Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maria Legault. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

In my opening tagline for this interview, ‘Steady Effort, Open Mind, Bold Spirit’ , I acknowledge that I am borrowing my own framing from Brene Brown’s excellent research and insights into vulnerability and courage.

The concept of steady effort is one ingredient in my own recipe for success. I like the word ‘steady’ because it suggests balance. It’s very important for me in my daily life to achieve balance physically, mentally, and emotionally. In practice this can look like starting my day off with an early morning workout or journalling. My workouts each day of the week will themselves be balanced between my boxing practice for intense conditioning and cardio, and days where I am focused on strength-based exercises.

Having an open mind as another ingredient for success looks primarily like curiosity. At a macro level for my life, I am open to changing my opinions on things. I am open to becoming new versions of myself, which may mean letting go of something that is no longer serving me. At a micro level, it may also look like getting curious with clients I am working with – why is this particular element important to them? An open mind helps me to navigate my view of myself as well as in my daily work with others.

Lastly, having a bold spirit is essential. It’s important to be brave and take bold steps in life. Of course, one must be cognizant of any signs of burnout. We may be pushing into a space for the wrong reasons. Our mind and body knows when this is the case and will tell us to dial back. In these cases we can avoid burnout by listening to our gut and stopping before we experience any feelings of exhaustion and disengagement. That way, we can bounce back more quickly.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I wear many different hats in my life, but at the core of everything I do is my positivity.

This positivity is not naivete. This is something I have to remind myself of from time to time! Ultimately I imbue to those around me a sense of confidence and conviction that what we are looking to accomplish is possible.

One of the hats I wear is digital marketing. I work with the design agency Design de Plume (https://deplume.ca/) based out of Sudbury, Ontario. I lead our website team in creating beautiful and accessible designs for Indigenous clients across Turtle Island. While I am an advocate for the team’s needs, I also aim to provide the client with a digital presence they can be proud of.

I also wear a volunteering hat. This spans from the world of cycling advocacy to political advocacy at the provincial and federal level. When wearing this hat, I employ my empathy to ensure that the volunteer teams I lead feel heard, respected, and valued. A practical tool like the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) can help to define for volunteer teams how we operate together to deliver on larger projects.

I am proud of what I have had a hand in helping to put out into the world. Often, I deliver by being the coordinative backbone for the team. For example, my volunteer team’s Cycling Route Effectiveness Model (CREM) (https://cyclewr.ca/campaigns/cycling-route-effectiveness-model/) was the recipient of a 2024 award with Sustainable Waterloo Region for its impact on community action at the municipal level.

Leadership requires empathy, good listening skills, and positivity, all of which I aim to bring to my daily work.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivoting is no easy feat. It takes resilience and mental fortitude to step into something new, where you feel you’re a beginner and perhaps at a disadvantage from others in the same industry.

My pivot from the world of non-profits into digital marketing was fraught with just these emotions.

I began my career working with organizations focused on sustainable living, climate justice, and reconnecting humans with nature. It was a space where I felt competent as well as a deep meaning.

However, I felt that I needed to build more specific skills in entrepreneurship and growing a business. Learning how to deliver on digital marketing campaigns came to me as an essential new direction.

To accomplish this pivot required two key elements; firstly, taking on my learning journey within a community of supportive and like-minded individuals. I was lucky to find a part-time program that allowed me to learn while working. I invested so much effort and time into this part-time program that they offered to hire me on as a consultant to support in the next cohort of students. This experience allowed me to grow a base of clients and work independently.

The second important element in this pivot was remaining true to my values. Although I wanted to learn how to get clients a return on their digital marketing investment, it was also essential that I continue to support sustainable living and a just future for all peoples. This is where my volunteerism outside of my paid work has become so central to my life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have always had a network of supportive mentors in my life. Often, their influence on my outlook looks like a walk through a natural area together or a chat over a meal. I’m deeply grateful for these individuals.

Sometimes, however, the lessons learned from these mentors are not the right long-term direction for me as a person.

I distinctly recall sitting in a coffee shop with one of my mentors. We were chatting over a cup of coffee about the year to come. My mentor shared her experience with a ‘Year of Yes!’. During this year, her default response to new experiences and ideas was a heart-felt ‘yes!’

Of course, this fit in very well with my mantra of being Open Minded. I was inspired at the concept of a ‘Year of Yes!’ I began to say yes more often to things both personally and professionally.

However, over time I found myself on the brink of burnout from saying yes to things that weren’t in line with my values. I suddenly had a full plate of non-essential things which were taking away from the value-added work I should have protected my time for.

This was a hard lesson but one I am grateful to have learned. It has helped me narrow in on the essential and important things in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mariaklegault.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mklegault/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/legaultmaria/

Image Credits

2024 Award – photo credit Taginder Clair.
Tough Mudder 2023 photography by Tough Mudder team.