S8 E8: Curiosity Over Fear: Leading in the Age of AI with Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau

In this episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal sits down with Stéphanie Butt Thibodeau, EVP Talent and Corporate Affairs at iA Financial Group, to explore how leaders and organizations can embrace artificial intelligence while keeping people at the center of transformation.

She begins by sharing how AI has fundamentally reshaped her own work, helping her rethink long-established habits and increase productivity. She goes on to discuss how iA Financial Group is helping employees navigate the uncertainty surrounding AI by fostering curiosity, experimentation, and a culture of learning. Stéphanie offers practical advice for leaders and professionals at all levels on overcoming anxiety around AI, and embracing the opportunities and excitement it can bring to their work.

Through practical examples, personal vulnerability, and insights into iA's organization-wide approach to learning, Stéphanie offers an honest and practical look at what it takes to lead through one of the biggest workplace transformations of our time. A must-listen for anyone navigating the opportunities and challenges of AI.

Show Notes: 01:07 Introducing Stéphanie 01:38 Talk about what IA is and what they do 03:26 A bit about her bio and early years 04:21 Her comfort with and enjoyment of change 04:33 Junior Achievement 05:06 Recipe card holder example 05:36 Radio show 06:22 Becoming an accountant? 06:42 Switched to finance and international business 06:48 Her career start 07:31 What led her into HR? 08:31 Getting the job at IA 10:09 What is the IA way of managing people? 10:24 Being a learning organization 10:31 Creating conditions where employees can be their best 11:08 Bart asks for an example of the learning culture 11:21 The VP summit at IA 12:28 AI and its implications 12:47 Started off thinking of it as an operational efficiency thing 13:00 Allowing people to focus on where they can add the most value 13:28 How has AI affected Stephanie's work? 13:51 Changing the way she works — example: preparing presentations 14:20 It's about "unlearning" our ways of working 14:37 Using AI as a chief of staff 14:59 Copilot helps organize her day and key tasks 15:57 Copilot as a personal assistant 16:46 The anxieties associated with the introduction of AI in the organization 16:59 Choose curiosity over fear 17:34 Quote: AI won't replace humans, just humans who don't use AI 18:21 What advice would you give to people about AI? 18:50 It's all about mindset 19:38 How do you demonstrate the learning mindset? 22:24 What's next after adopting the mindset? 22:53 Practice using the tools 24:13 Bart talks about the Anthropic models 25:33 Advice #3 25:50 AI ambassador network 26:14 Hackathons 27:28 Creating the muscle around learning 29:12 Learning is not just an HR thing 30:11 Where will the adoption of AI go in the years to come? 31:30 What are your personal hopes for the future? 32:13 Thank yous and Bart sums up the takeaways 33:23 Outro