Curiosity Over Fear: Leading in the Age of AI with Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal sits down with Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau, EVP Talent and Corporate Affairs at iA Financial Group, to explore how leaders and organizations can embrace artificial intelligence while keeping people at the center of transformation.

She begins by sharing how AI has fundamentally reshaped her own work, helping her rethink long-established habits and increase productivity. She goes on to discuss how iA Financial Group is helping employees navigate the uncertainty surrounding AI by fostering curiosity, experimentation, and a culture of learning. Stéphanie offers practical advice for leaders and professionals at all levels on overcoming anxiety around AI, and embracing the opportunities and excitement it can bring to their work.

Through practical examples, personal vulnerability, and insights into iA's organization-wide approach to learning, Stéphanie offers an honest and practical look at what it takes to lead through one of the biggest workplace transformations of our time. A must-listen for anyone navigating the opportunities and challenges of AI.

Show Notes:

01:07 Introducing Stéphanie
01:38 Talk about what IA is and what they do
03:26 A bit about her bio and early years
04:21 Her comfort with and enjoyment of change
04:33 Junior Achievement
05:06 Recipe card holder example
05:36 Radio show
06:22 Becoming an accountant?
06:42 Switched to finance and international business
06:48 Her career start
07:31 What led her into HR?
08:31 Getting the job at IA
10:09 What is the IA way of managing people?
10:24 Being a learning organization
10:31 Creating conditions where employees can be their best
11:08 Bart asks for an example of the learning culture
11:21 The VP summit at IA
12:28 AI and its implications
12:47 Started off thinking of it as an operational efficiency thing
13:00 Allowing people to focus on where they can add the most value
13:28 How has AI affected Stephanie's work?
13:51 Changing the way she works — example: preparing presentations
14:20 It's about "unlearning" our ways of working
14:37 Using AI as a chief of staff
14:59 Copilot helps organize her day and key tasks
15:57 Copilot as a personal assistant
16:46 The anxieties associated with the introduction of AI in the organization
16:59 Choose curiosity over fear
17:34 Quote: AI won't replace humans, just humans who don't use AI
18:21 What advice would you give to people about AI?
18:50 It's all about mindset
19:38 How do you demonstrate the learning mindset?
22:24 What's next after adopting the mindset?
22:53 Practice using the tools
24:13 Bart talks about the Anthropic models
25:33 Advice #3
25:50 AI ambassador network
26:14 Hackathons
27:28 Creating the muscle around learning
29:12 Learning is not just an HR thing
30:11 Where will the adoption of AI go in the years to come?
31:30 What are your personal hopes for the future?
32:13 Thank yous and Bart sums up the takeaways
33:23 Outro

Show Transcript:

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Well, I think the anxiety is valid. I think my advice is choose curiosity over fear. Fear is paralyzing, right? It stops us in our tracks. Mm-hmm. Curiosity really allows us to lean into, to experiment, to see where it can add value. And so I encourage people, really lean in, play with it. Hmm. See how it can help you elevate the impact that you're having in the organization.

Bart Egnal: Welcome to the Inspire Podcast, where we examine what it takes to intentionally inspire. I'm your host, Bart Egnal, president and CEO of the Humphrey Group. And if you've ever asked yourself how can you develop an authentic leadership presence, or how can you tell stories that have people hanging off every word, well, then this podcast is for you.

And it's not just for executives. This is a podcast for anyone who wants to influence and inspire others in their work but also in their life.

So my guest on today's episode of the Inspired podcast is Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau. And Stephanie is the executive vice president of talent and corporate affairs of iA Financial. And for those of you who have been long time listeners of the show, you will recognize iA Financial because we you are not the first iA executive who's come on the show, Stephanie.

Your CEO, Denis Ricard, joined me last year to talk about talent. So you, you walk in the footsteps of giants and, and welcome to the Inspired podcast.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Thank you so much for having me.

Bart Egnal: Maybe for those listening who don't closely follow iA, iA is one of these companies that's surprisingly large and in, in many facets of North American life.

So tell the people listening a little bit about iA and, and why it's, such a growing success story.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. Well, it's a great question, and I would say when I joined IA, I would have said it's the best-kept [00:02:00] secret. And we're trying to change that. So iA Financial Group is an amazing organization. It's been on a significant growth trajectory over the last, number of years.

We have operations in Canada and the United States, and the key areas of focus are insurance, wealth management, and dealer services. And we have some adjacent businesses as well.

Bart Egnal: Yeah, it really is, growing, you know, here in, here in Canada. Most recently, I know you announced the acquisition of Richardson Wealth, and, and so IA is, as, as you say, it may be a best kept secret, but probably not for too much longer.

It's gonna- I hope not ... touch Canadian and that's right. And, and so, you know, part of what we're talking about is your story of what led you, you know, your own career, because you took a non-traditional path. You know, we'll, we'll go back in time, you know, growing up with a, with a dad in the RCMP, but we're also gonna talk about the present and, you know, in [00:03:00] your role as, you know, EVP of talent, you know, which really kind of a chief human resources officer function.

You're, you're looking at something which I think every organization and every pers- every person in talent is looking at, which is the role of AI. You know, it's here. It's, it's being embraced, by iA, and yet it's not changing your fundamental outlook on talent. So w- we're gonna come to that, and I think people are wondering, like, "What does AI mean for me, and what can I do to thrive in this world?"

But let's, let's roll it back on your story, and let's go way back to tell me about how your, your kind of upbringing shaped you and how it led you into the business world.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Mm-hmm. So if I go way, way back, I would say there are a few key things that shaped me, during my childhood. One is, as you mentioned, my dad was in the RCMP, and what that meant essentially was that we moved around every three to five years.

Hmm. And for me personally, that was quite exciting. the idea of moving to a new [00:04:00] city, meeting new people, new adventures, kind of starting fresh, and I, I thought I would do that as an adult, have the opportunity to kind of move to another city or even country, and that didn't necessarily happen. But I did move- Hmm

around through different careers within the same, organization, so that sort of, I guess, appetite for change and doing different things kind of stayed with me.

Bart Egnal: Mm-hmm.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: And I would say the second thing that, shaped my career trajectory would be that when I was in high school, I joined Junior Achievement.

Hmm, yes. And for those who may- I remember Junior Achievement, yes ... not be familiar, yeah, it's a program to help high school students really learn about business, and I was in that program for three years, and it really gave me a taste of entrepreneurship, business, and that led me to studying finance and international business- Hmm

in university.

Bart Egnal: And do you remember if like... I, I remember growing up Junior Achievement. I wasn't in the program, but I remember it and thinking, oh, [00:05:00] that w- what did you do in Junior Achievement?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Well, this is quite interesting because the first year we built this little, recipe card holder so that if you were cooking- Hmm

you had a clip that you could clip your recipe to. And we learnt about production issues because we were using- ... a glue gun to glue the product together. And of course, in the winter it cracked. So we sold a bunch of product. It became defective. Oh. We had to, like, refund money. So it was a big, big learning, experience.

And so the second year we took a different path, and we actually moved away from production, and we did a radio show- Hmm ... interestingly enough. No way. And I think it was, like, the most profitable company in the history of- Wow ... Junior Achievement in my city because we sold advertising. So we weren't producing anything- Right

other than the show, but we had to sell. Instead of selling door to door, we were selling to businesses and, and it was quite- Hmm ... quite a learning experience, I would say, that stayed [00:06:00] with me.

Bart Egnal: So Stephanie, maybe after we should talk about how you can go out and sell advertising for the Inspire Podcast.

So, okay, so you, you had these two formative experiences of moving and the kind of energy that came with new challenges and then a passion for business, and so with that you decide, "I'm gonna be an accountant."

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yes.

Bart Egnal: So how did that work out?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yes. Not so well, actually. So- ... the first year of university I was ambitious.

I decided to take my second year accounting classes, and I quickly realized, oh my, this is not for me. although I like numbers and data, I just- Mm-hmm ... I needed something more dynamic, so I quickly switched over to, finance and international business, and I think that's really where I found my, my passion.

Bart Egnal: And where'd your career start?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: So I started at Export Development Canada coming out of, university, and I would say- Mm-hmm ... that was the perfect fit for me for a number of reasons. Well, finance, the international [00:07:00] business part- Mm-hmm ... the ability to s- kinda travel the world throughout my career. I've been to more than 50 countries, uh- Oh, wow

through various sort of business trips associated- Mm-hmm ... with, with EDC. So that really kind of fed my curiosity, my- Hmm ... desire to try new things. The organization was also a big believer in mobility and developing talent- Mm-hmm ... so I had the opportunity- Hmm ... to have multiple different careers, within my time there.

Bart Egnal: And ultimately, what led you into HR?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Well, that's a, that's an interesting story. So- Mm-hmm ... I spent the first 13, 14 years of my career in insurance, and- Mm-hmm ... there I started from level one, entry level underwriting position, and kind of grew through the ranks until I ended up in leadership. So leading- Mm-hmm

teams where I had technical expertise. And after that, I actually had the opportunity to do a series of rotations through different functions. In international business development, [00:08:00] I led financing teams, and then I was- Mm ... asked to go into HR to bring the business perspective. And initially, the intent was kind of to do a two to three-year rotation in HR and eventually go back to the business.

Mm-hmm. But I quite fell in love with HR, and the- Mm ... opportunity to have impact in supporting the business in achieving its goals. And so I ended up leading, the function for another sort of seven, seven years after that.

Bart Egnal: And did that then lead you to IA?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: It did. So fast-forward- Mm ... COVID happened. like a lot of people, I was kind of thinking, "Okay, I've been in HR almost 10 years now, in this same- Mm-hmm

role for seven, sort of what's next for me?" And at the same time as I was having that reflection, a headhunter came knocking, and- ... I was approached on this opportunity. And, I wasn't familiar with IA. and I started reading about the company, and, what I saw was a company that was high-performing, that [00:09:00] was growing, that had transformation ambitions, but that really focused on leadership, culture, employee experience, all things that really, speak to me.

And so this was an opportunity to join a growing organization and to continue to have, impact. Mm. So, quite an exciting, mandate for me.

Bart Egnal: Yeah, so and, and quite a neat career. I mean, it strikes me that you, you know, when you tell me the story of growing up as a RCMP... a child of an RCMP, you know, moving all around the world, and then finding that passion for business, it really has continued ever since, right?

This adaptability, this desire to learn, this desire to grow, the willingness to move outside your comfort zone. Like you said, you know, it wasn't like you came from an HR background, right? You started in, you know, insurance and, and numbers. And, and so I think it... all of these qualities, I imagine, have shaped your views as a leader, not just yourself, but as an organization.

what would you say, you know, now that you, you know, you're in this place, and [00:10:00] we'll talk about AI in a moment, but if we put AI aside- Mm ... when you, when you talk about the a- the IA way, the IA culture around leadership- When you reflect on what IA does distinctly and perhaps differently from other organizations, and I think, you know, the, the proof is in the pudding, m what would you say-

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Hmm

Bart Egnal: you're most proud of?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Mm-hmm. Well, one of the key pillars of our strategic plan is being a learning organization, and w- when we get to AI, we can talk about the, the connection there. Mm-hmm. But I think the essential element there is creating the right leadership conditions where- Mm-hmm ... employees can be their, the best version of themselves at work, where they feel safe to bring forward their ideas and new perspectives, and where they can help us really perform, grow, and have more impact for our clients.

Hmm. So I think it's creating those winning conditions where employees can be at their best.

Bart Egnal: And I wonder if there's a, there's a story when you think about [00:11:00] the, the last five years, you know, since COVID, and obviously there's been so much change and learn- being a learning organization, I imagine has taken on heightened importance but also challenge.

Is there a story that comes to mind that really epitomizes that?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: So maybe an example that I would have is- Mm-hmm ... just a few weeks ago we had our VP summit, so it's the second year that we've been, hosting them. Last year we had an external speaker who came to talk to us about strategy, and this year we said, "Let's bring our leaders on stage," our leaders from- Hmm

different parts of the business, and to talk about how they've, in the last year, how they've applied those concepts to their business, what they're doing, what their challenges are, and how can we learn from each other. And it was hugely inspirational, and we had- Hmm ... people from different levels of the organization kinda sharing their journey, where they're at, what they've learned, what they've struggled with.

And we had moments at our tables to really talk and exchange [00:12:00] on some of the challenges we're facing and how we can support each other. And the feedback from the summit was quite, quite positive. Every- everyone took something away that they could then help their journey accelerate as it relates to, the work that they're doing on strategy.

Bart Egnal: I love that. I love that you made your own people the external speaker.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah.

Bart Egnal: What a great story. And so, so we bring it into the last year or so, when did the topic of artificial intelligence begin to enter into your world as CHRO? Mm-hmm. When did you start thinking about it, and, and when did you start... And how-- what were your early thoughts as an organization about it?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: So it started certainly a few years ago. I would say in the last year it's really accelerated.

Bart Egnal: Mm-hmm.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: I think initially we were thinking about it as an operational efficiency play, and I think our thinking has evolved quite a bit. Personally, I find it quite exciting because it's really changing [00:13:00] how we're working.

Um- Mm-hmm ... and it's enabling our people on-- to focus on where they can add the most value and drive impact for our clients. And so we're trying to accelerate now the experimenting and the scaling of use cases to really drive more impact.

Bart Egnal: So you're viewing it as a tool for-- to accelerate and amplify the work that your people are doing.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yes.

Bart Egnal: And how-- So I'm interested in yourself, how has it changed your work?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yes. Well, I think the link to a learning organization and personal agility- Mm-hmm ... you know, over a thirty-year career, you develop work habits of how you even go about your day-to-day, right? Right. You're almost on autopilot. Um- Right

and the example I would share is, you know, preparing a presentation. We've all done that. You know, you open up PowerPoint. What do I want to say? How do I build this out? Is this the right messaging? Almost on autopilot. And now I [00:14:00] work completely differently. I start in Copilot, right? Here's the context.

Here's what I want to deliver. Here are some of the key messages. Can you build it out for me? and I shave the time down significantly- Mm. ... and I really focus on what's the context. Am I adding value? Is it relevant to my organization and to my audience? So it's really about- Mm ... unlearning our ways of working and, and doing things differently to really drive impact.

Bart Egnal: That, that's a great example. And then another one when we were talking that I have to say I, I appropriate from you is your use of AI as a chief of staff-

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yes

Bart Egnal: Right, and maybe you could just share a bit about that- Yeah ... 'cause that, that really resonated with me too.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. Well, so one of the best things I discovered, not that long ago actually, is that you can personalize your Copilot, and define what your role is in the organization, and, that will filter all of the response from the requests that you're [00:15:00] putting in the system- Hmm

to customize them to your role and kind of your lens. And so I, I, since I've put that in, every morning, right, what do I have today? What are the key meetings? What should I be focusing on? Summarize the insights from all the documents. So it's really helping me to prep- Mm-hmm ... my day and focus my time and energy where it matters most.

and same thing with my inbox. What are the key messages that need attention? What can I defer to later in the week? And kinda what are the key things I should be, leaning into? so- Mm-hmm ... a lot of the basic stuff that, used to take tons and tons of time is becoming, much easier, I would say.

Bart Egnal: Yeah, I, I use that. That was a great, takeaway for me when we, when we prepared for this, and I've started doing the same, and I get a Monday morning briefing from my, my assistant now, my virtual assistant. Yeah. And it's, it's certainly sharpened my, my focus ahead of the week.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: And I, I think personal assistant is a great way to [00:16:00] think about it, right?

So- Mm ... anytime during the day when I run into, "Oh, what am I gonna do with this?" my first go-to is, is my Copilot, right? Right. Here's the scenario. Here's what I'm facing. What are the possible courses of action? Mm-hmm. What are the recommendations? What should I consider? What are the risks? And it really helps kinda guide and inform the thinking, and of course you balance that with, internal perspectives as well, but it's a great starting point.

Mm-hmm.

Bart Egnal: Yeah, so and I think you've highlighted some of the areas that are exciting for people. I think also people are apprehensive about AI, right? Mm. What does it mean, both in terms of the need to change the way they work, and some people have apprehension over the nature of their work evolving in ways that they may not want.

Y- what messaging, you know, how is IA, communicating with people in the organization, around these anxieties?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Mm. Well, I think the, the anxiety is valid. I think my advice is choose [00:17:00] curiosity over fear.

Bart Egnal: Hmm.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Fear is paralyzing, right? It stops us in our- Mm-hmm ... tracks. Curiosity really allows us to lean into, to experiment, to see where it can add value.

And so I encourage people really lean in, play with it. Hmm. See how it can help you elevate the impact that you're having in the organization. And you know- That's great ... there, there's a, there's a quote I think that's been, overused, but it speaks to me a lot, which is, "AI won't replace humans, but it'll, it'll replace humans that are not using AI."

Hmm. Right? And so- That's right ... I would just encourage everyone, it's accessible. Experiment, build your skills. And the nice thing about AI is you can talk to it, like, it, it can help you- Mm-hmm ... be more effective on AI. and so- Right. It will teach you. Exactly. Yeah. You don't need to have a strong technical base.

You can just talk to it and ask questions, and you'll see kind of the [00:18:00] outcome that you're getting and how you can adapt it to get stronger responses.

Bart Egnal: Yeah, and I think this is a nice transition to, okay, people who are listening, and they may be in IA, they may not. They're saying, "All right, you know, I wanna be successful.

I wanna advance my career, whether it's with my current organization or somewhere else." What advice would you give me in this age of AI? You know, as a CHRO, as a, you know, head of talent for a major financial institution, what are you gonna look for in your leaders around their mindset and approach to AI?

And, and maybe the first point really is the one that you've started to define here, which is the mindset that they should

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: have. Absolutely.

Bart Egnal: So how would you sum up that mindset, and how should people demonstrate? Like, if you're looking to develop, you know, a, a, a, the talent pipeline and who's gonna advance in your organization and beyond.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. It's really all about mindset. I think we used to hire for technical capabilities. Mm-hmm. I think we're hiring more for soft skills, right? Hmm. The ability to learn. With AI, it's not about having the [00:19:00] deep technical skills. It's about being able to learn and adapt more quickly. Right. And so the judgment, the problem solving, the ability to stay- take a step back and look at problems differently and bring that right context.

So it's about the softer skills that are gonna be even more important going forward.

Bart Egnal: And if, if you're, if someone listening is to say, "Okay, Stephanie, so how do I demonstrate those? Let's say I'm applying to a role at IA." Mm-hmm. Right? A VP role. I would like to, you know, join the organization. What would you look for in an interview process?

How could I demonstrate that mindset to you?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. Well, so one of the things I did is I said, "You know, I need to build up my own skills and capabilities, and who can help me?" So I went to our IT team and I said, "I'm looking for someone who is, an AI ambassador and who can help me- Hmm ... kind of with practical, daily [00:20:00] sort of tips and tricks."

And it's interesting- Right ... because in my mind they were gonna give me someone from the IT group, right? Who is probably- Right ... more of a technical- Right ... AI expert. And they partnered me with someone who is in our group insurance business- Hmm ... who is a disabi- I don't have the exact title, but a disability case worker, um- Okay

who has no AI, IT- Hmm ... background. but became- And probably

Bart Egnal: very junior relative to

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: your- Absolutely ... to your level. Has, right. Yeah. and we've had a number of sessions, and what I've realized, you know, in asking him initially, 'cause I was kinda shocked, like, "You don't have an IT background." Right. "You don't have AI sort of courses."

He was curious, he was interested. Hmm. He saw opportunities in his day-to-day work of things that he didn't like doing that took a lot of time- Hmm ... that could be done much more effectively with AI. Mm-hmm. things like report writing, right, on [00:21:00] complex- Hmm ... medical cases, reviewing medical files that are, you know, 150 pages long and they need to get to the essence of it.

So he became curious, he experimented. Hmm. He is sort of read up on the weekend, leaned into it, and now he's mentoring me. uh- Wow ... but it's had real impact on, you know, within his team and their day-to-day jobs. Yeah. And he has more time to spend with, you know, the, the, the clients that need- Right ... his support and service, and, so it's been a game changer.

And I find that hugely inspiring, right? Because-

Bart Egnal: Yes ...

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: it's, there's equal opportunity for everyone to get up to speed. It's accessible, there's podcasts- Mm-hmm ... there's YouTube videos, there's all- Mm-hmm ... kinds of resources, so there are no barriers, right? It's-

Bart Egnal: And, and what a great example of, I mean, not only are you learning from him, but- It's great profile for him too.

Mm-hmm. And, you know, I'll bet if you ever create [00:22:00] an AI ambassador role, he'd be, high on the list, so.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: It's a

Bart Egnal: win-win. It's, it's a wonderful example. Mm-hmm. It, it's a win-win. Mm-hmm. Okay, so mindset, adopting the right mindset is critical, and taking ... I love the way you said, you know, take the action. It's out there for you.

Mm-hmm. Let's get to your second suggestion. So someone's saying, "All right. I've got the right mindset. I wanna do ... I'm gonna be curious. What's next?"

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. I would say use the tools that are available, and- Okay ... whether those are tools that are in the workplace, enabled by the workplace, and if they're not- Mm-hmm

enabled in your workplace, there are lots of applications online that you can get in your personal life, right? I, I mentioned- So

Bart Egnal: you're telling ... Okay, just so I'm hearing this correctly, Sam, as the CHRO, you're saying if, if IA doesn't offer it, go get it somewhere else.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Well, so we do offer it, but what we were- Right

seeing early days is not everyone was comfortable using it, right? Mm. And so initially we said if you're ... Well, A, we want you to get comfortable, and we'll help you, and we'll- Mm-hmm ... kinda teach you. but start in your per- if you don't know where to start, start in your [00:23:00] personal life. Mm. I love to travel. I wanna plan a trip.

Right. Here's where I wanna go. What do you suggest, right? It can build itineraries. If you love to cook, right, give some ingredients, it can generate recipes, ideas. Right. So getting people comfortable with the tools so that when they translate to the work environment, how do I experiment in my day-to-day, and where could it be, where could it be useful?

and I think the key with AI is that it's evolving so quickly- Yes ... that, you know, I know that when I was first experimenting 12, 18 months ago, I had a number of frustrating moments where, hmm, I thought it could do this. Mm-hmm. It's not really doing- Mm-hmm ... what I thought. I don't know that I'm gonna keep trying this, right?

I'm gonna pause and, and- Hmm ... and wait a while. And it's moved so quickly that I think the experimenting, and keep experimenting, and experiment again, because it's come a long way, and it can do a lot more than what, what it could do even just six, eight, nine months ago. [00:24:00] Um- Yeah ... so it's really about- It,

Bart Egnal: it does change so fast.

You know, there's the models evolving. I think in my own work, you know, just in the last six months, you know, the anthropic models that have come up, I've found for the work I do- Mm ... you know, when I look at, you know, businesses we wanna add to humans, for example- Mm-hmm ... it's an incredible tool for analyzing them, for building workshops, presentations, in ways that didn't exist- Exactly

you know, six months ago. So it is changing so fast. I think you're right. You, you really have to keep that open mind that what it is today is not what it will be tomorrow.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Exactly.

Bart Egnal: And I, and I think the other thing, to your point, is what I'm hearing, don't just wait to be told this is the only tool you'll have.

That because the ch- there are so many different tools and, and places to use it, you're really saying, like, combine that curiosity with a willingness to try it in different facets of your work and life. and that will build the, you know, the fluency that will [00:25:00] ultimately, career-wise, help you thrive. Is that a fair comment?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Absolutely. Absolutely

Bart Egnal: Okay, so we've got, you know, first point was adopt this, the right mindset. You know, be, be kind of almost relentlessly curious. The second is use the tools available, and with the definition available isn't just what you're given at your desktop. It could be there's a wide range of tools out there you, you can look to.

What is your third point, third piece of advice to people aiming to make AI, work for them?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: The learning agility and experimenting and get up the, getting up the learning curve. Uh- Mm-hmm ... right? And so continuing to test and experiment and adjust, and learning from others. So we do have an- Hmm ... AI ambassador network, so for people who are curious and who are struggling with certain things, they can reach out through the network and get- Hmm

insights and tips and tricks from others who are kind of struggling- Okay ... with the same issue. and we found that's been quite [00:26:00] powerful because it helps people at different stages of their journey. Um- Hmm ... it also creates mome- moment and excitement. And then we've also done a hackathon a couple years in a row now.

Bart Egnal: Hmm. And what's a hackathon?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Hmm. So we bring teams together- Okay ... and they have, I think it's 24 to 36 hours to kinda solve an issue using AI tools. Hmm. And then they need to present it to a group of judges. So last year, I think we were hoping to have, like, 15 teams maxim and we ended up, I think, closer to 20 or 25 because we had so- Wow

much interest. and so people put their hands up. They submitted their business case, and they were selected to come into the hackathon, and then they... It was a time-constrained environment. Mm-hmm. We had some technical folks available to support them in solving their issue, and then at the end they had to present it to a group of judges.

Hmm. And there were, I think, three winning teams that were selected, and their ideas were [00:27:00] then moved into, testing and experimentation- Right ... phases. And we also, we wanted to create visibility, so we have employee town halls. We invited them to come- Hmm ... present, to the employee, town halls.

Bart Egnal: Neat. So what I'm hearing on this learning agility, it- it's partially as an individual, but I'm also hearing as an entire organization.

Mm-hmm. IA's creating these, the muscle around learning. Yes. Right? Learning about AI. Like, you've got this network of ambassadors. You've got these events. You've got ways to recognize and amplify the people who br- Like, it's this You, you're creating a muscle for people to build- Yes ... and the place to do it.

Yes. Is that-- It's almost-- Is that-- It, it sounds like that's been quite intentional.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: It has been very intentional. and I will say that we're measuring it. So-

Bart Egnal: How? What do you, what do you look at to measure it?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. So we've built a learning index. So we have pulse surveys that we run, every [00:28:00] six to eight weeks.

And we've developed a series of questions that are benchmarked to market. Um- Mm-hmm ... and they look at the essential building blocks around learning organizations, so leaders that reinforce learning, a safe environment, and communication and collaboration, right? Safe, safe to make mistakes. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so we measure that twice a year.

We've set objectives around it, and we're able to see across the organization where are we strong, where are we weaker, and how do we embed learning in the flow d- flow of work on a day-to-day basis.

Bart Egnal: And so that's this third point around learning agility. I think the, the takeaway there is not just for people listening, if you're in a leadership role, to personally be agile, but it's really to think about how you can embed this muscle into the organization, how you can create a safe place for people to practice, to fail, to try, and to, to build AI capabilities.

Yes. A- [00:29:00] and then that to measure it. So yeah, really, neat to see the kind of institutionalization of it-

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah ...

Bart Egnal: through, through these efforts. I

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: think sometimes people think, "Oh, learning, that's an HR thing." It's not an HR thing- Right ... right? It's how we develop and grow, and it has to be in the day-to-day work.

So we've been working- Yes ... hard at embedding that in how we do our work, talking about what we're learning as we go along, and sharing those lessons learned, um- Hmm ... and embedding it in key moments like employee town halls- Mm-hmm ... quarterly team get-togethers, team meetings, so that, that it-- we're constantly kind of learning from- I love it

from what we're doing, and that we can grow through that.

Bart Egnal: Stephanie, these are, these are three great pieces of advice. The mi- you know, adopt this mindset of curiosity, use all the tools available, and then embrace and embed into your organization learning agility. I, I wonder if, you know, here we are recording this in, you know, spring, summer of, you know, 2026.

I- if [00:30:00] you, in your role, think out two, three years, where, where does this go? You know, the... and w- I mean this, I mean the continued adoption of AI. Like, if you think about IA in three years, how will AI have changed the work that your people do if, if all this goes as you hope? And how will it have not, that work not changed?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Hmm. well, I think this is quite exciting because I think the biggest shift that we're gonna see is more the, the personalization of employee experience- Hmm ... the personalization of client experience. And to date, I think we've been mainly focused on operational efficiency, making things easier, and yes, that's exciting as well.

Mm-hmm. But it's how can we have more impact? How can we redesign those employee experiences, those customer journeys, and really have more impact while taking away the stuff that is the more routine stuff that's, you know, dragging our teams down or [00:31:00] taking capacity when we could be having- Mm-hmm ... more impact elsewhere.

Bart Egnal: So people will, will feel that they're able to-- they're better served by the organization, and that they're able to better serve their clients.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yeah. I th- I think, my hope is that they will feel energized, empowered, able to have more impact because the routine stuff is done seamlessly- Hmm ... right?

Bart Egnal: And how about for yourself?

What do you-- what would you hope? You know, when you think, you know, beyond having your, your chief of staff, your Copilot chief of staff, and building better presentations, what do you, you know, if you could kind of, get your wish- Mm-hmm ... with how your role and work would evolve, what would it look like?

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Well, my wish is that we, you know, are truly living the learning organization where our leaders are enablers, right? Mm-hmm. They're unleashing the potential of their talent by creating those winning conditions.

Bart Egnal: And for you, that will be, [00:32:00] that will-- the proof of that will be in how engaged everyone is and the, the growth of the firm.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Yes, the growth of the business, absolutely.

Bart Egnal: Well, Stephanie, I really appreciate you joining me, and doing this live, not sending a Copilot assistant to record the interview. We're still, we get the,

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: we get the real thing. And,

Bart Egnal: no, but in all seriousness, for, taking the time to tell me about how IA is thinking about talent and really the steps that, that people listening can take, I think it's a profoundly exciting future as you've pres- presented it, you know, but one that requires a lot of curiosity, agility, and willingness to learn, at an accelerated rate.

Mm. Right? Because, as you point out, change and what's possible is so fast now. And so you can't just wait two, three years to learn something. Mm-hmm. You have to be prepared to learn it today, and you have to... It may change six months from now. But I think it also reinforces why working for a company like IA, which builds this learning agility [00:33:00] into the very fabric of the business and also leadership, is so important.

So, you know, sounds like, you know, good thing, good things for people to follow and for organizations to emulate. So really appreciate it.

Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau: Thank you for having me.

Bart Egnal: Thanks for coming on the show.

I hope you enjoyed that episode of the Inspire Podcast and the conversation that I had, with our guest. And hopefully you left with some really practical, tangible tools and tips that you can use to be more consistently inspirational. If you're enjoying the pod, I'll ask you a favor. Please rate and review it.

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Thanks so much for listening. Go forth and inspire