1991 EXCEL Award - Excellence in Communication Leadership

From Communication World, April 1991

The Excellence in Communication Leadership Award EXCEL is given by IABC to a non-IABC member who leads the way in fostering-and Participating in-good communication. EXCEL winners support communication and public relations and their organizations reflect that support in their outstanding communication work. The EXCEL Award is the highest award given to a nonmember, who is frequently a chief executive in a major company.

George D. Anderson, winner of this year's EXCEL award, recently was appointed president and chief executive officer of Central Guaranty Trust Limited and Central Guaranty Trust Co., Toronto. Anderson began his career with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in 1971. From 1974 until 1983, Anderson held a variety of senior positions within CMHC.

In 1983, he left public service to become vice president, mortgage lending, for National Trust Co. in Toronto. In 1986, he rejoined Canada Mortgage & Housing as president and chief executive officer. In December 1988, CMHC was cited by the auditor general of Canada as one of the eight best-performing federal government institutions. In 1990, the organization was selected by The Financial Post as one of the 100 best companies to work for in Canada. Anderson also was selected by The Financial Post as one of Canada's top 200 chief executive officers.

Anderson has represented Canada as head of delegation to the housing meeting of the Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva in 1978 and to the United Nations' Centre for Human Settlements in Nairobi in 1987. He was co-chairman of the Canada-USA and Canada-Japan Steering Committees on Housing and Urban Affairs. He has served on many key committees and has contributed his services to various Canadian governmental and private agencies.

Anderson was born in Toronto, reared in Montreal and worked in western Canada. He has a Bachelor of Arts (with distinction) from Carleton University, a Master of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, and holds the designation Certified in Real Estate Finance from the Real Estate Institute of Canada. Anderson is a governor of the Canadian Comprehensive Audit Foundation.

GG: Mr. Anderson, You have served in top executive positions in both public and private industry. Do you think that being a CEO in a private company challenges your communication skills differently than when with a public company?

GA: No. As far as communication is concerned, the real difference in companies is in their size, not their functions; that is, the bigger the company, the greater the communication challenge. The problems of communicating effectively are similar between public and private enterprises.

GG: How did you develop your communication skills?

GA: I have no formal training in this area. I simply learned by doing. My ability, to the extent I have any, developed through trial and error.

GG: How do you feel that you communicate most effectively-one-on-one, small meetings, large meetings, the written word?

GA: I think speaking extemporaneously. I am surprised when I see myself on tape: I seem to have an ability to speak publicly, without stumbling on an extemporaneous basis and without notes. That's been a very fortunate characteristic because it has allowed me to speak my mind directly to an audience without putting the barrier of written text between them and me. I took a lot of care earlier in my career to make sure I could write in a clear and concise way. In the federal government I had to communicate with cabinet ministers in writing to get across complex ideas in a straightforward, understandable, readable and logical way. I spent a lot of time developing those skills. So I guess in terms of the development of my skill level, having an ability to write clearly and being a pretty voracious reader, I think helped.

GG: How does your management style affect communication within your organization-and how do you encourage open communication between you and your employees as well as your external publics?

GA: Well, my management style is to put a high value on effective communication and to become personally involved. I think that the companies I managed tend to pay a lot of attention to this area. I take a lot of time to organize events and moments where you invite people to talk to you. For example, I usually do special events every year-if you like-something that is unusual in the organization which piques people's curiosity, and then I use that as a vehicle for getting a dialogue going.

I'll give you an example. Last year I went across the country and held presidential breakfasts very early in the morning. We would have 7:00 or 7-30 breakfasts with our front-line staff, our branch managers, and so on. This was the first time in memory that a president had ever gone out into the field and organized these kinds of events. I talked about what I saw as the mission of the company and what my personal values were. Early in the game I didn't want to say this is where I want the company to be; I just said to people: "This is what you can expect of me as your president" and one of the key values that I talked about was communication.



StFX awards Honorary Degree
to George Anderson

ANTIGONISH, NS -- St. Francis Xavier University will award honorary degrees to national policy maker George Anderson, the Honourable Lowell Thomas Murray, political scientist Dr. Donald Savoie, and philanthropist and artist John Young during Spring Convocation ceremonies on Sunday, May 1, 2005 at the Charles V. Keating Millennium Centre.

StFX will graduate close to 1,000 students during morning and afternoon ceremonies. Three of the honorary degree candidates will address Convocation. The Honourable Lowell Murray and John Young will speak during the morning ceremony, which begins at 9:30 a.m., while George Anderson is scheduled to address the afternoon convocation, starting at 3 p.m.

StFX's four honorary degree recipients are outstanding individuals in both their personal and professional lives. Their accomplishments have been recognized on national and international levels.

George Anderson is the past-president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada and past-president of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Anderson is known for leaving an imprint on housing policy in Canada and for building vital connections between corporate interest and public service.

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University of Regina
Lifetime Achievement Award

From University of Regina Web Site

Dr. George Anderson has distinguished himself through his professional and charitable contributions and his numerous and varied accomplishments. He is a humanitarian, business leader, philanthropist, communicator, lecturer and sportsman.

During his distinguished career in the public and private sectors, Dr. Anderson has worked energetically to improve living conditions for people in all walks of life.

He serves on several company boards and is also a board member at CODE, an organization which promotes literacy programs in developing nations. He has represented Canada as head of delegation to the Economic Commission for Europe Working Party on Housing, the Center for Human Settlements in Nairobi, and Co-Chair of the Canada-United States Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs.

Of his time at the University of Regina, Dr. Anderson says, “I came away from my university experience with increased intellectual scope and a keen appreciation for the economic, political and social development of Saskatchewan. These things manifest in my life today by having, I hope, a real appreciation for the special nature and challenges in all regions of Canada and a strong sense of what ties us together.”

His generosity and commitment led to the establishment of the George D. Anderson Business Award at St. Francis Xavier University and the George Anderson Bursary at Carleton University in Ottawa. This year he established the Agnes Redick Anderson Undergraduate scholarship in Kinesiology and Health Studies at the U of R to honour his mother.

Dr. Anderson is the recipient of two honorary degrees – one from Carleton University in 2001, the other, in 2005, from St. Francis Xavier University. In 2002, Dr. Anderson became a member of the Order of Canada and the same year, received the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee medal.

As head of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Dr. Anderson established housing programs for modest-income families. While head of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, he helped to develop strategic responses to natural disasters and catastrophic events. He also worked tirelessly to introduce a graduated licensing system for novice drivers that reduced loss of life and injury.

Dr. Anderson is an adjunct professor of Leadership at St. Francis Xavier University and a Fellow of the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs at Carleton University. As well, he serves as a visiting faculty member of the Director’s College at McMaster University.