Vice-President of Operations at La Factry, Marie-Pier Daigle worked in TV advertising production before setting up her own business in the events sector. For the past ten months, she has been the link between all project stakeholders at La Factry. Collaboration is an essential skill for this young woman who manages a team that has rapidly grown from three to eight people. An adept of horizontal management, she ensures that a positive climate is established with her colleagues, conducive to achieving common goals in a collaborative and constructive spirit.
How would you define your role at Factry?
As VP Operations in charge of the Production department, I have to work hand in hand with my colleagues on a cross-functional basis. On a day-to-day basis, each team member has to learn to talk to each other, to exchange ideas and ways of doing things, to create a team spirit and become a strong nucleus. Every week, we have a group meeting during which we review all targeted training projects and programs for our customers. My team and all the other departments are interconnected, and smooth collaboration is essential to our work, both internally and with our customers.
Your studies focused on communications and marketing. For you, is communication a fundamental skill for creating a collaborative work environment?
It’s 100% essential. Communicating isn’t just about expressing yourself, it’s about being receptive to what others have to say. It’s a key element in working well together. With new employees, I establish good communication right from the start; I meet them once or twice a week, and I prefer them to talk to me about themselves, rather than about their tasks. I try to focus on the human side of things, on well-being and transparency. If new employees are overworked or lack motivation, I make sure they feel comfortable telling me. I’m a zero micromanager, giving my team members a lot of latitude, but I’m there if they need to talk to me.
As a team manager, I sometimes have to resolve conflicts; I address these issues as a group without anyone feeling targeted. I trust the collective intelligence of the group to find solutions and resolve problems. My approach to conflict is less reproachful and more empathetic. I try to stay in a solution-seeking posture. The key is to give feedback, whether positive or negative, on a regular basis. I like getting feedback from my team members too; sometimes it can be “challenging”, but you have to have the humility to accept the way others look at your work. That’s what makes us better if it’s done with kindness.
“Being open to collaboration” implies a dynamic posture, a movement. Is this skill evolutionary?
Yes, this skill isn’t set in stone; it can be modulated and fine-tuned, by two or more people. It’s part of the day-to-day. Being able to talk to each other, to listen to each other, to respect each other’s ideas, to trust each other: all these things are worked on on a daily basis. Sometimes, there are more difficult weeks, with more complex issues, conflicts, new projects, new employees. And sometimes, there are other weeks that run more smoothly. Collaboration is a daily process. Personally, I’m happy when someone proves me wrong; it means we can make a difference. Sometimes, others have better ideas, and that’s what collaboration is all about: learning from others, helping the team to grow together and improve on a daily basis.
The important thing is to leave room and recognize each other’s strengths, so that we can grow together. At La Factry, we’re a cross-functional organization, and that’s our great strength. In addition to our president and CEO, Hélène [Godin], we have three vice-presidents: Marie-Ève [Chaumont], Claudia [Cojal] and myself. We work really well together, and communication flows well! And Hélène is able to give us a lot of latitude. It makes me proud that we’re all women in these key positions; as a mother, I’m very happy to contribute to helping employees, the world of work and society in general to develop smoothly. It’s very gratifying to be part of this mission. I wish creativity could be taught even more, and at all levels.
Would you say that you are a creative person?
Before I joined the Factry team, I worked with advertising professionals, constantly looking for new ideas and approaches. I thought I wasn’t a naturally creative person. But since I’ve been working at the Factry, I’ve come to realize that I am creative. I find innovative ways of doing things every day. We’re all capable of creativity, it’s a way of thinking and seeing things. Creativity isn’t necessarily about creating something; it’s about finding innovative ways of working and applying them to everyday life.
