?? Meet Jason

??Tell us about your career at Mark’s.

After 12 years on the FGL Sports Ltd side of the business, I came to Mark's in 2015 as the District Manager for Nova Scotia. Early in 2023, I was fortunate to move into the role of AVP, Operations, serving the teams in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

?? How do you contribute to Making Life in Canada better?

Our collective purpose is a big motivator and a north star for me. My most immediate circle of influence is with our people. I am committed to fostering an open and supportive culture of safety where team members feel comfortable taking risks and sharing opinions. Within that environment, we strive to communicate with transparency, set realistic and clear expectations, and ensure each team member feels empowered in their work.

We will stay on a journey of progress over perfection together here. When we do this well, we allow our store teams to be at their best to connect Canadians with products that keep them warmer, drier, safer, and more comfortable.

I love to see our customers, whether at work or at play, being protected from the elements and/or dangers with our quality products. To me, that is the ultimate recognition of the work we do together.

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??What is it about Mark’s that excites you to come to work each day?

Our People and our culture.

I work with some of the best people anywhere within a culture I believe in. I am proud of what we do but even more proud of HOW we do it. When we do the right things the right way, we see the impact on our outcomes, but we also see the impact on the individual people we work with. I get excited about seeing people flourish and feeling proud of their work.

??What have you learned throughout your time with Mark’s?

Over my years across 3 banners as a Store Manager, District Manager (DM), and now an AVP in Operations, I learn a little bit every day. I will focus on two of the things I think have been most important for me.

It's not what you say, it's how you say it. Almost every leader I meet knows what needs to be done for their team to be successful. The bigger differentiator is how they communicate. Leaders who take the time to know and care about the person behind the work and speak with rather than to their people have less stress and much more success. This is related to the "slow down to go faster" rule. Take the time to know and understand your colleagues first, and then decide how to work together to move forward.

Culture and strategy only work together. At different times in my career, I have leaned into one or the other more heavily. When I leaned into culture without a clear strategy, we worked better together but not always on the things that mattered most, so we didn't reach our goals in a productive way. When I leaned into strategy but didn't have the right culture, we moved in the right direction, but progress was slow, and our people were not at their collective or personal best.

When you lean into both, and they are aligned, everything seems easier, and we achieve outcomes together. That's the magic!?

Learn more about a career at Mark's by visiting our careers website today.

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