Q&A with Achille Ubalijoro, Project Management Advisor

How could you describe your career path in a few words?

I am currently President and Project Management Advisor at Kabera Consulting Inc. Project Management Advisor whose expertise is focused on an approach that links business results to a project deployment system based on best practices in project management and personal skills. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with a specialization in computer-aided design and manufacturing at École Polytechnique de Montréal, I joined Bombardier Aerospace where I worked from 1995 to 2004. I then held various positions at different levels at Bombardier Aerospace in engineering, manufacturing and IT, including technical, analytical and project manager roles. After obtaining an MBA in Strategic Technology Management in 2003 at Concordia University in Montreal, I began a successful management career as a Project Manager, Transition Program Management, Program Manager or Executive Advisor project. During my career, I have worked in various industries (including aerospace, automotive, consumer goods, mining, engineering and construction, marketing and higher education) and regions (including North and South America, Australia, Europe and Asia).

What was your most difficult experience and did it change your mindset?

Mid-career, I was fired following an incompatibility with my superiors, something that had never happened to me in my young career. Rather than discouraging me, this allowed me to understand that you are solely responsible for your career management and that you must see beyond your current job or employer. I had always wanted to go into counseling, but the circumstances weren't right until then, but in the end, it was truly the best thing that ever happened to me. I had a very good network, very good references apart from this unfortunate episode and despite the recession which was raging at the time, I launched my career in consulting, a career which I have been leading since that time without interruption with fantastic clients and an experience that I could never have had in one company.

When you are surprised by an unusual or uncertain context, what do you think?

I am rarely surprised because my life and career have been a long journey of constant change. I have lived or worked in nearly 10 countries, worked with colleagues from all over the world, I have had the pleasure of discovering the world in all its diversity and I think I still have a lot to discover. The most important thing I believe is to be curious, to accept the world in all its complexity and above all, not to get too attached to a specific vision of the world and to welcome what surprises you and see it as an opportunity. to increase their understanding of the complex ecosystem in which today's professional must navigate.

What is the most important key success factor to you based on your experience?

A few years ago, I had an interview with my alma mater for my MBA, Concordia University in Montreal, I was asked the same question and the answer did not change: During my career, the notion leadership has evolved, as has what it means to be a good leader. I've had the opportunity to work with leaders at all levels of organizations - large and small - starting with a small start-up whose founders were three friends and a classmate. Although short-lived (less than a year), I learned to create my own job description where none existed. This experience allowed me to develop an entrepreneurial spirit, which I brought to all my roles, even in a large company. You have to dare, doing nothing should scare you even more.

What would be the major pitfall that could harm a leader's success?

Without hesitation, arrogance. When you think that you have succeeded on your own and that every action you make is only intended to serve an inordinate ego and your own interests, you are on a very slippery slope. I like the notion of “servant leader”, which we find a lot in agile approaches to project management, where the individual and the team are at the heart of business success. This is also why I am now moving towards management coaching, with the aim of helping project leaders and teams to maximize their potential, often people have the solutions within themselves, it is necessary just trust them, help them have this conversation with their inner self and get them to act to free themselves from the constraints they have set for themselves. The paternalism of yesteryear has had its day, the time has come for the empowerment of teams and individuals in