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About The Team
Who is Caroline?
Hi! I’m Caroline. I appreciate you taking the time to learn a little about me. The super-duper short story? I’m the founder and Principal of Talk Talk and The One Stop Special Needs Shop.
I’m a writer, speaker, storyteller, painter, road map-maker, novice calligrapher, lover of 4am’er’, mother, partner and philosopher. People tell me I sparkle when I work, so who am I to disagree, it’s a decent enough descriptor if you ask me.
I’m a questioner, fascinated by what makes leaders tick, I’m a challenger, talker of all things communication, philanthropist, curriculum designer, lover of the Greek philosopher, squeezer of the last year of my 40s like a dog with her favourite squeaky toy.
I’ve spent ½ of the last 25 years in the corporate world and the other ½ as a philosopher and entrepreneur.
As a corporate rat racer - I’ve held a sales bag slogging cereal, I’ve been a global sales trainer helping account managers figure out how to pump out more gum into the world, I've led sales teams throughout Western Canada, I’ve consulted in every industry I’m certain (okay, not in politics but I do have a minor in poly sci from 27 years ago so that must make me qualified to call up Trudeau for my next gig), I’ve led teams, I’ve been on teams, I've had superb bosses, I've had horrible bosses, I've been highly engaged and have been actively disengaged at times too, I've had great team mates, seen some doozies too. I know what corporate life looks like inside out, upside down.
As a philosopher and entrepreneur - Yeah, I’ve self anointed myself ‘philosopher’ what’s it to ya? I’ve distilled my lifelong study into three things; the importance of living an autodidactic life (oh stop googling that word, I'll tell you about it in the 60 elements of leadership), digging into one’s own existential angst at all cost and finally everyone has a story, everyone. This later one is important. It can and should guide how we live, treat each other and find purpose in our humanness.
When I'm not writing, reading, teaching I set up Talk Talk...twice! This is my second run at Talk Talk and my first at standing up The One Stop Special Needs Shop.
Who is Cher?
My name is Cher and I'm excited that you are here learning a bit about the team at Talk Talk. In a nutshell, here is what makes me tick: People; Learning; Facilitating Learning; Wellness; Leadership; Personal Growth & Development.
I have 20 years of experience and I've loved the varied adventures I've had in the world of learning & development. I've done everything from designing training programs for a new technology called "high speed internet" (it truly was mind blowing at the time) to diving headfirst into understanding organizational culture and trust and challenging leaders to think about their role in it.
While I was very busy with my full life (both inside and outside work), life threw me a curve ball and BOOM, I got sick, really really sick and cortisol (the stress hormone) was the culprit. My path back to health included studying and putting into practice what I learned from experts in the fields of neurology, positive psychology, western medicine, eastern medicine, naturopathic medicine, energy medicine and mindfulness. I am not unique in that I have learned the biggest lessons by going through the toughest stuff. I get fired up (in a good way) about sharing what I know about wellness and coping with stress... all in the spirit of helping people develop healthy habits for their physical and emotional well being. I treasure the connections I have made with people through my work as a Wellness Facilitator.
Over the last few years, it's been incredible to watch 2 of my passions (leadership and wellness) come together. At the end of the day, leadership is all about your impact on others and well, quite honestly, you gotta be taking care of yourself if you want to be a light and a guide to others. You know... that whole "put YOUR oxygen mask on first" thing.
I'm currently a facilitator, speaker, entrepreneur, hiker, biker, yoga-er, introvert, extrovert, campfire lover who has a soft spot for Hawkins Cheezies. I love people, approach conversations from a place of curiosity not judgement (which can be challenging with my teenagers) and believe that while self-reflection and growth isn't always easy, it is always worth it.
Who is Robin?
Once upon a time, Robin hired Caroline and pretended to be her boss. And now, 10 years later, Robin is delighted to again, collaborate with Caroline!
Robin holds an MBA, is a Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) and has run her own facilitation practice since 2014. She also teaches and mentors new facilitators. Robin loves what she does and believes that she leaves the work place a little better than she found it, when good dialogue has happened.
A lover of good dinner parties (whether she hosts or attends), a reluctant dog owner, and a reformed soccer Mom, Robin finds humour to be an essential life ingredient, especially when parenting teenagers.
As a lifelong learner, Robin is curious about geopolitics, seeks worthwhile (a.k.a. not trendy) management and leadership materials, pretends to exercise regularly and still loves a physical newspaper.
Robin has worked with large and small, public and private, for profit and not for profit organizations. What they all have in common: people who are more engaged and committed when understandings are shared and outcomes are co-created.
Who is Laure?
Laure Goubau is a ICF certified executive coach with a 10-year track-record of recommending and leading important strategic changes in the professional services industry.
She is a former Professional Development Manager at McKinsey & Company and has coached consultants (from business analysts to senior partners) on a variety of topics (promotions and transitions, imposter syndrome, absorbing feedback after reviews, stress and energy management, personal leaves etc). She has also conducted 360 feedbacks, helping colleagues gain clarity on the impact of their behavior and set goals to change. As lead of McKinsey’s maternity leave program for Canada, Laure has coached women on off-boarding and reintegration. Laure also led group coaching sessions for teams kicking-off client engagements and helped numerous teams realign and reconnect when dynamics became more challenging. Also at McKinsey, Laure has been co-faculty for week-long training sessions, covering topics such as difficult conversations, developing your value system and the importance of building trust.
Laure started her career as a litigator in a Canadian top-tier law firm, focusing on class actions and medical malpractice. She moved to a people role as Professional Resources Director in that same firm in 2013. This transition allowed her to focus her energy on the growth and development of lawyers and law students. In addition to coaching, Laure ran performance reviews, recruitment, and a myriad of other projects related to talent.
Laure works seamlessly in French and English. She is known for her ability to empathize and read the room, and to motivate and empower those she works with. She lives in Montréal with her husband and daughter. An avid hiker, she has walked over 400 km in France. She skis every weekend and is a level 1 ski coach and level 2 ski instructo
Who is Andrée?
Salut! I’m Andrée, and I’m having the time of my life! You see, ever since I was an undergrad, my goal has been to help people feel like going to work, and I can see it really happening. Tall order? Not really, when you consider these essential ingredients: people who feel respected and recognised contributing to something they value. That’s the chemistry I help organisations create, each in their own special way.
Like Caroline, I’ve spent half my career inside organisations, and half in the consulting world. As an insider, I’ve negotiated labour contracts, managed compensation, conducted international recruitment campaigns, developed training programs, coached executives, and managed domestic and global HR teams. As a consultant, I’ve built successful compensation and organisational development practices in some of the largest global HR consulting firms (that’s how I met Caroline!), developing and launching unique approaches to making people want to go to work. I’ve held senior executive positions in both worlds. So, I understand leadership and employee engagement inside out.
What do I thrive on? Learning from people. Maybe it has to do with the years I spent studying anthropology and sociology at McGill, but I have been running on a mix of challenge, curiosity and a desire to help others for the 4 decades of my career, which has brought me to live and work in Canada (east and west), the US, and Europe, and to manage staff based all over the world.
I’m a mother, grandmother, traveller, sailor, history buff, avid swimmer, and camper. I need to be physically active a good 10-12 hours per week. Over the past few years, partial retirement has made that possible, but NOTHING beats helping people feel like going to work. It’s a real privilege to be part of Caroline’s team at TalkTalk!
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