In today’s episode, Lindsay interviews Victoria Pelletier.
She is a Managing Director at Accenture and an award-winning business leader.
Victoria has reached the highest level of corporate success while overcoming a series of challenges.
Listen in as she shares three things that we can do to overcome our own challenges.
These tips will help you become the successful professional you want to be.
Victoria Pelletier
Victoria has been in a leadership position at IBM and American Express.
She shares about her difficult childhood and how she turned things around.
She mentions that 10 years ago she wasn’t comfortable sharing her story.
However, she can’t be authentic when she is coaching and leading people if she doesn’t share her background.
She was born into a challenging situation.
Her mom was a drug addict and she was in and out of the childcare system.
She was lucky enough to be adopted by a very loving family.
Her adoptive parents supported her and always pushed her to be better than them.
Her adoptive mom was a teacher and her adoptive dad was a janitor.
This was her ‘why’, which was coined by Simon Sinek.
She strived to prove to the world that she is better than the family in which she originated.
She didn’t want her past struggles to define her future and hinder her from living a better life than her biological parents.
With this, she mentions that it is important to find your ‘why’ to be able to make that first step in turning things around for yourself.
How to turn it all around
Victoria’s story is very inspiring!
Having her as a guest in today’s episode will be helpful for anyone struggling break away from difficulties.
Here are three tips for overcoming the adversity you may be facing now.
#1: Resilience
Victoria mentions it is important that you have a healthy level of resilience.
It is easy to view being resilient as building up walls around yourself.
However, instead it means being grounded and self-aware when you have an emotion or reaction.
You have to learn how to deal with adversity in a healthier way.
It is also important to acknowledge that this is a process, so you need to face challenges one step at a time and react to them as well as possible.
Learning to be resilient is a combination of things.
First, everyone has different ways of reacting to pressure.
Another is that you need to have a good sense of who you are.
Get in touch with yourself through your environment and the people around you that you trust.
You will learn to adjust along the way and figure out what resilience looks like for you.
#2: Take control of your career
If you’re not successful in achieving the role you want, you should look inward and find what will best suit you.
Figure out what you need to do to get to where you want to be.
Do not let others determine the trajectory of your career.
If there’s a mismatch in skillset, you have to commit and take charge of your learning and train yourself.
If you need to assert yourself to be noticed for a position you want, don’t just disappear in the background.
Make the necessary actions to be successful in your current role and measure that success.
#3: Pivot if needed
You may be set in your goals, but it’s vital that you understand there is not one path to success.
Victoria shares she originally was nicknamed the ‘Iron Maiden’ and she didn’t like that.
This nickname would imply that she was seen as overly serious, cold and uncaring.
Despite being successful, that wasn’t the idea she wanted others to have of her.
She pivoted and changed her brand and became strategically intentional with the steps she took in her career.
There is no harm in adjusting your idea of success when you get there.
Takeaway
Victoria has been very insightful in today’s episode.
You can get more resources on what Victoria has shared today by visiting her website: https://victoria-pelletier.com/
The website will also show you the social media platforms she is present on.
We hope her story has inspired you to take charge in your career.
It’s never too late to turn things around if you are not on the right path.
Nothing is impossible to overcome if you set your mind to it.
What is a successful career for you?
We love to hear your stories, so comment down below.
Victoria’s bio
Victoria Pelletier is a 20+ year Corporate Executive and Board Director – she is currently a Managing Director at Accenture. Nicknamed the “Turn Around Queen” by former colleagues and employers, Victoria inspires and empowers her team and clients to change mindsets and drive growth in business, leadership and culture.
As someone who does not subscribe to the status quo, she is always ready for new challenges becoming one of the youngest Chief Operating Officers at the age of 24, a president by 35 and a CEO by age 41.
Victoria was recognized as one of the 2023 Woman of Influence by South Florida Business Journal, 2022 Top 30 Most Influential Business Leaders in Tech by CIOLook, 2022 Most Influential Entrepreneur of the Year by World Magazine, 2021’s Top 50 Business Leader in Technology by Insight Magazine and a Mentor of the Year by Women in Communications & Technology in 2020. HSBC bank awarded her the Diversity & Inclusion in Innovation award in 2019 and she was IBM’s #1 Global Social Seller ranked by LinkedIn in 2019 and 2020.
As a prolific motivational and inspirational speaker, Victoria has delivered keynotes discussing the importance of personal branding and its impact on professional growth; being an empathetic leader in empowering employees; the power of DEI on corporate cultures and building a life of resilience.
