CEO, Proof Strategies Inc.
CanadianSME sat down with Bruce MacLellan, CEO of Proof Strategies, Inc. earlier this year to understand the anxieties and stress faced by Canadians since the global pandemic has severely affected their mental health. As a result of the pandemic, Canadians continue to encounter several obstacles, within and outside, throughout the whole emotional, physical, social, and financial well-being spectrum. Bruce MacLellan has directed the CanTrust Index, an annual assessment of trust in Canada, since 2016. And as the findings of the study are being made public in order to increase knowledge and understanding, together, we explore Bruce’s role in preserving and developing both internal and external trust, along with his perspective on our new era ahead.
Bruce MacLellan is a veteran communicator and the founding CEO of Proof Strategies Inc. Now with 140 staff members in offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Washington, Proof was named the #1 workplace in Canada in 2010 by Great Place to Work® and has received more than 300 industry awards for client work. The firm has been carbon neutral since 2008 and was named in 2022 as a Caring Company by Imagine Canada.
Since 2016, Bruce has led the CanTrust Index, an annual study of trust in Canada. The study’s results are shared publicly to advance knowledge and understanding of how to maintain and grow internal and external trust. In 2021, Bruce co-authored a Trust Toolkit for Boards of Directors, in collaboration with the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Bruce is an active volunteer, including serving from 2017-19 as Chair of the board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (the country’s largest conservation charity) and currently as Vice-Chair of the board of Canada’s History Society (an organization active in education and which manages the Governor General’s History Awards).
Bruce holds an MA in Public Administration from the University of Toronto. His work experience in government includes as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Culture in Ontario and as Chief of Staff to the Minister of National Defence in Ottawa.
According to the 2022 Proof Strategies CanTrust Index, what do you think are the main causes of anxiety for Canadians?
There is no question the two years of the pandemic have created higher levels of anxiety and stress. Our research found that 46 percent of Canadians say they still feel anxiety and stress from COVID-19. In Alberta, it peaks at 55 percent. There are many dimensions to the stress caused by this pandemic, including personal health, caring for elderly parents or young children, employment uncertainty and social divisions over safety rules. Evidence suggests younger people have been impacted the most. According to a 2021 Statistics Canada study, feelings of loneliness or an increase in physical health problems due to COVID-19 were experienced by 83% for those aged 18 to 24, 80% for those aged 25 to 44, 70% for those aged 45 to 64, and 54% for those aged 65 and older.
Can you share the key findings and your thoughts on the results of the survey? Do you think anxiety is on the rise in Canada? If so, why do you think that is?
Trust is under enormous pressure nowadays. False information is generated deliberately and spread widely. Additional forces working against trust include pandemic anxiety, economic disruption and petty, divisive politicians. Trust in government has fallen during the pandemic, no doubt in connection to vacillating public health decisions under very difficult and fluid circumstances. Corporate leaders can also do better, and boards of directors should show leadership. After all, trust in business executives is at only 26 percent. Trust should be treated as a key leadership competency and is essential to maximizing productivity, innovation, sales and other important indicators. Our full report can be found at www.CanTrustIndex.ca
The Omicron variant has been linked to causing pessimism in some Canadians – do you have any thoughts on this? What effects do you think the Omicron variant might have on the economy?
The pandemic has left Canadians feeling tired, frustrated, and stressed. As vaccinations rolled out in 2021, optimism started to return, until the Omicron variant. Omicron was a setback that triggered new caseloads, reinstated restrictions and caused new worries. Our January 2022 research found that 36 percent of Canadians said that Omicron made them more pessimistic about the economy. The good news is that cases are falling again, and Canada has seen impressive new employment numbers with a gain of 337,000 jobs in February. These results more than offset the loss of 200,000 jobs in January and dropped the unemployment rate to 5.5 percent, below the 5.7 percent level in February 2020. Provincial governments that set many restrictions are starting to relax them. It will be important that ongoing safety measures not be politicized as “wedge” issues, a practice used by politicians to sow division. When it comes to trust, politicians rank at a dismal 18 percent, so they need to do much, much better.
Bruce MacLellan – A Man of Many Roles Share on XAccording to the study, why do you think trust in the Canadian healthcare system has declined? What solutions do you think are necessary to improve trust in the healthcare system?
Overall, trust in the Canadian healthcare system remains solid at 58 percent of Canadians, although it is down from 63 percent in 2021. Our CanTrust Index found a significant decline in trust in the healthcare system among older Canadians (baby boomers and older). A possible reason for this is the delay in access to healthcare due to the system’s need to manage COVID-19 patients. We know that older people require more health system support than younger citizens, and this points to why backlogs will need to be addressed. Politicians should heed this finding, as older voters are the most likely to cast a ballot in elections.
What tips do you have for employers in order to maintain trustful relationships?
Our recommendation to employers is to start with knowing your values, link them to your plans, communicate often and always show empathy. Your values are your moral compass and should resonate with your employees and customers. Once established, your subsequent decisions should be connected to these values, and therefore become coherent, logical and supported. Leaders rarely communicate too much, and in a crisis such as this pandemic, the frequency of communications should increase. Good communication begins with listening and understanding, and that leads to empathy. Given the pressures of the pandemic on people, an employer must “walk a mile in their shoes” as the old saying goes. Listen to understand, adapt to employee needs and show that you care. It’s essential to a trustful relationship. Trust can be built if there is the will and understanding of how.
