Manon Blanchette, Chief Operating Officer at Pointe-à-Callière in Montreal shares the importance for women to have a support system as they move through their career

Manon Blanchette, Chief Operating Officer at Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal’s Museum of Archaeology and History, turned her passion for studying the past into a thriving cultural career.

By: Carolyn Patricia Grisold | Photography by: Sylvain Dumais

“When I began at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in the late 1970s, I would say that it was a little luck that had taken me there,” Manon Blanchette recalls. “The museums were [beginning] their development and I [had just] finished a Master’s in art history.”

Starting her career at the age of 18 working part-time in a shop while completing her studies, Blanchette used the job to avoid asking her father for pocket money. “I very early realized that I was an independent and autonomous woman,” she says. Some years later, after working as a visitor guide volunteer at the Musée, Blanchette was hired as a cultural education agent.

“I right away felt my place in a museum. With the years and the different posts occupied, I became a specialist of the muséologiques functions, of their development, of their management and maybe even of their parallel with the public. What moves me is to see that the public is very interested in what a museum presents them. [That they are] curious and appreciate it.”

Blanchette’s own curiosity for culture was spurred early in her life, when she attended a school in a convent. “I already studied in a museum,” she says. “I loved the history of the building where we were in, its thick walls, its small magnificent chapel.” Her experiences during this time was with art forms that allied theatre, music and dance, in her words developing “a fertile land” that opened her eyes to culture and creativity.

Taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer at Pointe-à-Callière in January 2012 has continued Blanchette’s passion for culture and the layers of interpretation that museums instil in their visitors. Launched in 1992 as part of Montréal’s 350th Anniversary, the museum of archaeology and history was built at a confluence of the St. Lawrence River where the founding of Montréal was celebrated in 1642. Rising above evidence of over 1,000 years of human activity, Pointe-à- Callière is the only sizeable archaeology museum in Canada, and prides itself on presenting its artefacts in situ with respect to their integrity.

It is with integrity, too, that Blanchette performs in her role as COO. Integrity, honesty and justice are her top three professional values. She maintains them in her work by being frank with others and herself.

“The employer, the board of directors and the administrator pass a pact at the time of our hiring,” she explains. “For me, integrity is to respect the understandings that prevailed and that motivated the decision to collaborate in the development of the business.”

She is modest too, but aware of her strengths as a leader: of being unafraid to venture off the beaten path with the energy – and the luck – that allows Blanchette to rally troops to her side. Her willingness to take risks steps partly from her ability to recover quickly from disappointments. “When I was younger, I became destabilized [by setbacks] more so than today,” she says. “I am more successful when I separate my work and the mandate I am given from the individual that I am. Private life is very important to me; it gives me resiliency.”

“I believe that when you are afraid of not rising completely to the height [of your ability], you give a better version of yourself. In other words, it is the difficulty that one is creative.”

At Pointe-à-Callière, leaders are developed beyond their workplace mandates by a ‘radiance’ plan. “That is to say, each is encouraged to choose [an endeavour] with implications outside the museum,” she explains. “The choice is collective, so that the person becomes the official delegate of the [endeavour]. She uniformly reports on its activities to the direction committee.” The museum also possesses a recognition plan, which stimulates confidence in future leaders, recognizes their accomplished work and encourages engagement.

It is also necessary to recognize and to promote the work of the others, she says, giving praise to Francine Lelièvre, executive director of Pointeà- Callière, who has been successfully directing the museum for 20 years. She also founded it.

When asked what she sees as the solution to women’s advancement, Blanchette refers to mentorship. Often the lessons learned by one generation are not easily taught to the next, other than directly by those who lived them. It is important too, she adds, to demonstrate that success is never the work of one single person. “We create false paths if we believe we are able to construct them alone.” Just as with our private lives, we need the support of others.

“Women who want a satisfactory career have to, early in their beginnings, cultivate their network,” she continues. “Give of your time and expertise while developing an honest and frank relationship with people that are sometimes outside of your activity sector, as these [people] will be inclined to help you when the time comes. It is necessary to be ready to give to receive.”

Support networks are also important when striving for work-life balance, especially once women have children. In Blanchette’s experience, the life of a working mother is one of constantly having to choose between several important elements. “It is necessary therefore to accept the imperfection and that all will not completely be succeeded,” she advises. “Personally, I had my son after having well begun my career; I was already Chief Curator at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. I am very conscious that choosing to have a child with my spouse modified the trajectory that one maybe had conceived for me. The years that followed showed me that it is important to have a network of mutual aid – women, girlfriends and family. [Because of this] I was able to follow my career path, and achieve a PhD while working.”

“The balance is nevertheless fragile,” she adds.

Blanchette has succeeded in managing this fragility well. “For me, [success] is when a person blossoms in what she does, when she is creative in the accomplishment of her mandate, and when she shares her expertise,” she says. “Attaining the summit is not synonymous with success. Rather, [it is in] how we arrive where our motivation carries us. [It is] the force, the determination and the courage to overcome difficulties, to curb them, to transform them in values of growth and of apprenticeship. Later, at our career end, when one looks at our accomplished work, I imagine that success will be measured by the trajectory that we followed, the coherence of our professional choices, and by the influence that we will have had on the younger generation.”