Profile: Michelle Dupuis, Access Credit Union

Michelle Dupuis

VP, Strategy & Governance, Access Credit Union

Career:

Start in the credit union system: 2018

In high school, Michelle wanted to be a lawyer, investigative journalist, or marketing consultant. Leading up to her career in the credit union system, she worked in a variety of industries and roles including restaurant/hospitality, financial services, call centre management, and aerospace program management. She has worked in the area of governance, risk and strategy in the credit union system for 6 years.

A typical day:

A typical day for Michelle involves:

  • Reviewing, researching, and writing documents for Executive Management/the Board

  • Measuring progress towards strategic objectives

  • Interacting and collaborating with internal stakeholders on strategic initiatives/progress updates

  • Receiving updates on work progress/milestones

  • Coaching team members

  • Assessing and adjusting governance and project structures

  • Evaluating, monitoring, and communicating priorities

Continuous learning and improvement:

Michelle’s keys to ensuring she is continuously learning and improving are to:

  • Read

  • Engage others in conversation, genuinely listen, be curious

  • Read (purposely duplicated)

  • Put herself in situations outside of her comfort zone

  • Attend conferences

  • Take courses

  • Set goals and measure progress

  • Seek out different opinions and perspectives; ask a lot of questions

Keys to success:

Michelle says the biggest contributing factor to her success is mindset.

Recommended reading (or other resources) for young leaders:

Books:

  • 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

  • Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ, by Daniel Goleman

  • Lives of the Stoics (The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius), by Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman

  • Meditations (A New Translation), by Marcus Aurelius

  • Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl

  • Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D

  • Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Dr. Peter Attia

  • Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution, by Brené Brown, Ph. D, MSW

  • Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

  • The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, by David Brooks

  • The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, by Ryan Holiday

Podcasts:

  • Modern Wisdom (Chris Williamson)

  • The Lex Fridman Podcast

  • The Joe Rogan Experience

  • The Huberman Lab

  • The Mel Robbins Podcast

Courses:

  • Certificate in Leadership Development (QNET Manitoba, Instructor: Linton Sellen)

Mentors/Relationships:

  • Cultivate as many as possible!

Guiding principles:

Michelle’s guiding principles are:

  • Wisdom – be rational, use discretion, be resourceful, make informed decisions

  • Justice – be honest, be fair, act with integrity

  • Courage – cultivate resilience, show confidence, face fears, be cheerful, be conscientious, put diligence and energy into all tasks

  • Temperance – be disciplined, be modest, practice self-control, practice gratitude

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” - Marcus Aurelius, Mediations

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