Anne-Solène Rioult, building a network

Originally from France, Anne-Solène Rioult has over 20 years of business experience in France and Quebec. Her call to volunteering was felt after losing her job. “It was natural for me to get involved in the business world to stay active and exercise my brainpower,” explains the woman who created her own business development consulting company Les FACILitatrices and co-initiated the Université du leadership féminine. As an entrepreneur, I would have liked to have this kind of support, but I had difficulty asking for help and the resources were not what we have today.”

An active volunteer for 10 years, she who mainly supports women's causes (in tech, entrepreneurship) and their financial empowerment around the world, maximizes her impact by annually rotating the organizations to which she gives her time. Except for the coaching and mentoring mandates with young entrepreneurs for Réseau M and the Fondation Montréal Inc. "What's attractive and addictive about this type of commitment is seeing the evolution of the people you've supported. It's very stimulating to stick with young start-up entrepreneurs who have bright eyes and are ablaze with passion."

Recently, mentoring has become a new string to her bow. “It’s a good complement to coaching that allows me to further deepen my knowledge of being, rather than my knowledge of doing. I actually had to silence the coach in me to let the mentor emerge.”

If Anne-Solène Rioult had known how important business volunteering was for networking, she would have done it long before, she concedes.

Paul Lapensée, transmitting his values

For Paul Lapensée, president of Alta Vista Consultants Inc., volunteer involvement began before he even entered the workforce. During his university years, he was involved in two organizations, one for women in difficulty and the other for young boys lacking direction. “I think I’ve always had a very keen social conscience,” observes the man who has 40 years of experience in the energy industry, including 30 as a senior executive. “At the age of 10, I was a member of Pollution Probe, selling pine trees in shopping malls to raise funds to combat pollution.”

For this very active volunteer who has a multitude of causes, the helping relationship was later transposed to the business world. "I had the chance to work for large companies like Shell, which was committed to supervising its employees and supporting them throughout their careers. After receiving support myself, I climbed the ladder and in turn guided my employees to grow through joint projects."

Mr. Lapensée introduced his children to volunteering at a very young age, notably by taking in two Mira dogs. “When they were 10 or 11 years old, I took them to volunteer with me in CHSLDs,” he adds. “Observing my interactions with the residents, my son told me: Dad, I didn’t know you were like that! It was one of my best decisions as a parent.”

By getting involved with Réseau M and Fondation Montréal Inc., Paul Lapensée confirmed that mentoring has long been in his DNA. “The focus is not on the business, but on the general support of the entrepreneur. This validated that, as a generalist, I naturally did mentoring by supporting teams in various fields. I enjoy meeting these young people who infuse me with a lot of energy.”

Sylvie Lamarche, developing young talents

Manager, self-employed, entrepreneur, intrapreneur, Sylvie Lamarche has worn many hats. Her interest in business volunteering came after a career change. “I set myself the goal of giving more of my time. Right now, I devote a third of it to my volunteer work. I’m not at the end of my career, but I’m getting there, and over the next five years, I want to gradually turn things around. As long as I’m relevant as a coach or mentor, I’ll keep going.”

Today, as chief of staff to the CEO at Finance Montréal, Sylvie Lamarche is particularly interested in developing the talents of young leaders. “I think that’s what’s most lacking in management schools and in business.”

Having recently completed the Réseau M training, Sylvie Lamarche compares mentoring to a remarkable form of gymnastics that calls on emotional intelligence. “It’s like working different muscles,” she explains. “As a manager, leader or entrepreneur, we have reflexes for taking action and performing. With mentoring, we have to be aware of who we are, how we were trained and our “programming.” Our emotional intelligence has to take over.”

"We have to work with people and listen. We are not the ones who dictate the rules. We have to accept that we don't have all the answers and support entrepreneurs in their thinking."

Three tips from seasoned business volunteers

If, like these mentors, you would like to get involved as a volunteer and support entrepreneurs, click here .