IT IS HARD to imagine that Kathleen Slaughter was ever insecure about anything. The straight-talking Canadian, who is associate dean for Asia, and professor of management communications at the Richard Ivey School of Business, comes across as someone who has never suffered a moment's self-doubt. She admits, however, that for a long time she had serious concerns about her choice of career. Excessive worrying about your career can get in the way of achieving full potential in some cases, but Professor Slaughter turned uncertainty to her advantage. In a way, she believes, the uncertainties became a source of motivation. They caused her to test her abilities in different ways and accept a wide variety of challenges. Succeeding helped her overcome any self-doubts and realise that a fulfilling career did not necessarily follow a straight line or a well-trodden path. 'I learnt that you have to do things out of your comfort zone, things that make your heart race,' Professor Slaughter said. It is ironic that the dean of a school should have at one time rejected the thought of ever being a teacher. 'When I left university, I said I would never teach. At the time I didn't like teaching. Or teachers.' After graduating, she went into sales and marketing. She spent seven years with IBM in Canada and the next seven at home as a full-time mother. When her two sons started school, it seemed the right time to think about going back to work. She considered IT, but technology had evolved considerably in the years she had been away from the working world and she found it almost impossible to find anything suitable in the computer field. Meanwhile, a friend at the Richard Ivey business school mentioned an opening for someone to set up a new communications programme. Initially, Professor Slaughter hesitated, but decided to try her luck, believing that her business background, sales experience and extensive training at IBM would stand her in good stead. She also had some practical experience from having taught a series of sales workshops. 'I would always get very good feedback when I taught sales training at IBM,' Professor Slaughter said. 'People said I was suited to the job, even though it was not a role I had actively sought.' She remembered her days at IBM as being 'extremely tough'. The hours were generally long and the work environment almost completely male-dominated. In fact, when she joined the sales division she discovered that there was only one other woman in the whole company. It therefore came as a surprise when she was invited to set up the company's communications programme. It was a pleasant surprise, but it was also intimidating. 'I agreed to just a one-year contract with the university because I felt I was underqualified for a job in academia,' she said. 'Also, I had been out of the workforce for so long, I was afraid I had lost my competitive edge.' As it happened, the one-year contract turned into a long-term commitment that has lasted 23 years ... and counting. In coming to grips with her role and its responsibilities, Professor Slaughter found her vocation. It was work that she clearly excelled in and it was something she felt passionately about. Those early days were not easy and not always enjoyable. Designing and organising the programme was straightforward enough, but teaching it was an entirely different matter. 'The first time I taught a class it was scary,' she said. 'I had no specific training and I found myself in front of a class of the smartest students. In such a situation, it can be very hard to deal with your sense of inadequacy.' She resolved not to succumb to her fears and instead became even more determined to deliver as expected. She took a two-pronged approach to work. She would prepare herself in two ways: by reviewing the course material in detail before each class and by getting mentally ready. 'I would psych myself so as to give the students the best thing they had ever heard,' she said. It was a noble intention, but it was an extra level of self-imposed pressure. By the third class, Professor Slaughter was already showing symptoms of stress. She had developed Bell's palsy, a stress-related condition that weakens the facial muscles and can even cause partial paralysis. But she did not miss a beat and continued to teach every class assigned to her for the rest of the academic year. Gradually, her teaching style changed. Building on techniques developed during her time with IBM, Professor Slaughter moved towards an open, interactive approach. The students attending her lectures were also expected to contribute ideas and draw on their own experiences for everyone's benefit. Meanwhile, as all good teachers discover, teaching revealed itself as a learning experience. 'I always learn something new in a class,' she said. 'It may be from the way people interact or something about an industry, because our students are such a diverse group.' The diversity comes in all forms and is reflected in the background of the students and the careers they adopt. She cited the case of a concert pianist who had become an oil trader, a museum curator who went into consulting and an engineer who turned to investment banking. As her teaching experience and reputation grew, Professor Slaughter was in a position to accept short-term teaching stints in China, Slovenia and Mexico. However, the job offer in Hong Kong in 2003 was something different. It meant having to relocate, and the prospect of a broad range of responsibilities: working with more than 400 corporate clients to develop customised training programmes, teaching executive MBA courses, recruiting and fund-raising. 'I knew that if I didn't do it I would look back and think: 'What if?' This was an opportunity to do something that made a difference. Sometimes you can't spend a lot of time testing the water, you just have to jump in.' Many of the principles she learned in various IBM management development programmes still hold true and she puts them to good use. She is also guided by the philosophy learned in her computing days that there is a solution to every problem. Her contract has been extended for another three years and she is looking forward to the next phase of an ambitious agenda. The EMBA programme accepts 35 to 40 students a year, and the students come from as many as 14 countries. 'The programme changes the way students approach and see things. Sometimes it is frustrating that other people haven't been able to see this yet,' she said. Given her steely determination and record for getting things done, Professor Slaughter is well equipped to put the Richard Ivey business school firmly on the map. BE BOLD Always be prepared to try things outside your comfort zone Don't spend too long testing the water Look for opportunities that make a difference
