Career Pathways: Implementing Change with Jaclyn Leskiw

In honour of Women’s History Month, Schulich ExecEd is highlighting 3 incredible women in our community: an account executive, a student alumni, and the leaders of our Leadership for Women program. This is part 1 of 3 in the series.

Career Pathways is a Schulich ExecEd ongoing series showcasing some of our talented alumni. Everyone has something interesting and insightful to share, from independent business owners to corporate managers. We want to bring their stories to life. 

When Jaclyn Leskiw moved into her new role as Manager of Corporate Communications and Change, she saw an opportunity to help optimize her company’s communication strategy.  Jaclyn wanted to implement some of the high level change management strategies that she had previously learned, but wasn’t sure how to apply them.

The Starting Point

Jacyln began looking into change management programs, with a goal to find a more pragmatic and relatable program that would benefit both her and her company.

“I was looking for practical tools that I could take back to my job,” Jaclyn explained. “Many of the programs that I’ve previously taken have focused on really high level thinking — but didn’t allow me to apply what I was learning in a practical, functional way.”

After reading many different program descriptions and reviews, Jaclyn found exactly what she was looking for at Schulich ExecEd.

The Program

Jaclyn enrolled in Leading Collaboratively with Michelle Chambers, an award-winning facilitator and seasoned Organization Development and Team Coaching expert. The 2-day program focused on teaching professionals best practices to help reduce silos, and how to impact productivity across individuals and teams.

“This program, and specifically Michelle Chambers, was very good at showing us examples of how you could apply important tools, like setting team norms, across many different industries,” Jacyln said. “It was really interesting to see it applied across different industries, and that was one of the things that drove home the learning for me.”

The Solution

Jaclyn completed her program successfully in the fall of 2022, and is already strategizing on how to make positive changes in her workplace.

“There were so many tools from this program that I was able to bring back to my team,” she explained. “We’re looking to implement these new strategies in stages this year, to really give us a good framework on how we can work together.”

Candidates in this program also received a booklet on “Team Tools for Collaboration,” to help develop the right incentives for productivity and foster a new norm of trust and respect in hybrid or work-from-home settings. 

“I was talking to my boss the other day, and I said that this specific program is probably the most valuable learning experience that I’ve had in the last five years,” Jacyln says. “It’s given me the tools to advance something that’s completely new to our organization.”

We want to thank Jaclyn again for taking the time to chat with us for the Career Pathways series. If you’re interested in learning more about Schulich ExecEd’s Leading Collaboratively program, you can read more about it here. 

Not sure what program is right for you? Our expert advisors can help. Talk to a Schulich ExecEd advisor today.