The path to leadership

Ashleay: Hello and welcome to the “In Your Interest!” podcast. My name is Ashleay and I'm joined today, as always, by iA's Chief Strategist Sébastien Mc Mahon. And today we're happy to receive Stephan Bourbonnais, Executive Vice-President of iA Wealth, and he will talk about his career and his vision on leadership. So, hi, Stephan! Hi, Sébastien!

Stephan: Hi, Sébastien. Hi, Ashleay! Nice to be with you.

Sébastien: Yeah, it's great to have you here. Talking about leadership and about, you know, the careers of our leaders, it's always such a delight. So, I'm very excited to have you here today.

Ashleay: A very nice privilege.

Sébastien: Yeah!

Ashleay: And so, if we jump right in, Stephan, you have an interesting story about how you got into the industry. Do you mind sharing with us?

Stephan: It would be my pleasure to do so. I started my career, coming out of college, I started working for my dad. My dad was running his own company, a consulting company. He was specializing in total quality management programs, ISO certification, working with strong union companies. So, I made the jump with the thought that maybe I could be a succession plan. And that thought actually lasted about a year.

Ashleay and Sébastien : [Laugh]

Stephan: At the end of the first year, my dad actually gave me the greatest gift that I try to share with all my employees. He took the time to do a year-end review for me, and a full and honest year-end review, talking about what he'd seen from me, what he thought I could improve. The reaction I had at the time was that the individual that my dad was describing was either not myself, or my dad was trying to protect me because I was maybe hoping to try to do too much within the organization. So, I made a decision right on the spot, and I gave my dad my resignation from the company because I said I needed to go on my own and learn on my own.

Sébastien: How did that go? How did he react to that?

Stephan: Well, I mean, I think at the end it's probably what he was hoping for, right? He understood that I needed to make my own way and maybe I could come back. And that's why I said it was the greatest gift, because it changed the trajectory of my career. And this is when I ended up working for an insurance company at the time. And this is where I've learned everything about this industry. This is where I've learned the passion for working with advisors. This is where I learned the passion for giving advice to people, to help people achieve their objectives, their life goals.

And I had a great mentor at the time that I connected with. Somebody that came from Xerox. And I think, at the time, Xerox was probably the best sales organization or one of the best-known sales organizations in the industry. So, he taught me everything about what it is to be in sales, what it is to be helping clients and supporting them in a proper manner. This is where I've learned the respect of advisors. I've learned that sales is a numbers game, right? You got to do ten calls to get three appointments to get that one sale. This is where I've learned the challenges that you have to deal with, with the highs and lows, right?

I remember days where I stayed in my car for about five hours, being frozen, like I needed to go knock on that door and renew an insurance policy, but I just couldn't do it, right? And I would go back home and say: “You know what? It was just a waste of a day.” And then the next day, you meet four clients, four prospects and you're four for four, and you're wondering, what's happening, right? So, this is where I found my passion for advisors, my passion for the industry. And this is where it all started for me.

Sébastien: And there's a few life lessons there, getting out of your comfort zone, because you could have played the comfortable game, just trying to please your dad's expectations of you. And also, you realize that life is not a straight path. You know, there's trial and error along the way.

Stephan: And I've tried to apply this, Sébastien, every time. I say when you're confronted with two opportunities, take the toughest road. I think if you go that way, it will bring you to a different path and a different level, and it will help you develop as a leader and as a human being as well. So, I fully agree with that.

Sébastien: Yeah, I tend to teach my kids that they should be thankful for adversity. Adversity is where you grow.

Stephan: Yeah. I fully agree.

Ashleay: And Stephan, how did you make the jump to management and why was it something that you wanted to do?

Stephan: I guess everything I tackle in life, I always look at how I can bring a multiplying factor to what I do.

Ashleay: Right.

Stephan: So, I was looking at how I was interacting with the advisors, how I was interacting with clients. I thought this was a nice way to do it. And again, in my quest to say: “How can I do more? How could I impact more people positively?”, this is where I thought, like, then “I need to step in. I need to lead organizations. I need to lead teams. I probably have an opportunity to reinvent the space.” And I've been fortunate in my career. Actually, I've gone through three significant industry transformation projects, which is very unique for somebody that has mostly worked in banks and big insurance companies. But, at the end of the day, for me, it was just being so passionate about the business, having strong beliefs and values about what we bring to clients. I mean, we play a vital role to Canadians in their lives. And there was just the call for me to do more that brought me to the management part of our industry.

Ashleay: And are beliefs important to you? And if so, what are they?

Stephan: Yeah, that's a good question. They are very, very important. And I would say at every stage of my life, whether it is through sports, whether it is through my family, kids or business, I think beliefs need to be at the centre of everything that we do. When I think of it from a leadership standpoint, I would say that performing with belief is a critical factor of achieving success. It's what will drive you to do the right thing. It's what will define how you want to achieve what you want to accomplish. For me, taking the time to define your values and your beliefs will help you create the vision, right? It will help you make sure that you're resilient when facing adversity. It will give you the opportunity to identify new activities or new opportunities or that new potential that are out there. So, I think that the more we have clarity on the vision, the more you are able to ignore distraction and remain focused on your quest, and that's very important.

Sébastien: It's such an important thing, and not everyone takes the time to define their values and their beliefs. And I know that you have a history with playing hockey. So maybe being part of teams, likely that influenced you in your core beliefs and values?

Stephan: Definitely. And this is where, I mean… I know my beliefs are very important. I've got five that I always look at to make sure that… I see them as buckets, right? And if you want to live a fulfilling life, if you want to make sure that others are seeing you being engaged, you need to make sure that those are fulfilled at all times to make sure that you're moving forward in a positive manner.

Sébastien: Okay. And you were mentioning this mentor who had a strong influence on your life. Can you maybe go deeper into the roles that mentors have played in your career?

Stephan: I cannot pinpoint one, Sébastien. I would say I've been influenced by a lot of people. I'm curious. I like to learn from people. I like to ask questions. So, throughout my life, depending on the different stages I was at, what I've tried to do is pick up on everything that I've seen around me to build my own toolbox.

I was very fortunate. Both my parents, my mom and dad were great entrepreneurs, and they gave me that sense of pride in building things and taking care of business, of people. And that's still driving me every day. Obviously, playing sports, as you mentioned, I got the opportunity to, you know, meet some great coaches and obviously, throughout my career, some great bosses that have helped me define who I am today and what I'm using.

But I would say to people, what's really important is make sure you've got around you trusted people that you could lean on. When I joined iA four years ago, I was the President of iA Private Wealth. And an old boss of mine said Stephan, now that you are president, you'll see that it gets lonely at the top.

Sébastien: Yeah.

Stephan: And it took me about a month and a half to realize how true it is, right? So, I joined a YPO membership to make sure I would be able to connect with presidents of other organizations. And the first thing that this group does is you need to be part of a forum of 8 to 10 people, and you need to meet on a monthly basis with an agenda where you're talking about your personal life and where you're talking about your business and sharing it with an exclusive group. So, you need to find your way. For me, this is what I'm using right now. But throughout my career, I've used different things that have helped me to grow as an individual.

Sébastien: And it's interesting. You know, I've known you for a few years now, and I understand what you mean by “lonely at the top.” But if there's one way that I would never qualify you is someone who is, you know, alone at the top. You're a leader of people. You tend to be surrounded by talent. So, you know, you learn that skill and you learn it well.

Stephan: Yeah, I'd say there's a few things for me when I look at leaders. The ones that have always attracted me are those that are able to share a strong vision. I've always said that's the job of a leader. Repeat, repeat, repeat. And to your point, for me, it's those that have shown that they're able to win together.

Sébastien: Yeah.

Stephan: You need to have the full buy-in of the team to make sure they are with you, that they are following you. So, this is very important. That's been influenced by leaders that I've come across.

Sébastien: And success is a mindset before anything else.

Stephan: Fully agree.

Sébastien: Yeah.

Ashleay: And Stephan what is your approach to mentorship and coaching?

Stephan: I mean, obviously we've talked a little bit about sports. I've got two kids that are very involved in sports and I've always had the pleasure to manage teams. So, I mean, I draw obviously a parallel between the world of sports and the workplace.

So, what I've tried to apply when I'm coaching or mentoring people is just to help them to be better, I would say, human beings and better professionals. I think if you take care of yourself first, you'll be a better leader. And what I like to do with people is: “Go back to your beliefs and your values. Let's talk about your personal situation. What's important. Let's visualize your dream.”

I think in sports we put a lot of emphasis on: be prepared, visualize what you want to achieve, visualize the end goal of where you want to go. And for me, I go back to my bucket analogy. I've got five, right? “Let's talk about your family. What do you want to accomplish? What's important for you? Let's talk about your career. Where are you at? Where do you want to go? Let's talk about yourself.” This is very important, right? “How is your health? What are your interests? What's happening with your friends?”

I start from there because I need to understand the individual before being able to help and really mentor. It's a deep conversation, but it gives me an opportunity to really connect with the individual and then kind of frame a context around that.

And after that I like to go into performance coaching. And for me, performance is an equation, right? It's your potential minus the distractions. So, if you look at potential, what is it? It’s things that you control, right? So, I go back to “Visualize where you want to be. Are you investing time and learning? Are you investing time in being curious? Are you investing time in your own career? Are you taking care of yourself?” You know, working out, eating well, sleeping, those are all the things you can control. But if you want to be at your full potential, we need to make sure that this is taken care of. And then, what are your distractions on the side that are impacting your performance? And those are some of the things that we control, others that we don't control, but if we are able to cut down on those distractions and if we can have that discipline, well, performance will increase. So, for me, I'm trying to help people to be more in control, to be at their best, to reduce the level of stress, to understand the environment they're in right now and to help them with their focus and ultimately help them perform better.

Sébastien: So, you want them to be invested.

Stephan: Fully invested and aware, self-aware of what's happening and where they're at.

Ashleay: Well, thank you so much. That's all the time we have today to talk about leadership. But I'm happy to say that, Stephan, you'll be joining us again next week to talk about wealth markets in Canada and the importance of good advice. So, thank you, Stephan. Thank you, Sébastien.

Stephan: Thanks to both of you.

Sébastien: Hey, thanks for being here. My pleasure.

Ashleay: And thanks to all our listeners. We will see you next week.

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