Janine Leahey
CTIO
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
Janine Leahey is a transformation leader specializing in organizational change to drive business agility. Janine is currently the CTIO at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. OLG is driven to do good for the people and communities of Ontario by generating revenue for the Province; investing in our communities to create a positive impact; and upholding the highest standards of responsible gambling in everything we do.
A fun fact about Janine: She has a goal to visit every country in the world to learn about the people, history and culture.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
I started out post university as a receptionist in a corporate office. This role provided the opportunity to observe people and senior leaders which ignited my passion for marrying leadership, people and results. As someone who has always loved a challenge, technology has been a natural fit given the fast pace of change and demanding outcomes expected.
After working in a variety of roles across technical service support, development, project management and more senior technology leadership roles in financial services for both a startup as well as global corporations I was looking for a change. OLG provides an amazing opportunity to drive results for my province while at the same time learning a whole new industry and working with some pretty amazing people.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
"What's best for OLG"... I have a very simple hierarchy for decision making. Always start with what you think is best for the organization and then move to your area or your team. This approach has served my teams well in that it eliminates a lot of the noise that can happen in dynamic organizations.
What is the greatest challenge CIOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
We are in a period of transformation; this leads to ambiguity and sometimes confusion for our people. We are working to develop comfort with ambiguity and greater empowerment at the front line to decide how to navigate all with "what's best for OLG" in mind. Balancing clarity of vision and guard rails for employees so they feel supported, not directed with empowerment is a key focus for me.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CIO?
Shared understanding, not consensus. Spend time with your peers and directs to ensure there is shared understanding on key topics. Too often this is seen as too time consuming or not needed, but it is a massive accelerator to driving and sustaining results.
How do you measure success as a leader?
Of course, the business results of the company are a strong indication but more specifically the success of my team. Their engagement level, the results they drive both strategically and operationally top the list.
What is the value of being a member of Gartner C-level Communities?
Our world is evolving at a rate never seen before. The challenges just continue to grow in number and get more complex. An executive role within an organization can be lonely at times so having a group of people working through similar challenges, listening, sharing their lessons or sometimes just telling you that you aren't crazy is so helpful to staying effective.
Gartner C-level Communities Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
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