Isabelle is no stranger to the principles of owning change, leading with purpose, and ruling the transformation game – these are the pillars of her journey toward a fearless life.
Change has been a constant companion throughout her life, often showing up uninvited. Domestic abuse, shattered her when subjected to physical, sexual, and mental abuse starting at the tender age of 12. The cruelty of bullying blindsided her in middle school when a classmate struck her simply out of dislike. A car accident led to surgery. Parenting a blended family proved challenging, with five out of six children diagnosed with ADHD and one additionally grappling with ODD, MDD, BPD, and schizophrenia. Her corporate career, spanning over two decades, met an abrupt end through restructuring – to name a few.
Today, she stands firm in her belief that no one has the power to bring her down unless she allows it. Drawing on three decades of experience, she combines street-smart wisdom with academic credentials. She embraces simplicity through the diverse abilities her children possess. She’s the Founder & Chief Reinvention Officer at ILV Consulting. She gives back to the community, serving on the Board of Directors and tackling homelessness, addictions, and mental health challenges.
Isabelle LaCroix Vienneau, Chief Reinvention Officer ILV Consulting
What drove your strategic and successful transformative journey?
When you've gone through what I have gone through, if that's not a clear message that God has put you on this earth for a reason, then I don't know what is. My purpose wasn't always clear, but at age 41, it became clearer. As a CRP (Certified Reinvention Practitioner), from the Reinvention Academy - founded by Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva, I am on a mission to turn these experiences into valuable gifts that I can share with the world: companies, people, and communities who find themselves struggling with incremental, intermediate, and radical transformations.
Tip # 1: The key is "we must do the work and stop skipping steps". It calls for thoughtful purpose, courage, and a consistent workout – the kind that pushes us to face discomfort head-on. It's like building a six-pack. We can't achieve it by merely watching others do planks and sit-ups. The same concept applies: we build our resilience muscle by consistently working it out.
Can you explain what it means to be a CRP?
Reinvention is a powerful field, movement, and method that brings together different areas and disciplines focused on growth and renewal. It includes strategy, foresight, innovation, change management, design thinking, scrum/agile/lean, project management, continuous improvement, and more. In our rapidly changing world, these different disciplines need to work together to survive and thrive in our new short business cycle reality.
The Foundation of Transformation: Where Does it Start?
Imagine this…
You're the leader of a team – in your company, your classroom, your community, or even within yourself, at home with your family. You've got straightforward, ambitious goals! You envision a resilient, adaptable, united team, equipped with mad skills, delivering top-notch performance, and achieving fantastic results.
Now, picture a baby learning to walk. We don't hand them a pair of stilettos and say, "Go for it!" (At least I hope not!) Instead, we put those risky heels away and create a safe, supportive environment that allows them to learn, wobble, and stumble.
We don't lecture them about the laws of gravity when they fall. Instead, we cheer them on, celebrating each attempt and encouraging them to try again, and again. Now, I'm not suggesting we are diaper-wearing youngsters. The point is, to promote clear growth, we need to understand our current position, and our ideal position, provide a safe learning space, and support our people when they stumble.
If we adopt this approach for a baby taking its first steps, why do we often forget to apply these fundamental principles when dealing with our colleagues, our community, or even ourselves?
The mistake we, as leaders, often make is obsessing over the end goals (the results) and then wondering why people are frustrated, burned out, and the environment turns more toxic than productive. I'm not immune to this error. Key lesson? Obsess on two things: people-centricity and the right process. Results will follow.
Tip # 2: Lessons further inspired me to create the ILV RAAW Framework which focuses on four key people-centric + process elements:
Reflection
Adapt
Achieve
Win-Win
Tackle "Reflection" first. We learn from reflecting on experiences, not from the experiences themselves.
Tip # 3: Transformative interactive workshops I lead thrive on simple yet mighty reflections:
How would you describe the current state of your team?
What do those bold objectives look like for you? Can you paint a picture of your ideal future state? Why is this ideal?
What could a safe environment look like? What steps could you take to create such an environment?
I designed these to drive collaborative dialogue, the kind where sugar-coating is left at the door. When the room falls silent, and all you hear are "crickets," that's when you know you’re onto something.
How Could Reinvention as a Transformative Superpower be the Desperate Need We've Been Overlooking?
We are struggling with not giving critical factors their due attention. Whether we don't know how to do it right, or maybe egos are messing with our progress. Whatever the case is, we're in a situation where 75% of our transformation attempts are failing. Newswire's report about agent turnover in the contact center industry jumped from 35% in 2021 to 38% in 2022. Gallup shared that 76% of employees are burning out on the job and disengaged employees cost us $450-500 billion each year. That's three-quarters of our people, folks.
People are not clueless; they are scared, tired, and confused. They need emotional solutions to address their emotional challenges. As leaders, we have the opportunity to bridge this gap by prioritizing the human aspect and recognizing that sharing statistics without addressing the emotional component falls short of adding real value.
Bonus Tip: How can we do better? Master the strategic art of “emotion to action”.
As a confessed 'recovering people pleaser,' I understand how emotions can easily dominate our actions. In my daily life, I've adopted Matthew McConaughey's mantra: 'Less impressed, more involved.' This emphasizes being actively engaged rather than just striving to look good. When we shift our focus from ourselves to purposeful actions, that's when we truly 'change the game'.
As I conclude my first article, I invite you to see change through an uplifting lens: “I am living proof that when we stop seeing change as this big, scary bully and start treating it like a mentor, not a monster – that’s when we unlock our power to face anything life throws our way.” – Isabelle LaCroix Vienneau
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Photo credits:
Casey & Co. Photography Studio
Hairstylist by Janice O'Donnell
