Courageous Leadership
Courageous Leadership in Times of Uncertainty: Interview with Retired CFO Roy Daykin
With more than 35 years of experience in post-secondary education, Roy Daykin has led with a steady hand through transformation, uncertainty, and opportunity. Most recently serving as chief financial officer at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Roy oversaw finance, technology, HR, and capital planning—always with a focus on aligning operations to a student-first mission. A seasoned executive whose career includes leadership roles at Okanagan College and Langara College, where he served as President & CEO pro-tem, Roy now brings his deep expertise to the CampusWorks Education Advisory Board. In this interview, he shares practical insights on leadership, trust, and navigating change—wisdom today’s CFOs can put into action.
By Roy Daykin
Retired CFO
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)
Q: What is one critical leadership lesson you wish you had embraced earlier in your career—something today’s CFOs should prioritize as they confront growing financial and enrollment pressures?
Roy Daykin:
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned—and one I wish I had embraced earlier—is that CFOs need to be leaders, not doers. I believe a CFO should spend no more than five percent of their time on tasks. The rest should be devoted to leadership.
That includes:
- Working closely with your direct reports to ensure they have the resources and institutional support they need to succeed. My role often involved removing barriers so that success became probable—not just possible.
- Developing leadership skills in people across the institution, not just those on your team.
- Focusing on alignment between strategy and tactics to keep the institution on course.
- Cultivating strong, transparent relationships with the Board, CEO, and executive peers.
Perhaps most importantly, developing the next generation of leaders should be a central part of a CFO’s role. That’s the true legacy of leadership.
Q: Given the current pace of change in higher education, what practical advice would you offer CFOs for leading their teams through uncertainty while sustaining morale and momentum?
Roy Daykin:
Leading through uncertainty starts with presence and poise.
- Stay calm. No matter the situation—good or bad—your composure sets the emotional tone for your team. If you’re unsettled, others will become anxious and decisions may suffer.
- Slow down. In uncertain times, there’s a temptation to act fast. But thoughtful decision-making often benefits from waiting. More information becomes available, and choices are better informed.
- Be transparent. Share your experiences. Let your team see how you’ve navigated difficult periods in the past. Explain your decision-making process and the factors that guide you.
- Encourage shared learning. Ask your team members to share their own challenges and solutions. This builds mutual trust and resilience.
- And don’t forget the human side: make sure your team is taking breaks and taking care of themselves. The harder the times, the more present you need to be as a leader.
Q: From your experience, what strategies proved most effective in building trust and alignment across campus during times of institutional transformation?
Roy Daykin:
It all starts with your team. If you want trust and alignment across campus, you need trusting, open relationships with the people closest to you—because they’re the ones out on campus, communicating your vision and modeling your values every day.
To build that kind of trust, you must lead with it. Trust others first. Be vulnerable. Show them that you’re human—that you don’t have all the answers, and that you value their insights. In my experience, when people feel trusted, they trust you in return.
I’ve always had two key expectations for my team:
- No surprises. Open, honest, regular communication is non-negotiable.
- Speak up. If they disagree with a direction I’m taking or don’t understand a decision, I expect them to tell me. Those conversations always lead to better decisions.
And here’s something that often gets overlooked: have fun together. Laugh. Share moments that remind you you’re not just gears in a machine. Relationships flourish in environments where people feel seen, heard, and human.
