The real influencers | Prefer influence to power

(Sophie Brochu) Influence is a virtue that Sophie Brochu has always cultivated and cherishes above all else.

Nine months ago, during the interview that Sophie Brochu gave me to discuss her designation as the most inspiring woman in Quebec, the CEO of Hydro-Québec told me that she preferred to define herself as first as a woman of influence rather than a woman of power.

“It’s still true, reaffirms Sophie Brochu today. Power can be exercised by authority whereas influence has nothing to do with authority. You can have authority, a lot of power, but have no influence,” she recalls.

Influencing is being able to inspire others to take an interest in possibilities that they had not necessarily thought of. Influencing is more a collective process than an individual one, believes Sophie Brochu.

“My influence is the result of the work and reflection of all those with whom I collaborate. Everyone has an influence and it is much greater than what people allow themselves. I say that to young boys and girls, and I point out to them that the more they deepen their knowledge, the more influence they will have around them,” Sophie Brochu explains to me.

However, this is not the type of example of influence that social networks cultivate among these same young people. How does she evaluate this vast contagious movement of assumed superficiality?

“I just don’t understand this phenomenon of influencers on social media. When I hear that, it scratches my ears, they are there to sell anything, it’s lobbying, and I’m against that, ”insists Sophie Brochu.

By whom and by what was Sophie Brochu herself influenced during her life and career?

“That’s what we do at Hydro-Québec. We are not here to maximize profits, but to optimize them. We have a leeway that allows us to take the right steps,” emphasizes Sophie Brochu.

Authenticity and optimization

The CEO of Hydro-Québec was recently at the heart of a controversy she did not want to start with the new Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, by declaring that the Crown corporation should not especially not to turn into “Dollarama of electricity”.

“I don’t especially want to be in the newspapers every two weeks. What I said during this interview made sense. I named some cases. I’m not against Hydro-Québec’s contribution, far from it, but the idea is to know how we can participate in economic development in a sensible way,” explains Sophie Brochu.

When Sophie Brochu reflected on the subject of the imprint of influence in her management at Hydro-Québec, she cites the case of the Aboriginal community of Kitcisakik, south of Val-d’Or, as an example.

“The community has been there for years, without running water or electricity. They built a school. The federal government wanted to create a reserve further away. It’s been going on for years. We don’t think it makes sense to sell electricity to New York and keep a community 1 hour 15 minutes from Val-d’Or without electricity. We undertook to connect them and everyone now finds that it makes a lot of sense”, emphasizes Sophie Brochu.

A little anecdote to end. About ten years ago, I was going to meet Sophie Brochu at her office as CEO of Gaz Métro (now Énergir), rue du Havre, in the Centre-Sud of Montreal, when she greeted me at front door and told her that a man had just smashed a car window to steal a purse.

The CEO did nothing and—rather than call the police—went after the offender, much to the astonishment of the woman on the sidewalk who had warned me of the theft, as well as mine. She never joined the thief, but did not hesitate to send him a flood of reproaches from a distance.

Beyond her role and her duties as CEO of Gaz Métro, Sophie Brochu has fully invested herself in the underprivileged district of Sainte-Marie, notably by co-founding La Ruelle de l’avenir, an organization that fights against school dropout. , and getting involved in the community. Proximity in the community, in its area of ​​influence.