Stéphanie Chaillaud

“I was raised to be brave and to embrace the challenges that come my way as opportunities.”

What is your personal story?

My family and French culture have had a strong influence on who I am and the choices I have made in life. Born in Royan, France, I had very strong female role models. I was raised to be brave and to embrace challenges as opportunities. These women taught me to work hard, have high expectations of myself, and be very independent. The more you study, the more choices you will have in life. Just as I have received wisdom passed down from generations of women in my life, I will continue to pass it on to my son and daughter.

Coming from France, I was raised to form an opinion, express it, and fight for my ideas. If you say ‘I disagree,’ that’s the start of a conversation. I value people who have a different opinion. This is how we learn from and grow with each other.

I’ve had a long and fulfilling career at Océ Technologies, now part of Canon. In 2000, I started as a Documentation Developer in R&D and later worked in various roles as an International Trainer. My current position is leading the Sales Learning & Development Team for Canon EMEA. We do a lot of work to raise awareness of social biases and change them.

People have been the common thread in my career. Helping people develop and improve their skills is what motivates me every day. What better reward than to see people gain more confidence and demonstrate increasing success and personal achievements.

Share the key challenges or breakthroughs in your career that have led to where you are now

Moving and belonging to a new country
In 2006, I moved from my position at Océ Print Logic Technologies in France to the Netherlands to work for the Océ International Training Centre (ITC). Moving to a new country alone is not easy, and many of my friends thought I was crazy to take the step. But I have always followed my instinct in my career. I learned the language and met my current partner three months later. This experience taught me a lot about understanding and overcoming cultural differences in the workplace.

I find it very important to fight for inclusion and diversity. The younger generation needs to see a variety of people – women, people of all races, and disadvantaged people – at all levels of an organization. Whenever I hear something non-inclusive, I say something. It’s the first step in raising awareness.

Delay in promotion
In my career, it took me longer to become a manager than my male colleagues. I told my then-manager that I was considering moving to a management position, and he said there was a possibility. Eventually, I didn’t get the chance to apply because I was told the decision had already been made. At first, I thought it was because I wasn’t good enough. Later, I realized that this is just how things work in large organizations. I learned to choose my battles. So, I was patient, and the next time I was the first choice for the position and fully ready for it.

Learning from behavior that holds you back
In our interviews, we like to talk about ’12 behaviors holding you back’ – researched and published in the book ‘How Women Rise’ by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. We asked Stéphanie if she could identify with any of these 12 behaviors that hold women back in their careers.

Too much: too much emotion, too many words, and too much disclosure
Sometimes I’m too direct. You can see everything on my face. I’m also quite a passionate person, and that can scare some people off. But usually, I believe that being yourself gives you a greater chance of success. And my directness especially comes in handy in training with men because I can stand my ground when they try to fake it or bring me down.

Putting your job before your career
This is something I used to do. Because I was so focused on doing my job well, a job dedicated to the development of people, I sometimes forgot to think about my own development and career. I now make conscious choices to do both because no one but you will focus on your career!

The perfection trap
I’ve seen many people fall into this trap. Striving for perfection is, for me, the direct path to high stress, exhaustion, and sometimes burnout. Things around us are constantly changing, so nothing can ever be perfect. I try to make the people around me aware of this, as it is crucial for wellbeing.

When you find yourself in a difficult situation, what is your go-to skill?

Being strategic. There’s nothing you can’t do if you don’t want to. You just have to assess the situation, make your plan, and adjust it as circumstances change. You have to be in it for the long haul, not just quick wins.

What advice would you give to other professional women looking to shine in their careers?

The same advice I received from my grandmother and pass on to my 14-year-old

daughter. She struggles to be motivated at school. I tell her: ‘The more you study, the more choice you will have in your life. Then you can choose what you want to do that makes you happy. If you don’t, you’ll have to have a job you might hate, just to support yourself, or you’ll have to depend on someone else to take care of you.’

Another piece of advice I would give is to have more self-confidence and be aware of the skills and value you have. I do a lot of interviews, and unlike men, many women don’t apply for a position if they don’t meet 90% of the skills. Listen to yourself. Surround yourself with good people who are there to help you. They can give you an objective view of yourself. You can’t do it all alone.

Sometimes you have to be selfish. Learn to say no. Think about what’s good for you and make decisions for yourself. Your development is your responsibility, so stand up for yourself.