An engineer by training, Nadine Raymond is the head of the YWCA of Montreal, a community organization working with women and girls to give them the tools they need to emancipate themselves. For this feminist, self-confidence and discomfort act as a powerful lever to develop one’s leadership.
Driven by the development of individual and collective “well-being”, Nadine Raymond made the leap from the private sector to the community environment around ten years ago. It took him a year to adjust to this transition. “The benchmarks were not the same. […] The basic mission for any organization in the private sector is to create financial value, while in the community, it is social value,” explains the woman who has 20 years of management experience. team.
After working in two community organizations, Nadine Raymond joined the YWCA of Montreal as president and CEO in 2021. She was first attracted by the organization’s mission, which aligns with its values. of equity and social justice. And, due to the size of the organization — which, according to the CEO, has 85 employees and 300 volunteers —, Mme Raymond also sees it as “a playground for learning and developing in a general management role”. This position allowed him, in short, to combine his values with stimulating work. “So when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it,” she continues.
Developing women’s leadership
Founded in 1875, the Montreal Women’s Y deploys its actions around four axes, which allows it to serve nearly 4,000 people per year, according to the CEO
The first axis is that of offering a “safe” roof, whether temporary or permanent, to women who come knocking on the door of the organization, regardless of “their baggage”. “Employability is the second part. It’s part of the broad spectrum of financial autonomy, which concerns people who have no professional experience here or others who have been away from the job market for 15 years,” explains M.me Raymond. The third axis is that of services to the community. “We have tax workshop and legal information activities. We also have social workshops to break isolation, which is often an aggravating factor for health,” she mentions, before citing education and awareness of violence as the last areas of intervention.
For the CEO, the different programs offered at the YWCA have one thing in common, that of strengthening the self-confidence of the women who benefit from them, thus becoming a driving force for developing their leadership. “There is not a single program where you are going to feel less armed when you leave than when you entered. When you feel more armed, you hold your head higher, so you move forward straight. When you move forward straight, there is a chance that people will follow you because you have this confidence to name what you want to name,” maintains Nadine Raymond.
Tap into your discomfort
This trust is what the manager also tries to work with her team, she indicates. “I really like empower the others. I have often been told that I believe in individuals more than they believe in themselves,” emphasizes M.me Raymond.
It is by pushing the women in her team to step out of their comfort zone that Nadine Raymond intends to encourage their leadership. “In this discomfort, we live more experiences, we develop reflexes, and we realize that we are capable of doing things that we did not think we could do. So our world opens up. When your world is bigger, your leadership unfolds naturally,” she believes.
As the Montreal Women’s Y approaches its 150th anniversary, the president and CEO would like to take the organization further, by increasing the “amplitude” of the different components offered and by becoming more visible in the public debate surrounding the cause of women. “I also want a “learning” organization that questions itself daily to improve. This is the culture that I want to have here,” says M.me Raymond.
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