Virginie: Independence, a committed choice

With independence, I've found a balance. Committed to causes close to my heart, co-founding my own company has enabled me to maintain my quality of life, both financially and in terms of my family.

Living in line with my values.

I live my commitment serenely on a daily basis. In my profession, I am free to choose the customers I work with (Editor's note: my firm advises and trains managers from SMEs, ETIs and local authorities); today, I only work for projects in which I believe. The most important thing for me is to be by my customers' side, to engage them in issues of the future, to solve their problems, to listen to people.

And thanks to the freedom I have in my job, I can now also devote time to the associative or political causes that touch me. By becoming independent, I've found a balance between my commitment and my professional life; I'm free to express myself and my convictions.

"It's easier to work with people who share your values. My husband and I set up our own firm. Today, we're proud to promote human and managerial relationships that correspond to us."

Commitment: considering an individual in his or her entirety

On the board

In consulting firms, relationships with customers are not necessarily based on shared values. The primary objective is commercial and transactional; consultants know what they want to achieve in terms of delivery, and the human relationship - the soft-skills - sometimes takes second place. After a few years of professional life, I felt the need to work in my own way, while being fully aligned with my company's business model.

Today, as a freelancer, I never consider my customers as contracts, but as people in their own right. I get to know them and appreciate them. I'm a good corporate citizen, responding to their needs while standing up for my values. The assignments I choose correspond to me; they have meaning for me.

If during the course of a project my approach loses its meaning, I speak to my client. Together we decide what to do next; I don't do a project for the sake of doing a project, but to make it a success.

In the company

As a manager, I live my style: collaborative above all! My aim is for everyone to feel at ease, to feel they belong, to participate in their own way and to build on their strengths. I try to keep hierarchy to a minimum. Everyone contributes to each other's development, in line with our business model. To have the feeling of managing in a respectful atmosphere, to be thanked by employees who are happy to be there, is a real achievement. It's not always as simple as that as an employee, because you're also obliged to adapt to ways of working that aren't your own.

Independence to make a living from our commitment.

And what about finances? Let's face it, a committed career is not always economically viable. What's more, combining your activity with an outside commitment can sometimes be a challenge in terms of scheduling. In the good months, for example, being self-employed allows me to generate sales 4 days a week and devote 1 day to a cause close to my heart.

Independent and a mother.

Committed women are great... but what happens when a woman becomes a mother? Commitment is a gift of time, without limits, sometimes all-consuming and unbearable as a mother and a woman. When I became a mother, I said no to a model that locked me in. Now that I've found a balance between work and commitment, I'm happy to see my son grow up. I'm available for him, and that's priceless! Now that I'm self-employed, I'm in line with my values, my actions and my desires.

A word of advice.

When you make a commitment, you sometimes divide your salary by 2. I made this choice and I don't regret it. I'm looking forward to getting involved in exciting projects, which sometimes pay little (and that's my choice) and which give meaning to my daily life. However, I'm determined to find a viable balance for my family. Today, independence brings me a balance that I have chosen.

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