In this episode, Leigh explains how to make a meaningful impact through sustainability and energy efficiency. She also describes how authenticity and empathy align with professional success.
Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar, a podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.
On today’s episode, we talk with Leigh Pearson, Sr. Director of Facilities, Sustainability, Sourcing, & Procurement at Staples Canada. Staples Canada provides expert knowledge, unique products and innovative services made for the changing needs of today’s entrepreneurs, teachers, parents and students.
In this episode, Sid and Leigh discuss how to make a meaningful impact through sustainability and energy efficiency. Leigh also describes why passion and authenticity are so important to achieving success in the workplace.
Guest Bio:
In 2007, Leigh started working at Staples as a Management Trainee and has worked her way up. Today, she is responsible for the facility maintenance, repair, and service related programs for all Canadian properties (305+ locations) as well as setting the sustainability agenda and identifying key focus areas for the company. For her efforts, Leigh was named to Canada’s 2014 and 2016 Clean50, which offers recognition to Canada’s leaders in sustainability for their contributions over the prior two years and has been honored by Retail Council of Canada twice in the area of Sustainability. Currently, she sits on the board of the PRSM Charitable foundation.
Time Stamps:
** 00:25 - Leigh’s journey
** 05:46 - Advice for leaders
** 10:42 - Passing the baton between teams
** 13:09 - Importance of sustainability
** 20:23 - Handling supply chain issues
** 25:04 - Preparing for labor shortages
** 27:04 - Facilities and the future of tech
Sponsor:
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[00:00:00] Sid Shetty: Hello everyone. Welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us. I'm here today with Leigh Pearson, Senior Director of Facilities, sustainability, sourcing, and Procurement at Staples Canada. Leigh, welcome. Thank you for being here.
[00:00:13] Leigh Pearson: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.
[00:00:14] Sid Shetty: Awesome. Thank you. so Lee, let's start with your role at, at Staples. It was your first full-time job and, tell us about your journey. How did your position evolve and how did you end up in your current role?
[00:00:28] Leigh Pearson: you know, maybe I'm a little biased, but I love the story. it was indeed my first full-time job, so I came to Staples as a management trainee. Out of university, and I started in London, Ontario, and I started working through different management positions across Southwestern Ontario.
[00:00:46] And at that time we had about 80 stores in the chain. And often managers were chosen to go help open new stores or renovate stores under construction, et cetera. And about three months into my journey with Staples, I was asked to go, To Manitoba, to Winnipeg to help open a store. And I'll be candid, there was something that sort of shifted in me at that point.
[00:01:11] Uh, you know, walking into that, that shell of a building and being part of this team that had the ability to create and shape and, and, and really build from the inside out something that would become this living thing within that community. It was really, really exciting. I came back from that experience, but obviously it had piqued my curiosity about what else was out there within the organization.
[00:01:37] And I continued to work through various roles in management. And, uh, I'm from Windsor, Ontario and I was actually being promoted back to my hometown of Windsor. All my things were in storage. And I was asked if, I was interested in applying to be a project coordinator, so for someone whose job it was to lead those teams.
[00:01:57] I didn't really look back from that point. Uh, I was a project coordinator for a year and at that time everything was decentralized for Staples. There was no facility function. It was done by the stores themselves. There was some very base contracts for things like hvac.
[00:02:14] But again, very much done at a localized level. And as the organization was growing, the thought was there could be some benefit, there could be some synergies from bringing that together under a centralized function within the office. And again, was was fortunate enough to be asked if I would be interested in applying for that position. And I did. And you know, honestly, I remember quite vividly, writing, like handwriting my first work order and faxing it. Faxing it, I still remember, who I faxed it to. And thinking and sitting in that cubicle in Richmond Hill and, and really wondering, you know, if I had made the right decision and if, if truly if you build it, will they come?
[00:03:00] Sure enough, the calls started coming and the, the relationships with the stores, I. Uh, and the managers started forming and the, and the volume began to grow, as did sort of the breadth of what we do. So I started out in retail, started out with retail, what was called repair and maintenance back in the day.
[00:03:20] I was the only member of the team. It's been amazing. I've had the ability to really. Work with amazing people and think, what could this function become?
[00:03:31] Sid Shetty: Yeah.
[00:03:32] Leigh Pearson: And some of that has been done internally. Some of that has been done through amazing opportunities to network with like-minded individuals and facilities through associations like Connects, which is great.
[00:03:42] And so from there, I would say early two thousands, we started doing some building automation. It was my first sort of segue into what I would call more sustainable solutions. And it really felt natural. It felt like a natural, connection between the facilities function and the sustainability function of the organization.
[00:04:04] So it seemed like a great opportunity to start to bring those together. And from there, I would say that's when the vision started coming together. What should this function entail? I would say in the early two thousands, I remember writing it down. it was retail, it was corporate, it was supply chain or fulfillment centers.
[00:04:24] It was sustainability and it was the, all the procurement functions, uh, for goods, not for resale. That was the aspiration. That was what I wrote down and said, that's what we'd like to go after. I would say over the course of a decade, slowly but surely, that's what we built. And, and here we are today.
[00:04:43] And those are indeed the functions. That we as a team take care of. So it's, again, it's been amazing. Staples is the working and learning company, and, you know, I really often say there's no truer statement. That's what it's given me the ability to do is to work, learn, and grow as an individual, as a leader, as hopefully a responsible steward of my community and with these amazing people that I get to work with every day.
[00:05:12] Sid Shetty: I love it. See, you know, you your, your title is a mouthful cause it's, you do a lot, you, you own a lot of functions. So that means you've got a pretty wide sphere of influence like you, you just shared some of that, but for folks in our audience that own one function and aspirationally think about where they want to go and own more functions that have a bigger impact on their organizations, can you share, like what has helped you get there?
[00:05:39] Like what has helped you expand the influence you've had and the impact you've made? Any advice for the audience?
[00:05:46] Leigh Pearson: A few things. Look for where the, the opportunities are. Like, for me, It's not about building it bigger so that I can say it's bigger. I enjoy, in a nutshell, I enjoy fixing process. I enjoy fixing things, creating things, building things. Sometimes breaking them to build them again.
[00:06:06] So I think number one, it has to be something that matters to you. It has to be something that aligns with who you are. If we're not authentic in what we're doing, I think it's demonstrated in the result, whether short term or long term.
[00:06:18] So I would say that's a piece of it. I would say, you know, curiosity is important in asking questions and, and being okay, not knowing the answer. you know, this, this has been a long, lengthy journey for me.
[00:06:33] There's been a lot of personal reflection I would say about what does make me successful, like do I think makes me successful and embracing those things. And that took a while, like leaning into things like I'm an empathetic person and you know what? I probably shied away from that a lot in the earlier days of my career.
[00:06:55] For fear, I would be perceived perhaps weak. but as I matured and as I, you know, started having some success, I realized that is, that is part of what makes me successful is is the way that I feel things, the way that I connect with people, the way that I want to seek that challenge and that opportunity.
[00:07:17] So I would say it's really being true to yourself. It's doing it for the right reasons and it's, it's looking, sometimes the opportunities aren't directly in front of you. You have to get creative and, and curious and look for them.
[00:07:30] Sid Shetty: That's great. I wanna talk about sustainability, but before we get to that, you know, uh, you built the facilities function from the ground up. It didn't exist before. you're a loud voice in our space. Like you've been, you know, uh, a past chairperson, at Connects, I think you'd agree that facilities doesn't necessarily always do a great job in promoting what we do and why we do it.
[00:07:55] Leigh Pearson: Right.
[00:07:56] Sid Shetty: you know, and how were you like, is that that was your first big function that you led? Can you share with us like what, what do you think we do right or don't do right in our space? And how were you able to, communicate impact as you were building a team? And what can we do better as a space, as a whole, as a whole
[00:08:17] Leigh Pearson: Yeah, you're right. I think often in a way, we, we want to not be seen because if you're seen, let's be honest, it's usually not for a good thing. Right. If people are calling on facilities, something is typically wrong. It's rare people are reaching out because something's going right. And so I think intuitively what that does is we do, we do tend to hide, in the background of things.
[00:08:41] and because we're focusing on the fix versus I think the value we create for the organization and, you know, Something we'll often talk about in team meetings is showing people behind the curtain the complexities of what it takes to do this. I think sometimes facilities can be be seen in a very narrow lens.
[00:09:02] Something breaks, you call facilities, they fix it. There's far more complexity behind running a facilities function, supporting facilities of any type of multi-site organization, and I think it's about starting to tell that story, but also really thinking about how does facilities represent the brand, represent the values of the brand, show up in community.
[00:09:25] You don't just get a seat at the table. You have to work for it. But it's about making those connections. It's about thinking about, okay, if we want our sites to have a certain look, What role does facilities play in that, whether it's through, again, your demand, uh, repair programs, whether it's through things like janitorial services and how that impacts experience.
[00:09:45] I think it's important to connect to the larger operational objectives and, and demonstrate how you are a strategic partner in bringing those, bringing those goals and helping those strategies come to life. So I think it's about thinking about how to position what we do in a different way.
[00:10:05] Sid Shetty: When you look at your internal customer, what kind of partnership do you have with construction and operations? Tell us a little bit more about that relationship.
[00:10:15] Leigh Pearson: Sure. I mean, I, I would say we are operations. I feel extremely close to, to our partners. We are part of operations. I, I really see that. I think the nature of what we are involved in may be a little unique in my scenario because of the procurement and, and because of sustainability and facilities.
[00:10:34] But we're one excellent relationship with construction. And I think if a facilities team doesn't, it's something that has to be worked on.
[00:10:42] Sid Shetty: Yeah.
[00:10:42] Leigh Pearson: The batons that are passed between those two functions, it's absolutely imperative that there is a strong, healthy relationship between the two facilities, inherits what construction gives them, and, and so having that, that mutual understanding and respect for what each other does and the constraints each other faces. Like, I think that's the thing.
[00:11:03] Ultimately everybody wants to do good work. Everyone has constraints to work within extenuating circumstances. It's about trying to take the time to understand the other group so that you can support each other. Candidly, we're blessed. We, we have a fantastic relationship with construction.
[00:11:20] We have each other's backs. always have, always will. And I, I feel the same about operations again. I really, I, I have a hard time distinguishing what we do because we all serve the customer.
[00:11:35] Sid Shetty: I love it. You began making an impact in sustainability. I think long before it began being spoken about in like, the mainstream of our space, right? I mean, even today it's not enough. And I don't think there's enough facilities teams thinking about the impact they make on sustainability, even now.
[00:11:56] and so how did you start on that journey with sustainability? You've won awards, you've been named on some pretty amazing lists. You've been honored on the Retail Council of Canada twice. Those are big things.
[00:12:09] You, you're making a big impact. You start on that journey.
[00:12:13] Leigh Pearson: Uh, again, it was a bit of a, a happenstance with starting to install the building automation in our stores, I think seeing that, again, one supports the other. if we can build a case for automation, if we can reduce our consumption, it helps us on the expense side. There are benefits to both the planet, the business, the community, and I think it's about bringing those things together.
[00:12:38] We felt we had a real opportunity. With the way our stores are, the network of stores. What we do in those communities, and the ability to build recyclingprograms that support those communities. it just seems so in line with our values and who we are and, and candidly, my own values, which is likely why 26 years later I'm, I'm sitting here doing this because there's a strong connection, And I absolutely, love our ability to make those programs come to life and support Canadians across the country.
[00:13:09] So I think it's, for us it was really about how do you look at where we can make an impact and make an impact in a very meaningful way, versus trying to do a lot of little things in somewhat of a mediocre way. So leaning in pretty heavily to recycling heavy into energy efficiency. Things that we really felt again, if you look at it, facilities manages the waste diversion programs, typically lovely connection between sustainability and FA and facilities yet again. Having that ability to look at energy from a con consumption perspective, but also baselining your portfolio, understanding where you might have an issue. If you do have an issue with a piece of equipment, again, wonderful. You're also facilities you can coordinate going to get that fixed. It helps build the business case to fix it. It also helps build the business case for sustainability at the same time. It's just that there's been a lot of opportunity for one area to support the other and it, and really make it quite natural.
[00:14:12] It's really in the DNA of Staples, you know? we like efficiency and if you think about. If you think about sustainability, it's really about taking inefficiency out of something, taking waste out of a, of, of anything. And, and that matters to us. And so we see an opportunity to participate in how that happens.
[00:14:33] Sid Shetty: Are there any ESG goals that have been set by Staples Canada that, that you can share and how are you aligning what your department's doing and reporting it so that it's part of thosesustainability reports that are issued, by organizations these days.
[00:14:51] Leigh Pearson: Mm-hmm. we, again, great relationships internally with the various groups, including the groups who would, who would work on csr. So we're able to set some of those sustainability objectives. Which are also published on our, on our websites, under our sustainability pages, if anyone wants to take a look.
[00:15:12] but certainly we have a commitment around recycling. So we focus on key categories that we sell to customers. So we have a very large inkin toner recycling program, electronics recycling, battery recycling, and writing instruments. So, The only retailer in Canada where you can take back end of life, you know, markers and pens, which again, when you think about who we are, and you think about a commitment to lifelong learning in students and who use, obviously said writing instruments.
[00:15:45] And just our commitment to, to education sustainability. Like what again, just a great, a great connection point that we offer that service across our 300 locations.
[00:15:55] Sid Shetty: I love it. How does one start? if today, you know, to be honest, like if you look at the facilities industry, not a lot of departments, align themselves with sustainability yet.
[00:16:08] How does one start, like, can, can you suggest, like if you were, if there's obviously a lot of synergies and you,
[00:16:13] Leigh Pearson: mm-hmm.
[00:16:14] Sid Shetty: racing, recycling energy, right? What's the advice? How does, how does.
[00:16:19] Leigh Pearson: the advice? What's the advice? The advice I typically give is, first of all, understand who you are within your function and your organization in terms of what's the. What as an organization are your values? What's important so you can narrow that focus again? Sustainability is very, very broad.
[00:16:37] Facilities is broad to your point. All of our titles are different. We all do different things. It's rare you're going to meet two leaders and facilities who do the same thing. It's always a little bit different. So I think it's, you have to first start by looking inward, so, What does your organization do?
[00:16:54] What does your function do? And then think about, okay, where is the place we can make the most impact? we're very specific on, on what categories we promote recycling in, because we wanted to create solutions that had value that we knew we could deliver on. And that we knew we could do consistently across the network, both from a retail perspective, but also I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that we often will take these things back through our delivery channels as well.
[00:17:21] how do you narrow it down? I think having data is important. You, you need to understand what it is you're trying to achieve and how realistic is it to achieve it. There's going to be, You know, there could be a thousand ideas a month that float by you around sustainability.
[00:17:40] You know, cold calls, things coming in. And so it's really important to have the data to be able to understand, is this really gonna have a material impact to our customer and to our organization. Like it still has, we still have to be viable as an organization. So, you know, yes, this is good for planet, it has to make sense for the business as well.
[00:18:01] So having that data to really analyze. If I go down this path, is there going to be that value I think is really important. And, and I would also say it's getting together cross-functionally and just brainstorming, bringing in partners. I mean, I, I think it's a great opportunity when you can connect even your partners with each other and everybody with the best interest of staples in our case.
[00:18:26] Just start brainstorming. What could we do? What could we accomplish? I think there's a lot to be said, about the power of collaboration. Okay. And then lastly, have a little fun with it. You want this to be engaging, and it's, it can be a bit of a daunting category, so I would say try to humanize it and have a bit of fun along the way.
[00:18:43] Sid Shetty: No, that's great. You know, you mentioned the word authentic, and I think, that's so important because you, there's some, there's a little bit of greenwashing that goes on today, that there's certain organizations that are saying things. but is that really translating into action?
[00:19:00] We have a lot of conversations with a lot of people in this space and our industry, I think is still not, completely immersed in E S G and they don't know whether, we don't know fully understand, the reporting and, and the impact that, that we have and how to show that. The tied to the overall goals of an organization, and this is somewhere I think there's a lot of work to be done.
[00:19:29] And short, because to your point, the industry's already doing things that help an organization with sustainability goals. It's just not being captured in the right way and it's not being reported on in the right way, and that those asks are going to come. It's not a matter of, it's when, right?
[00:19:48] Leigh Pearson: Yes, that's right. That's right.
[00:19:50] Sid Shetty: And the, the world of yesterday's is not gonna be the same, as the world of tomorrow.
[00:19:56] Leigh Pearson: Correct.
[00:19:57] Sid Shetty: Let's talk about some challenges that are taking place today, and how maybe it's impacting you and how you're getting around it. supply chain, right.
[00:20:04] How have, how has that impacted your business? I mean, it does impact, facilities a lot in that you can't get parts on time,
[00:20:12] Leigh Pearson: Yeah,
[00:20:13] Sid Shetty: At stake months. To, uh, you know, come by. That has an impact on the department, on the organization, on the location.
[00:20:23] H how are you addressing it?
[00:20:25] Leigh Pearson: You're absolutely right. First of all, in in particular in the equipment and components, categories, things related to mechanical material handling. there's definitely been some long, long lead times. a few things that we're doing is that, we do tend to reach out to our peers.
[00:20:44] We do connect and see what are others doing. Is there an alternative? Method or supplier or, something we can investigate. we're pretty straightforward in our industry, around what we're facing. We're also pretty transparent with our partners.
[00:20:59] everyone on the team, we really believe in long-term relationships. And so it's to build that with a, a contractor to have that type of relationship where you're going on a decade plus. You don't build it unless you're completely honest and upfront with each other, including the times that are are challenging.
[00:21:17] And so we talk about what else could we potentially do. We also are looking at how do we pre-buy some things? So trying to get ahead of it, understanding the lead time might, might take some time. Do we want to start buying for 24 now? Like potentially we do.
[00:21:32] Again, sometimes we have to do repair to kind of buy ourselves a little bit of time as well.
[00:21:37] Sid Shetty: Yeah. Have you found that pre-buying certain parts and supplies. Has helped. Do you think companies should start thinking about that more seriously? or do you feel like it is going to get a little bit easier for the next six months to a year? Do you rely on your partners to go and build an inventory of parts and supplies that your locations are gonna require?
[00:22:01] Leigh Pearson: Yeah, I mean, all of the above really. the thing I would say about facilities typically is there is not one solution that fits every category. I would say there are some where I, we feel it makes more sense that our partners, have the parts on their trucks, in their warehouses, because again, we have a pretty vast network across the organization in, in Canada.
[00:22:24] Geographically, there could be fair distances between our sites. Some can be quite remote, so in some cases you want it with, with the provider. in other cases we want to have it within some of our fulfillment centers so that we can deploy it when we need it. It really does. It really does depend.
[00:22:43] This started for us with the pandemic. I mean, trying to secure P P E. sanitizer, masks, gloves for our locations. That was, I would say, a real exercise in creativity and thinking about different distribution models of how you get goods to you, how you get goods to your sites, and the notion of really trying to build a robust forecast of what you think you might need and how do you get ahead of that.
[00:23:10] So I think in some ways, The sourcing of the PPE for internal use really kind of prepped us a little bit for where we are now. it doesn't mean the struggle is any less real, in particular as, business needs change and how we work changes. And so we might need different pieces of equipment that are a struggle to get.
[00:23:32] It comes back to what I talked about at the beginning of this, you know, being curious, reaching out, asking what else is out there, being nimble. And really being creative, but I would say transparent at the same time. And so I don't profess that, that we have all the answers, but I, I know we're surrounded by a lot of very intelligent people and I think sometimes the answer comes from cross-functional conversation versus it was just coming from, in our case, the facilities area.
[00:23:59] Sid Shetty: you're a hundred percent right. Cross-functional communication is just important because I think everyone's moving on, like we are moving on from. The years of Covid. but the challenges have not gone away,
[00:24:12] Leigh Pearson: No. No.
[00:24:14] Sid Shetty: chain issues started then. and organizations tend to forget that, that this is not something that has fully, gotten resolved.
[00:24:24] Leigh Pearson: Oh, no, no, no.
[00:24:25] Sid Shetty: months, you know?
[00:24:25] Leigh Pearson: Yeah, yeah. For sure. For
[00:24:28] Sid Shetty: And I think that that kind of communication and transparency is so important because if you do that, then I think as a whole, your team and your relationships with other teams, it's gonna be healthy.
[00:24:40] What about the labor shortages that are happening today. I mean, it's a massive, massive problem. There's not enough talent entering into our space. And it's affecting a lot of the source providers because they don't have enough technicians that are available to go and get the job done.
[00:24:56] And it's a ma massively aging workforce. Uh, and in the next five years, it's going to get worse. What do you think we should do to help make this better and be prepared for the future?
[00:25:10] Leigh Pearson: Yeah, I mean definitely I think, I think what we need to continue to do as an an, an industry is really promote skilled trades as a career path. For any of us engaged in Connects or the Connects Foundation, there is definitely a focus on, on, education, apprenticeship, getting more people engaged through scholarship, et cetera, into the skilled trades because, it just doesn't get, it's fair due in terms of the value.
[00:25:40] Again, it creates, and the fact that it's a very viable option for many individuals. It's so necessary and so needed, and we are, of course, it is challenging, certainly a lot of of our supplier partners are struggling and we know that, and they're open with us about those, about those struggles.
[00:26:00] And so I think it's just about, again, it's about that continued advocacy for the value of what our entire industry brings to organizations. Again, elevating the the business case for facilities, for trades, et cetera, it's again, sometimes you gotta, you really gotta work your way to that table. But it's important we all do it.
[00:26:20] We need voices at the table articulating the benefit that we're generating, really as the curators of the brand.
[00:26:28] So I think it's about continuing to use our voices to amplify the need for these programs, for these talented individuals and, and really helping shine a light on what is a critical gap in that industry.
[00:26:45] Sid Shetty: Organizations today are doing some really interesting things, as it relates to robotics and ai, uh, to address the challenges, you know, the labor shortage because it's not enough folks available in the front of house to greet the customer, and spend time with the customer. And so the kind of experience that they're trying to, create in the location. it's leveraging a lot of new technologies.
[00:27:12] Leigh Pearson: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:13] Sid Shetty: what are your thoughts on, on how prepared we are as a space to handle that new world of, of facilities because, Look, if you're gonna have a robot in the location, busing your tables, or having you buy a book or, or something that's gonna come and deliver your drinks, that's also going to break, whether it's front of
[00:27:38] Leigh Pearson: Oh yeah, absolutely.
[00:27:40] Sid Shetty: Do you think facilities is doing enough to be that department that handles the tech of the future as well?
[00:27:50] Leigh Pearson: I think, and I'm generalizing so I can only speak from my experience. I think facilities, individuals tend to jump in no matter what.
[00:27:57] Sid Shetty: Yeah.
[00:27:57] Leigh Pearson: I think we are a community of doers. We wanna help. So, you know, and, and I'm probably extremely guilty of this myself. No problem. We'll take it, we'll do it. We'll look at it.
[00:28:08] But I do think that as things continue to automate, we have to really reflect on what are the skills we require internally to help support that. So, as an example, when I think about the composition of my team and how it's changed over the years, from having perhaps some coordinators and, and having individuals who support, say mail services, food services, things of that nature, and more corporate buildings, onsite maintenance technicians.
[00:28:41] But moving now to, okay, we're gonna require some electricians on site, we require engineering expertise because, It is changing around us. And the reality is if we're going to support it and support it well and be a trusted partner, we need to have the goods, right?
[00:28:58] So we need to have that expertise. And so it's, it's about also really looking and saying, now what are the, what are the new skill sets? What are the new types of roles that we need to think about to better manage that? And then I would say, but also we have to think about what training aids and learning aids and job aids are required on site now to support, like it's not just how do we support.
[00:29:19] So it's, um, knowing what skills you need, I would say internally to actually be able to, to support and fix. It's knowing who to engage with and what do we need to help educate people on how the, how of what we're doing and how to use it properly. So there's, it's, it's sort of using two sides, right?
[00:29:38] You know, it's the soft side of it. And then also physically, how do we support it?
[00:29:41] Sid Shetty: I agree. Education, education, education. I think we have to all, you know, continuously educate ourselves and educate our customers, because the world is changing really, really fast. And, uh, that's the only way we can
[00:29:56] Leigh Pearson: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:29:58] Sid Shetty: . Lee, you've talked a lot about empathy in the workplace.
[00:30:01] Leigh Pearson: Mm-hmm.
[00:30:01] Sid Shetty: is that important for you and why is that important for any team and the future of any business?
[00:30:09] Leigh Pearson: It's important to me personally because when I, you know, honestly when I reflect now on my journey, there were, were not a lot of females in the space when I started. There was a few, I, you know, I might even call it stereotypical type perceptions around what it was to be in this space.
[00:30:31] I was very young, you know, again, first full-time job really. And, and so I think I conformed to what I thought was expected and that, that has nothing to do with staples. I mean, I'm talking about specifically in my industry and specifically me as an individual. I've always worked hard, so that didn't change, but it was, I was working differently and I think there's always going to be a part of you that's different personally than professionally, of course.
[00:30:58] I was really quite reserved, I think. And, I really think I shelved a lot of that empathy, you know, because I didn't think it was going to work for me. In that space, I wanted to get ahead. I, I, very early on I remember sitting at an industry function and I remember, you know, looking at the board on the stage and, and thinking to myself, I want to be there.
[00:31:26] Like, I want to be part of the change of this. I want to see the demographic change. I wanna see the way we, we talk about things. I wanna see it evolve. And continue to evolve rather. And so part of that was saying, you know, you know what this is, this is part of who I am. This is a skillset that actually helps me be a better, contributor and a better leader.
[00:31:47] The reality is, I would say then when you apply it to your team, we're all human beings. I mean, work is a part of us. It isn't, our careers aren't our entire self. And so I think managing teams and managing teams in a fast paced environment like facilities where candidly, sometimes you're as good as your last 30 seconds, being able to show some empathy to your own team and what they're, what they're dealing with, but also our customers, our sites.
[00:32:14] And then to help each other within our team solve this problem, or at least move us forward or own it if we can't. You know, if we don't care about each other when we're doing this, I'm not sure I, I know the point of it, like, to me, facilities is very much about, as much as you're caring for properties, you're caring for the people in them.
[00:32:31] And so for me personally, empathy's a big part of how I do that. Everybody has different things from a, an EI perspective in terms of where their strengths are, but I would say whatever they are, embrace them because that's, that's what's going to make you successful.
[00:32:47] Sid Shetty: I love that. Thank you for sharing.
[00:32:49] Leigh Pearson: Yeah.
[00:32:49] Sid Shetty: As you look at into, into the future, Le what excites you? What do you think in terms of trends or technologies or movements that you think will make a difference?
[00:33:00] Leigh Pearson: I'm excited about, I think the continued opportunity to integrate sustainability into how we operate. Into the experience we create, the way we provide services. I think that's, quite exciting. I think when I think about electrification of the fleet, I get, I get pretty amped up about things like that because there's just so much opportunity to create this optimal sort of way of operating and this optimal experience.
[00:33:30] So I'm excited about, Ev I'm excited about, again, just the integration of sustainability more so into the everyday vernacular of how we all operate. I like connecting people and process together to look at sort of maybe a challenge we've had for a long time and say, how do we just, how do we just figure out a completely different way to do it. it's why I would say I, I consider myself an operator. You know, my team as operations we're in, we wanna be in there. We wanna really dig deep and figure out, let's figure out a different way to do this. So that's, that's the type of thing that excites me.
[00:34:09] Sid Shetty: I love it. And when you look at the industry, and think about the next five to 10 years,
[00:34:15] Leigh Pearson: Mm-hmm.
[00:34:15] Sid Shetty: where would you like to see us as an industry as a whole.What do you think would be an amazing goal to set, as a space?
[00:34:24] Leigh Pearson: Uh, as a space, I think it's to continue to elevate the function.
[00:34:28] Sid Shetty: Yeah.
[00:34:28] Leigh Pearson: Facilities functions are evolving and, and, and people are seeing them as truly leadership roles, but I think we have more work to do there again, because I think facilities is one of those terms where, again, it can mean a number of different things to different people.
[00:34:42] So I think it's really around continuing to figure out how we advocate for what the true value is, the, the business value, like this. I do believe that facilities has a seat at the table, should have a seat at the table when talking about strategic things and how to help support strategy.
[00:35:01] it's continuing to elevate ourselves, push ourselves as individuals to, become more comfortable with the, with business acumen, like leaning into the business, whatever business that is, lean in hard. And, and learn more so about it and, and truly be, I just think we have this opportunity, like we really are in a lot of places.
[00:35:24] We see things throughout our organization, so how do we really leverage what we're seeing and seeing how to connect those dots and again, really evolve, our own thinking and our own position within the organizations to help the organizational efficiency for no other reason, right? It's not just about saying, okay, we want to be. At the table because we, we want the credit individually. It's not about that. It's about what we can create by being at that table and the synergies we can help, facilitate across organizations, across industry, across our partner network. Sustainability and facilities, I think is just, to me personally, a very natural fit.
[00:36:00] Sid Shetty: Couldn't agree more. Well, there you go. With that Leigh I just wanna say a huge, huge thank you. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Really appreciate you being here. Leigh, can you tell our audience where they can find you?
[00:36:13] Leigh Pearson: Sure, sure. So I am on LinkedIn. You can find me there. You can also, my email, you can certainly reach me. It's Leigh dot pearson staples.ca. I welcome any questions. And then hopefully, of course, our pass will cross at some industry functions, uh, as the year progresses.
[00:36:31] Sid Shetty: Love it. Well, thanks again and to all in our audience, thank you for joining us. Really appreciate it, and we'll see you on the next episode of Elevating Brick and Mortar. [00:36:39] Sid Shetty: Well, that was Lee Pearson, senior Director Facilities sustainability, sourcing and procurement at Staples Canada. What's clear is that Lee and her team are leading the way in sustainability. How is she doing it? By identifying and taking inefficiencies and waste out of any operation. I think that's a great way to start for any of us beginning our sustainability journey.
[00:37:03] Another key takeaway from today's conversation is the importance of being true to yourself and having empathy. Whether you're an individual or an organization, any positive impact you make, no matter how small is meaningful. With that, I'm your host, Sid Shetty, and I'll see you on the next episode of Elevating Brick and Mortar.