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EMERGING HERO

Robert Bowness’s Story

A leader who helped his team navigate uncertainty with empathy and transparency.

HIS STORY

When his team was nervous, he chose radical transparency.

In British Columbia, Robert Bowness is the assistant director of Employer Operations at BC Pension Corporation. When the pandemic hit, multiple team members were nervous about the uncertainty ahead.

Rather than retreating behind corporate messaging, Robert chose empathy and transparency — meeting his team where they were, addressing fears head-on, and building trust through honest, consistent communication.

"When people are uncertain, they don't need corporate speak. They need a leader who will be honest, present, and human enough to say: I don't have all the answers, but we'll figure this out together."
— Robert Bowness

In British Columbia, Robert Bowness is the assistant director of a unit known as “Employer Operations” at BC Pension Corporation. Multiple team members in his group were nervous about going into the office after the outbreak began. Instead of making them go into the office, Robert brought their office to them. He went into headquarters, retrieved each employee’s ergonomic chair and their computer equipment, and then drove it to their homes. He left the items in the driveway or building entrance, text the team member from the car, smiled, waved, (social distancing rules, of course), and then drove back to the office and did it again for the next team member. Before dropping off the equipment and chair, Robert wiped everything down with isopropyl alcohol.