Dave Cowen
The Butchart Gardens
The Butchart family is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Dave Cowen to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Formerly the General Manager, Mr. Cowen’s new appointment is reflective of his involvement and leadership in the tourism and business communities, representing The Gardens at both the local and international levels. Mr. Cowen has a long tenure with The Butchart Gardens. He was appointed General Manager in 2007 with responsibility for leading a team in excess of 500 staff and overseeing daily operations and strategic initiatives. Dave is currently Chair of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and Co-chair of the Tourism Committee for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region. He serves as Past President of the BC Garden Tourism Coalition, was formerly Chair of Tourism Victoria, and has been an active member on various boards and organizations throughout the region.
NATASHA RICHARDSON GM, BRENTWOOD BAY RESORT What is your philosophy of good leadership? There’s a difference between being a manager and a leader, and you need that understanding and level of control it takes to manage people [before moving into a leadership role]. A leader has great self-awareness and is passionate about the field they’re working in. Self-awareness is knowing how you take up space … people often miss that. They don’t know how they’re impacting their personal relationships … Where we see people fail as leaders, it’s usually [due to] a lack of self-awareness.
What’s the biggest lesson in leadership today?
We’re not a stepping stone to Wall Street.
Leadership is about being incredibly flexible. As a leader, I’m the one who has to be flexible, not necessarily my staff. If I’m flexible, I can go into all sorts of conversations and situations that might be difficult [and not] get defensive or rigid … I can listen better. Then you can be more intuitive and make better decisions.
We think the world’s bigger than that.
Your advice to others? Ask for honest feedback. You won’t know until you actually ask. Feedback is the best way to [find out] if you’re operating in a way you’re not noticing or paying attention to.
“A leader has great selfawareness and is passionate about the field they’re working in. Self-awareness is knowing how you take up space …”
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