Local Leader Spotlight: Evan MacKinnon
By Intrigue
At Intrigue, we believe in empowering leaders and strengthening communities — that’s why we have decided to spotlight a ‘Local Leader’ each month!
Our Local Leaders are individuals who have shown both professional leadership and leadership within the community.
We are proud to live and work in communities with many amazing people who exemplify these qualities!
This month’s ‘Local Leader Spotlight’ is Evan MacKinnon, President and CEO at MacKinnon Transport Inc. in Guelph. Evan is the definition of a gentleman. He is currently stepping back from the company, while his son takes over, with plans to explore the US on his motorcycle.
Running his business for several years, working with a number of generations and with life experience, Evan provided us with some amazing insight on what it means to grow as an individual and how to make decisions in a company as a leader.
Watch the ‘IM in a Car’ segment below to see Evan being interviewed by Intrigue co-founder Rob Murray.
Decision Making, Company Ethics & Values
Evan believes that company values and ethics are the core of a business. Before you delegate responsibility, communication comes first. Team members need to understand the company values, the vision and direction of the company, and the ethical standards of the organization.
Evan mentions that, before any decision is made, by anyone in the company, it should be referenced against the value statement to see whether it is in line with the company’s values and ethics. If a decision is based on these two things, it may not be the best decision in the long-run, but no one will be reprimanded. It’s important to have your values and ethics posted around your office to ensure everyone is living them day in and day out.
Evan says he has made some lousy decisions in the past, based on the information available at that time, but he would make the same decisions again if he was back in that situation. As a leader, Evan believes that sometimes we have to make the best decisions we can with the current information.
The Family Curse
Evan discusses an interesting topic of the family curse — because of where we grow up, we can become victim to certain habits and adopt certain lifestyles through generations. That being said, we do have the power to make a difference for the next generation by breaking the family curse. As a workaholic he recognized the need to step back, and when he started changing his habits he immediately saw results.
We have the ability to write our own chapter — just because we live a certain way, doesn’t mean we’re destined to finish it the way we thought we would. We need to become a leader in our own lives, by recognizing that we may need some work and be conscious of it. With any change, we need to identify what needs to be made. When this time comes, we need to become teachable. One of the lessons Evan has learned and shared with us is that “When God has a message to deliver, it’s not up to you to decide who it will come from.”
Evan has proven what it’s like to be a leader in both personal and professional life.
