Bradley Fauteux, the managing director of Ontario Parks, had the opportunity to be the first international guest of the Park Leaders Show. 

After spending some time as a professional musician, Bradley made a shift and began working for the government. He worked for 10 years to achieve his position of managing director, spending that time acquiring the skills he would need for the job. He successfully built a network of friends, colleagues and acquaintances.

Bradley is the fourth person to serve as the managing director of Ontario Parks. He is also the chairman of the Canadian Parks Council. 

In this podcast, Bradley offers some of his wisdom to leaders and speaks on the 1-week leadership program. He says the investment in leadership is intended to ensure Ontario Parks will continue to have great leaders across the organization: 

When pursuing a job, know the people, values, mission statement, and priorities to show you are committed and mature enough to lead. Prior to a job interview, you should have already become a known commodity through networking.
Once you have a leadership position, you should seek advice and listen, learn about the people you work with, and make sure people understand your values.
Hire staff based on engagement, preparation, commitment, creativity and awareness. You want to hire someone you would want to follow.

He also discusses some of the programs Ontario Parks has had success with, such as the Learn to Camp program, which helps first-time campers learn the basics of camping. 

About 9,000 campers have been a part of the program with a 75 per cent return rate and a 98 per cent satisfaction rate. The program was so successful that it won the Provincial Tourism Innovator of the Year award. The Life Jacket Loaner program was designed to prevent people from drowning by providing life jackets to more than 60 parks. Both of these programs are backed by generous corporate sponsors. 

Tune in for everything Bradley has to say about his career and his take on leadership.

Park Leaders Show

Bradley Fauteux Talks Leadership, Wisdom and Ontario Parks

Brad Fauteux - Toronto-based leadership consultant, executive, environmental advocate.