Jeremy Hobbs

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT JEREMY HOBBS

I am the Executive Superintendent of Business and Treasurer for the Upper Canada District School Board and I lead the Finance, Payroll, Purchasing, Information Technology and Facilities Departments. In addition to these roles, I have been a successful teacher, I have acted as a Superintendent for a Family of Schools, and have led our Communications Department. But…am I a teacher? An IT person? A manager of construction projects? An HR pro? A finance person? The answer is yes…and no. While I have performed these all these roles, my value proposition in all these areas has never been about being the ‘highest authority’ in each field. Organizations are too complex these days and the body of knowledge in any domain changes too quickly to cling to the old model of leader as the ‘all knowing expert’. Instead, my value lies in my repertoire of skills for activating and mobilizing the talents of the dedicated experts I am privileged to lead. I approach my work with the belief that the people I work with are fundamentally competent, motivated, honest and kind – wanting to do the best possible job for our students, our communities and eachother. Starting every day with this belief causes me to approach the work of leadership differently than I would if I believed otherwise. Instead of seeing my core work as overseeing, authorizing, checking for errors and directing, the work of serving smart, decent and motivated people is really about enablement. While I believe my role is to enable staff, I fundamentally don’t believe that means ‘hire good people and let them go’. My role as leader is not to ‘abandon’ staff but to support them with clear goals, parameters for their work, the skills and tools to be successful and of course an environment that is conducive to them bringing their best. Environment, though, is not just about the work environment. I believe that I need to model and encourage my team will be at their best at work when they have the energy to engage fully with their families, friends and personal interests outside work. I model this by fostering a range of interests that I have found to replenish my own energy: I am a trimix-certified scuba diver, I have cycled over kms per year for the past three years, I am a Masters swimmer and love boating, reading and even video games. I have also been consistently involved in my community on volunteer nonprofit boards for over twelve years which has served to connect me with the community and give me an appreciation for what it feels like to sit ‘on the other side of the table’.