Dear Reader,

I could use your help.

Two and a half years ago, I finally did it. Finally, after more than a decade of longing and planning, I became co-owner of Atlantic Business Magazine. And… it made me kind of sad. Suddenly, I had no idea how to act with my co-workers.

In my mind, we were still the same colleagues we always were, but… there IS a difference when you’re the person who signs the cheques.

I’ve learned (am still learning, to be honest) to be aware of that dynamic when I’m venting around the water cooler, texting someone after hours or dropping the occasional (ok, frequent) f-bomb. Do staff realize I’m just letting off steam or do they think it means something more? If I send someone a message over the weekend, am I unfairly intruding on their personal time? If I ask someone for their opinion about a co-worker’s performance, will I get an honest answer or will they hold back so they aren’t ratting on a colleague? Am I supposed to be serious all the time now? Can we still be friends????

According to this article from Forbes, I should be firm and professional, setting definite boundaries and expectations. And this post on monster.com says past relationships should become just that when you transition from staff to management.

I get it: a co-owner is very different from a co-worker and comes with a different set of responsibilities. But what if the previous working relationship worked for us? We’re a tightly knit 10-person team that (in my opinion) has always punched above its weight class. And while we take our jobs seriously, we don’t take ourselves seriously.

The push-pull magic of our formal/informal family dynamic helped us create the longest-publishing and most award-winning business magazine Atlantic Canada has ever known. The question now is how can I (and my co-owner Tonia Sheridan) leverage that legacy to move forward?

Two weeks from now, we’ll release our November innovation issue, including our 3rd annual list of 30 Under 30 Innovators and the definitive backstory to Atlantic Canada’s $2.75 billion unicorn, Verafin. Roughly six weeks from now is the deadline to submit nominations for our 2022 Top 50 CEOs. And two weeks after that is the deadline for nominations to our next list of 25 Most Powerful Women in Atlantic Canada.

All of which is to say that I am literally surrounded by examples of innovative, results-oriented leadership. I know what exceptional leadership can do, but how the bleeping hell do I get from aspiration to action??

So, I put it to you… HOW do I do leadership right? Equally important, what are the behaviors I should avoid?

I might be a boss, but I don’t consider myself a leader. Not yet. But I’m working on it.

Dawn Chafe Executive editor & co-owner dchafe@atlanticbusinessmagazine.ca