Lisa Laronde, CPA on the Power of Authentic Leadership

Being a leader is not for the faint of heart.

For Lisa Laronde, CPA, empathy, adaptability and honesty are some of the core pillars of what makes an effective and authentic leader. But what is perhaps even more important to the success and productivity of a company is creating an environment in which every employee feels supported and heard.

With a background in finance and a passion for working with entrepreneurial companies, Lisa made history as the first woman to serve as president of Powell Contracting and RSG International, leaders in road safety infrastructure construction.

But her journey was not an easy one. As she moved into an executive vice-president role and began becoming more involved in strategic decision making, she noticed her input was not being valued as much as her male counterparts – despite being in a position of senior leadership.

“Coworkers didn’t want to talk or listen to me.  Looking back, I maybe didn’t understand the impact that I was having, being a woman in this space in this role,” she said. “I thought it was very interesting that instead of embracing or supporting me in this position, they saw me as a threat.”

Ramudden acquired RSG International in June of 2024, encompassing fourteen countries, over a billion euros in revenue and over 5,000 employees. Lisa took on the role of Chief Transformational Officer and, despite this significant increase in volume, she made it her goal to foster an inclusive workplace and lead by example.

“I feel that to truly be an effective leader you need to be transparent with your team through the good, the bad and the ugly. It really helps your team when they understand what's going on. Once you embrace that, you can build a really strong team.”

And that transparency goes both ways. “Honesty is a requirement for working with me,” says Lisa. “I tell everybody that to function well as a leader, I need them to be honest. I reserve the right to make the final decision, and we don’t always have to agree, but I want to be able to have candid conversations.”

“I think we need to be a little bit more flexible on how we build our teams and how we actually speak to one another. And I think being a really good leader is understanding how impactful your words and actions are.”

She also notes how important it is to lead by example in promoting the work-life balance of her staff. “We have all these policies, like flexible working hours, disconnect hours, and parental leave, but the problem is they don’t get used. So, you have to model that behaviour: say to your staff that we have the policies in place, and we have them in place for a reason and people can take them without guilt.”

“Build a community of people that trust that you are smart and provide good advice but will also challenge your assumptions and ideas.”

As a CPA, Lisa says having a financial background is critical for those wanting to explore other industries. “The numbers always tell a story. When I look at the numbers, and then listen to business leaders tell me their proposed direction, I can tell them right away if those numbers are truly validating the story they are telling. Having the kind of financial acumen that CPAs do is so important and gives you much more strength and credibility.”

Lisa has made building a more equitable and inclusive construction sector part of her personal mission, as well. As the President of the board of directors for the Canadian Association of Women in Construction and the DEI Chair of Powell Contracting, Lisa has seen the real, tangible impact that these kinds of policies can make.

“If you have a culture of inclusion, and if you have employee well-being, it will result in less burnout and you’ll have people far happier in their roles. As a result, you’ll have higher retention. Offering an inclusive environment is such a small price to pay, compared to hiring and retraining new people all the time.”

“If you don't ask the question, you assume the answer – and it's not necessarily always the right answer.”

Lisa and her DEI committee implemented a host of initiatives, including ally mentorship, equity and anti-racism training, gender neutral washrooms, halal RRSPs, and many more.

They have begun removing names from resumes and changed the wording on their job listings, noting that women are less likely to apply to jobs if they don’t possess around 80% or more of the listed requirements. “I always hire the best person for the job,” says Lisa, “But sometimes you aren’t getting a range of applicants in the first place, based on sometimes as simple as the wording on your job listing.”

For companies that still need convincing that diversity policies are necessary, reports have found that it is not just the ethical thing to do – it's actually more profitable. The most recent diversity report by McKinsey found that companies in the top 25 per cent for gender and ethnic diversity a more likely to financially outperform those at the bottom by 27 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.

While Lisa has made an incredible impact in her industry, she knows there is always room for improvement, and she looks forward to growing as a leader. “It’s not an easy journey, and it’s not meant for everyone, but I think being in a leadership position can be such a rewarding experience and you can really be the representation for the next generation.”

Lisa will be leading a session on authentic leadership at the CPA Ontario Women in Action Conference on March 5, 2025.