In this episode of McGill Management Insights, host and MBA student Camila Sabogal Cuadros is joined by McGill MBA alumna Aliénor Armand-Linot (MBA’17). As an up and coming executive and a member of several influential local boards, Aliénor shares her invaluable insights, drawing from her experience.
From her time as a young professional on Wall Street to her current role as a natural resources director at PSP Investments in Montreal, Aliénor recounts her professional journey, how she’s leveraged her position as a woman in leadership to give back to her community, and the importance of commitment, mentorship, allyship and sponsorship.
For those just getting started in their career, or in the early stages of a career change, she stresses the value of leaning into hard technical skills. Although it may seem basic, just getting things done and being someone who reliably delivers on commitments can be a game changer in helping you get ahead and stand out.
“You need to develop a formidable attention to detail,” she says. “If you bring excellence in everything you do and deliver on commitments, people start noticing you.”
When you become a manager, then you must shift that mindset to being able to get things done through other people while becoming more results focused. For her as someone breaking into investment banking, what helped most was to find and understand the key building blocks for success in that industry. In her case, those included valuation, due diligence, legal documentation, and negotiation.
As a director, she’s shifted focus once more. This time towards managing strategies and relationships. While relationships are important at every level, as a director overseeing multiple clients, those internal and external partnerships can be crucial.
But what does true success and fulfillment look like once you reach new heights in your career?
Aliénor describes a pivotal moment in her career journey: finding her why.
“My executive coach invited me to do an exercise, and the exercise was the following: ‘Try to write your own obituary and think about what you want to be remembered for.’”
She recalls the aha moment of realizing what will matter at the end of her life is whether she made a difference somewhere or for someone, and that happiness looks like having the ability to have an impact on things she’s passionate about.
It was important to her to be able to pick key areas and have an impact through a variety of initiatives, whether it be through mentorship, board involvement or investment and those three key areas for her include: art, supporting women in finance, and achieving greater diversity on boards.
For those who wish to leverage their career and their time to have a greater impact, she has one piece of advice: “Make sure you spend the time to find your why,” she says.
Tune in to this episode of McGill Management Insights to learn more about this inspiring young leader and for more insight on paying it forward and the value of mentorship, allyship and sponsorship in the corporate world.
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This episode was hosted by
Camila Sabogal Cuadros
MBA, 24
