The start of the pandemic and COVID lockdown resulted in self-reflection for many of us, and Michele Bilodeau was no exception. With more time on her hand, a desire to keep learning, and a self-professed inability to sit still, she enrolled in MIT Sloan Executive Education courses to stay stimulated and inspired during uncertain times.
For the past five years she was the head of marketing, client experience and culture for a menswear retail company. COVID brought new challenges to the industry. They were luckily able to pivot to selling PPE, which saved the company.
When Michele initially started her journey during the start of the pandemic, she naturally gravitated towards change management courses such as Implementing Enterprise-Wide Transformation and Building Game-Changing Organizations: Aligning Purpose, Performance, and People. She was immediately able to apply the content to her organization as they refocused their brand image. “I’m in the classroom learning new things, taking notes, understanding the processes – and then the next day at work I could apply those lessons right away. We used a lot of the matrices and frameworks directly in our branding shift, pitching to our internal team, and helping change the culture. That’s what sold me on MIT Sloan Executive Education and convinced me to keep going.”
On the fast track
The courses also inspired her to explore a new career trajectory and she made the bold decision to quit her job and focus solely on completing the Advanced Certificate for Executives (ACE).
“Really early on I decided to do the ACE. In terms of the certificate tracks - I love strategy and innovation and wanted to hear more. I think everyone can continuously improve upon management and leadership skills—so those courses were no-brainers. And lastly, I have very limited knowledge in technology and operations, which is why I thought I could also benefit from that track. It was a very early goal of mine to do all three tracks because I wanted to expand knowledge across all the different disciplines.”
How committed was Michele to the journey? While she continued to provide professional consulting services on the side, she actually packed up her bags and relocated for three months to Cambridge to complete the ACE in less than a year (an accomplishment that takes many executives several years to complete). She had started with online courses during the pandemic, but as the world opened up, she wanted to experience in-person courses and have the full campus experience.
Another pivot
Before starting her ACE journey, Michele assumed she’d stay within the retail industry. But as she was exposed to a variety of backgrounds and industries, she started to shift her focus towards tech startups—and Accelerating Corporate Innovation: The Competitive Advantage of Ecosystem Engagement was the catalyst for the change of heart. “Part of that course talks about how most startup acquisitions within larger organizations fail and how culture shock is a big issue—because how entrepreneurs and startups work is completely opposite to a larger corporation with more bureaucracy. And then the lessons learned during Driving Strategic Innovation truly made things click.”
2022 Driving Strategic Innovation cohort
Pick your fighter: startup, scaler, sailor
One of Michele’s favorite courses was Driving Strategic Innovation. The longer format with the same intimate group of classmates allowed for deeper conversations about challenges and solutions to everyday professional issues. In addition, the course offered several guest speakers who would provide valuable real-world perspectives to frameworks covered. “The faculty Charlie Fine and Bill Fischer were amazing. Everything they taught I could apply directly to a company I had worked with or, because I was still consulting, currently working with at the time.”
"Chatting with everyone in the courses and seeing how the reality across businesses can be the same, even if in different industries, allowed me to dream outside of what I thought would be my future."
One of the lessons that especially resonated with Michele was about the importance of classifying a business within their lifecycle and determining where best you can position yourself within that company for maximum effectiveness. A company is either at a startup stage, scaling (experiencing a period of growth and change) or a sailing stage (fairly established and looking to stay the course).
Then the question was asked of which of these environments you match and which will allow you to thrive and be the most effective leader. The answer may not necessarily be the environment you’re currently in or naturally gravitate to. “Aside from serial entrepreneurs, I don’t think people think about exploring this about themselves as a tool to optimize business strategy. It was something that a lot of people struggled with at first, but was very beneficial. And now it’s something I can see within other people – which has helped me in my consulting work. You can look at the lifetime of a business and determine what type of person you’ll need in those roles. It’s why entrepreneurs need to be shifted out of the CEO role if they want to help companies grow. They now need that scaler.” (For those curious, Michele now classifies herself as scaler).
As she explores new horizons in the tech startup world, these lessons will continue to be valuable. “It’s good insight to have—the roles that should be assigned, especially early on in a startup as you start to scale.”
A supportive community
Michele will be the first to admit she’s not the typical ACE holder. While there may have been some initial hesitancy, that soon melted away in the classrooms. “It was a very motivating group of people to be a part of—like-minded in their desire to be better and do better. Having a group of people really motivated to learn and also share their own realities and journeys really solidified the whole program for me.”
It was through this supportive community that she learned more about different industries, challenges, and perspectives that helped shape her future plans. “Chatting with everyone in the courses and seeing how the reality across businesses can be the same, even if in different industries, allowed me to dream outside of what I thought would be my future.”
The collaborative and supportive community extends beyond the classroom. Whether it’s being part of a WhatsApp group or following others on LinkedIn, you remain connected. “Every day there’s a post on my timeline from a former classmate about a certificate they’ve earned or a course they’ve just completed. And they share summaries of what they’ve taken away… some of those posts I’ve used to pick my own courses!” Even faculty remain accessible and ready to answer questions. It’s this community spirit of lifting people up that continues to inspire Michele.
Does the learning journey end with ACE?
While she plans to (understandably) take a break after a rigorous and transitional year, it’s only temporary. Even courses with familiar material were found to be excellent refreshers for logical practices one can often lose sight of. “If you think you’ve learned everything, that’s the beginning of your downfall. I’m always looking to learn more. I actually selected MIT over other options because I felt the content and the course offerings were more relevant to what’s happening in the world today and also a bit more tech-smart. Course materials highlight a new reality.”
Advice to others
Michele encourages others to just enroll—start with one course and see where it takes you. “I was a bit concerned about the journey initially because I’m younger and may not have as much experience as a more senior executive taking a course, and I quickly discovered that wasn’t a problem.” She refers back to a supportive and diverse community of people eager to share knowledge and perspectives and encourages others to fully take advantage of that culture before you’re even on campus.
“Reach out to folks who have completed a course or certificate program and ask for their insights. They’re all wonderful ambassadors. And once you’re there, take advantage of the opportunity and accessibility of having people with so much knowledge and experience in the room. When else would that be possible? Never!”
Learn more about MIT Sloan Executive Education certificate programs.
Contributed by Elaine Santoyo Goldman