-

cess. Much more important are

intellectual stimulation (which

men and women apply in equal

measure), and five other traits

(inspiration, participative deci-

sion making, setting expecta-

tions and rewards, people devel-

opment and role modelling) ap-

plied more frequently by wom-

en,” they write on the McKinsey

website.

They found women hesitant or

unwilling to share with employ-

ers the barriers they face at work,

wanting to avoid being character-

ized as weak or complainers.

Leaders must therefore listen

more closely to women and dem-

onstrate through their actions

they respect the feedback they

get.

My pessimism leads me to not

expect much to change in the fu-

ture. But Melinda Gates is far

more optimistic. She argues in

Harvard Business Review that

gender equality is within reach:

“We’ve never had a chance like

this before.”

She lays out a three-pronged

program developed by Pivotal

Ventures, the investment and in-

cubation company she founded

in 2015, which tries to drive social

progress for women and families

in the United States:

Dismantle barriers: Its analy-

sis notes many people believe

gender inequalities in profession-

al advancement are a reflection of

women’s own choices – not evi-

dence of an unequal system. But

history demonstrates women’s

choices are often constrained by

their options. Her mother didn’t

go to college or have a career. She

did, in large measure because of

Title IX, the 1972 U.S. civil rights

legislation banning discrimina-

tion on the basis of sex by federal-

ly funded educational institu-

tions. Attacking those barriers

can include challenging stereo-

typical representations, ending

sexual harassment and discrimi-

nation in the workplace, and

helping employees manage their

work and caregiving responsibil-

ities.

Fast-track advancement: In-

stead of waiting for the most pow-

erful and influential industries to

overcome centuries of history on

their own, we must find ways to

fast-track women’s entry into and

advancement in key sectors. Us-

ing visibility and reach of the sec-

tor as gauges, she pinpoints six

priority areas: public office, tech,

academia, media, investing and

entrepreneurship.

Amplify external pressure:

“Those of us eager to increase

women’s power and influence

can’t rely on other people’s sense

of ethics or self-interest. We need

to amplify the pressure they’re

feeling. Three constituencies –

shareholders, consumers and

employees – hold disproportion-

ate influence over institutions. By

mobilizing they can translate that

influence into targeted pressure,”

she says.

This can’t be left to just wom-

en. Inside and outside the work-

place, men have to join the strug-

gle for change. Far too often, ad-

vancement and equality of wom-

en have been seen by men as a

zero-sum game – and they lose.

But it’s our companies and our

society (and yes, our wives and

daughters) who benefit.

Gender consultant Avivah Wit-

tenberg-Cox, a Canadian working

in Britain, warns however against

calling men who help out “cham-

pions.” That’s embarrassing for

the men and for the women, re-

warding good male behaviour

with female admiration and ap-

plause.

“Rather than making male

support for gender balance the

exception, the goal is to make it

the norm,” she writes in Harvard

Business Review. And that will

only come by putting the focus

on how gender balance delivers

better performance and returns.

So listen. Rethink. Act.

SpecialtoTheGlobeandMail

Eveninnewindustries,patriarchalthinkingis

stillholdingbackprogresstowardgenderequality

HARVEY SCHACHTER

OPINION

POWERPOINTS

Afterinterviewing150

participants,[Natacha

CatalinoandKirstan

Marnane]foundwomen

andmenexperience

workquitedifferently–

andit’sthesystem,not

the women, that needs

fixing.