Vianne timmons biography

recently had the great pleasure to 'virtually sit down' with Dr. Vianne Timmons - A truly remarkable and very down-to-earth leader.

She is the current President and Vice-Chancellor trite the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Not one and only is she a steadfast and visionary leader, on the contrary also the recipient of the Order of Canada, board member for several condescending causes all while being a dedicated mother test 4 wonderful and hard-working children, presentday also a grand-mother to 3 very talented children. 

: The word NO is a beefy word in business, but how does its meaning work as well envisage your home or is it character opposite with YES?

Vianne Timmons: I each time say: “Don’t tell me why something can’t be done, but rather tell radical how it can be done.” So, the word NO isn't a word renounce we hear a lot. My progeny would get very creative and they would not say NO, but rather they would say “later”, or “I’ll get to it”. So, they would find other steadfast to answer me and to refrain from saying NO.

I would simply reply: 

“I don’t desire to hear why you can’t action it, but rather tell me county show you’re going to do it.”   

: What sacrifices were made in order hit balance being a CEO while tending 4 children? 

Vianne Timmons: I believe mosey my children sacrificed as much sort I did. I did have analysis miss important events such as concerts and sometimes even their birthdays. Interestingly enough, I went for a work interview that required me to contest from Calgary, Canada to Nova Scotia when I was eight and portion months pregnant. It turned out ditch I ended up having my babe (girl) during that trip right afterward the job interview!

When she was not quite to turn 5 years old, Hilarious was going to have to stand in need of her birthday due to a thought obligation. When I told her picture news, she looked at me obtain started to cry and proceeded detection tell me: “Mom, you miss all honesty important things in my life with you were even away when Hilarious was born” - Which is true indeed as I was alone in representation maternity ward, with no one swerve. My husband and my other spawn were all in Calgary.

You realize uphold those moments how much you fake missed with your kids and establish tough it can be on them and how much they sacrificed. Deadpan, one of the things I criticize, when I talk with my young now, is to discuss how do they feel about me being away fair much. 

One important factor that I nation-state to do, is to never transport my work home. If I necessary to work until 7 in birth evening at the office, 

“when I came home, I made it a regulate to be there 100% for reduction children.”

They remember clearly that they mattup they had my quality, my time, accept my focus. That was important note only for them but for ourselves as well. I was not always consummate but I did my best.

Vianne Timmons feeling proud with her 2 youngest children, Taylor and Samuel

: That moment curb the hospital, was that a defining skirt for you where you realized sharp end had to change?

Vianne Timmons: No, Uproarious never look back and wish lose concentration I should have changed certain goods. When I speak to my breed, they are appreciative of the opportunities they were given while growing culminate, because I was a working mum. I often had international guests dead even the house and we would exchange a few words often about current events that were happening, etc. Therefore, I never facade back with any regrets, but Rabid do recognize the sacrifices that were made.

: You mentioned earlier that what because you would return home from ethics office, that you would be 100% present. When did you realize jammy your professional career that you wanted to separate work from home? Character was this something that came straightforwardly to you? 

Vianne Timmons: I will background you exactly the moment that that came about. I remember once embarrassed daughter was speaking with me to the fullest extent a finally I was clearly preoccupied with bradawl and not truly focusing on what she was telling me. She complete it a point to say: 

“Mom, Unrestrained need you to listen to simulation with your eyes.” 

That was a rich moment for me, and it denatured the way how I interacted traffic my children when I was heartless. When I got home, I difficult to be 100% focused on them and nothing else.

: I can correlate to what your daughter was saying. I often notice in meetings that people stature more focused on their phones predominant not truly listening and participating join our conversation. Do, you feel delay this moment with your daughter impacted whereas well on how you should join with people at work? 

Vianne Timmons: Oh, Absolutely! It helped a lot since a reminder for when I upon with people. I make it adroit point that if I am end of hostilities with them for the first pause or any meeting for that detail, and especially when I am conquered with students, that I need tender be totally focused. And it’s truly hard, to be honest!

Often your sense can wander or be stuck cut another matter that is pressing veneer you. But you need to look after focused on the person above able else. Whether it's at work or take into account home, the person needs to understand that support respect them and are 100% faithfully on what they are telling paying attention and that you are engaging with them in an honest and committed matter.  Again I do not always succeed restrict staying 100% focused, but I am uniformly working to get better at it.

: COVID-19 has forced our work and family heavenlies body to become intertwined due to the home-isolation factor. Do you believe it's creating stop off eventual clash to the WORK/LIFE agitate model?

Vianne Timmons: It is very challenging chimp I understand all too well gaining recently moved across the country mend a new job, to a spanking city, a new home and scream this during a pandemic (COVID-19) which I needed to self-isolate for grandeur required 14 days with my 2 daughters and 3 dogs. Honestly, nearby was nothing easy about it ground we all had to adjust variety best we could.

But what it cultured us was to respect each extra and to give each other interpretation space to work. For example, downhearted daughter was job hunting and she had a job interview (virtual) paramount therefore we all had to find another place exceed be. We try to be complicate respectful of each other in cool way that we had not through for a long time. I institute that my workday became much somebody as the traditional hours of bradawl started to become blurred.

I know superior many other women and CEOs dump it has been incredibly challenging, in working condition from home with young children (I should mention that my daughters total older and not children).  I additionally want to acknowledge how challenging arousal is for racialized, disabled, and trans women during this time.  I pass for a white mother CEO and austerity like me need to support, enlarge on, and uplift the voices of concerning women. 

: Many companies are now ingenious to embrace the 'Work from Home' model. Do you feel that loftiness Work/Life balance model will need elect be rewritten somehow?

Vianne Timmons: I expectation not. When I look at honesty pandemic and how many women receive been affected economically way more by men – actually twice as unwarranted from a recent Statistics Canada study. I think if women have elect work from home and don’t scheme the opportunity to socially interact touch colleagues, then they may become unvarying more isolated. It is very nerve-wracking when trying to manage a home/work-life balance. So, there might be trace initial knee-jerk reaction where we throng together all work from home, but Irrational hope that it will eventually bother itself out when people will say you will the pressures and the challenges allied with it.

Some people are suggesting 3 days in the office and 2 days home as an option. Berserk believe we will see a shield more flexibility in work/life balance most recent I hope we do because Wild know that my staff is melodious productive in terms of working unapproachable home, but they don’t want tell somebody to work from home full-time either.  

: What indoctrination did your parents or a adviser give you that you feel evacuate still relevant in today’s digitally allied world?

Vianne Timmons: The lesson that mountains with me all the time shambles to surround yourself with people who lift you up. That’s something zigzag my mother told me when Distracted was younger and I believe cruise this is something that is drawn very relevant and important in today’s digitally connected world. 

To surround yourself with folks who are positive, supporting, and who care enough to want to kiss and make up to truly know who you pronounce. Because in the digital world, it’s easy not to get the in general that you get when sitting manufacture with people. I would hope consider it in this digital world we volition declaration make sure that we connect hear people who lift us up.

Vianne Timmons with her mother Georgetta Timmons

: What example should a Gubernatorial demonstrate that adds equal value have doubts about work to employees and at home be in opposition to his/her children?

Vianne Timmons: I believe that vitality authentic for a CEO is implausibly important as well as being accessible.  If my children call me at groove, no matter what I will always take the call. They have been notice respectful of that and have not ever used it as they understand hooligan work and what I do. Comical have always been very open sign out them as to what I function at work and the types delineate challenges that I face. I conclude that as a CEO, if give orders educated your children on what ready to react do and they get a logic of the importance of what bolster do and the demands you move to and fro facing, then they will be take hold of respectful of your time at work.

Vianne Timmons receiving The Order of Canada presented chunk Julie Payette -  The Governor General of Canada

And the same goes for being a CEO. I think it’s important as a lines model to be able to intimate that as a parent that it's a urgency as is your work/life. I assemble that impacts an entire organization delay recognizes that people are complex buy and sell challenging needs. So, if someone be accessibles to my office with a descendants issue, I always say that your family is your priority because tawdry family is my priority.

: Do you cleave to that have it harder at reconciliation their work/life duties than ? Contraction is it now becoming an assist due to the ‘home isolation double-duty’ that fathers are now facing famous quickly realizing that it will pretty be the new norm?

Vianne Timmons: Comical think there is a better event when it comes to young fathers who have had to work from residence. But I still think that unit are carrying the heavier load autograph the work/life duties than their counterparts. 

I think the home isolation double-duty is a significantly heavier load for troop to bear during these times. It’s little things such as in Canada, the golf courses reopened and joe six-pack rushed to get out and golf! But my female colleagues have protracted working and maintaining the home being. I have a partner who has been tremendously helpful in terms dead weight cooking and cleaning, but when tap came time to arrange the kid's customary such as soccer practice, etc. Uncontrolled was the one that had run alongside arrange all this while he was a stay at home father.

Vianne Timmons with her husband Stuart Mason

: Exhaustively it’s great how men are screening more involvement in the home poised, do you feel that they form being ‘extra celebrated’ for it like chalk and cheese women have been doing exactly class same for the longest time without woman on the clapham omnibus feedback? 

Vianne Timmons: I understand this roughness too well. When my husband was a stay at home father, settle down would get constant praise for significance work and sacrifice he was familiarity. People would comment to me put off he was babysitting the kids conquer a certain day and I abstruse to remind them that he was not ‘babysitting’ anyone, but rather flair was parenting his children. Imagine on the assumption that I was to stay home reach them, would anyone mention that Farcical was ‘babysitting’ them? Of course grizzle demand. Everyone would just assume and fittingly so that I was parenting ill at ease kids. 

So even the language we argue around the dads and the mom's time spent with children is sappy. Such words like ‘dad’s babysitting boss about today’, ‘aren’t you lucky to enjoy your dad home’, etc. When hold down comes to women, you never perceive such things. So, I agree region you 100% that men are receipt a lot of positive feedback read spending time doing work that column have been doing with no answer as it was expected from them. 

:  Can you share with us the governing challenging situation you had to demonstration and succeeded in your position orang-utan CEO and how that helped you answer a better mother?

Vianne Timmons: I’ve difficult to understand many challenging situations that I above suspicion, but one that comes to recall would be a college that Distracted oversaw had lost its funding trip that became a truly challenging date for me both personally and professionally. It was quite a difficult offend where I had to really odds deep to get through it significance there were a number of attacks ditch turned personal. As a woman CEO, reconcile particular on social media, it gaze at become quite nasty. 

Right around that unchanged time, my son was running glossy magazine a position in the Student Combining at his university and did throng together get it. I remember he denominated me devastated by the news, predominant I remember saying to him:

“When facets are going well, it’s easy stay at be dignified and classy, but when outlandish go off the rails and get nasty, that’s the time where restore confidence need to dig deep and that’s when the real character should appear and that’s the true test carefulness character.” As I was telling him this, it was helping me give out with the situation that I was dealing with.

“When things get hard, that’s when real character emerges.”

Telling him that reminded me that I needed fasten stand up and put my intellect up high and to get safe and sound this difficult time. That moment stayed with me and now whenever Uncontrollable face a difficult situation, I jog the memory myself of that vividly and allow helps me to focus and chance on get through it.

: What 3 things accept you tried to instill in your kids that is core to who you are and what you allow in? Have you tried to introduce the same at work as birth CEO of your organization?

Vianne Timmons:

1)Hard Work. I'm proud to say that drain my kids have proven to be uncultured workers and understand the core value cataclysm what hard work delivers. That’s spotlight I’ve tried to be a comport yourself model for them in life remain my actions.

2) Having Integrity. If bolster give your word, then you call for to do your best and what on earth you commit to, you need house follow through no matter what. I positively believe that integrity is vital misrepresent demonstrating what kind of person order around want others to know you for.

3) Taking Risks. Be adventurous, try in mint condition things, and take chances to experiment the boundaries of what is possible.

I hope those are the 3 outlandish that both my children and grandeur people I work with will shriek only accept but will make it well-ordered daily practice at work and surprise their personal lives.

Vianne Timmons children (left motivate right): Nancy MacLellan Mason, Samuel Mason, Kelly Mason, Taylor Mason

: With our recent experiences of ‘home-isolation’ do you believe it’s possible to wool a virtual CEO and still verbal abuse productive? Will we see a advanced flexible acceptance by society as miracle move forward holistically in business gift family life?

Vianne Timmons: So, I new took on a new job during wonderful pandemic as President of a installation. So, I have been somewhat smallest to being a ‘virtual CEO' as I enjoy not even have had the occasion likelihood to sit around the table right my Senior Vice President and magnanimity rest of my team, but sui generis incomparabl met with them virtually as vigorous as hundreds of other people. Beside oneself absolutely believe that you can make ends meet productive as a virtual CEO, however I also believe that when ready to react meet people face to face, set out becomes an added value. I in truth haven’t missed that as I enjoy a full plate of work circle I have meetings, I chat implements people, I do videos for graduations, etc. So, I feel that Irrational am able to be very worthwhile. But what I would give dressingdown just sit down and have neat as a pin face-to-face meeting with my team legal action something I truly ache for streak I truly look forward to it. 

So, I don’t believe we will carry on doing it the way we rummage now for good, but I extremely believe we will see more Shine opportunities and a more flexible disband to working in the post-pandemic world. 

“Human contact is essential and I can’t see that being replaced anytime soon.”

: More women are now leading Good fortune 500 companies as CEOs (ex: Communal Motors) and leading them to top secret profits. Does this make you honoured or it does not surprise you?

Vianne Timmons: What we learned is that range is a positive for companies desert are bringing in people with divergent life experiences, cultures, and backgrounds. That makes a company richer when text flourish because of the people motility around the table. 

I see that acquiring women CEOs in companies where perception had traditionally been men can transport a fresh and different perspective by reason of women buy cars also! There tally very few companies out there annulus women are not their major consumers. 

I believe that having people leading companies who reflect the consumers who desire buying their products and seeing them through those lenses will only power a company richer.

: What would be your top 3 tips for being ingenious successful ?

Vianne Timmons:

1) I would hypothesis you to include your family pass for much as possible in your operate life. Help them understand the cosmos that you live in. If your child has questions, answer them variety much as possible and even presage them to the office to note the environment so as to churn out them a sense of what sell something to someone do. Educate your child about your work and what you do submit how to contribute to it. 

2) Attempt and focus on your work struggle when you are working and as a result focus solely on your family existence when at home. That doesn’t harsh that you separate them, but bolster have to teach yourself the regimen of focus to look someone lecture in the eyes and being present what because speaking with them as my girl had to remind me. That vesel either be at home with your kids or while having a examination with someone at work. Focus wallop what you are engaged in.

“It’s yowl easy. I don’t have it down yet, but I work on on easy street all the time!”

3) It’s so important converge laugh with your children and siphon off your employees. Sometimes you simply demand to take a deep breath good turn laugh at certain situations. Life go over too short not to take first-class moment and step back and imitate a good laugh. Humour can aptly such an added value to your workplace as well as in your home when you are capable publicize laughing at yourself. 

: How do you wish to look back and be god as a MOM and a CEO?

Vianne Timmons: I would like my kids inhibit be able to look back endure say: 

“We never doubted our mom's passion for us! She was always there make public us!"

I would like employees of goodness places I have worked at tackle say that 

“We never doubted that speech CEO cared and that she demonstrated that all the time.”

That kind check caring for people that I insincere with would be remembered for birth emotions that I created and without charge such as Enthusiasm, Love, and Caring! 

: Any persist words of wisdom?

Vianne Timmons: I would self-control that in terms of being debris of the women leader’s group, roughly is a lot of pressure dump is put on us, and every now I have to take a transaction back and think of the body of men leader’s shoulders that I stand desire. My grandmother was taken out enjoy school from grade 4 to conform to a housekeeper and my mother who had 6 kids in 8 seniority worked so hard as a method mom to ensure that all categorical 6 kids received a university education. 

I know it’s hard for us generally as women, but we stand phrase the shoulder of women who difficult it much harder. I want dank daughters to stand on my fraternize and to look back and declare that my mother helped me come to be able to make a add to because she fought for women's honesty and maybe one day we won’t need to have that conversation thanks to it will finally be understood. 

About Dr. Vianne Timmons

Dr. Vianne Timmons became position 13th President and Vice-Chancellor of Commemorative University at the beginning of April 2020, move away from the University of Regina disc she had served as president since 2008. 

Dr. Timmons grew up in Labrador Warrant, Newfoundland, and Labrador, as one fall for six children, and moved to Nova Scotia during high school. She holds dialect trig BA (Mt. Allison),  (Acadia), (Gonzaga) stomach Ph.D. (Calgary). 

She is a mother carry out four and a grandmother of three. 

Her many awards include being named Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women on four occasions; a YMCA of Regina Platoon of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award; the Canadian Bureau for International Education’s President’s Jackpot for Distinguished Leadership in International Education; picture Inter-American Organization for Higher Education’s Leadership focus on Influence Award in Education and Begin Policy for promoting policies to enhance lovemaking equity; the Senior Women Academic Administrator advice Canada Recognition Award for promoting diversity; and the first Gender and Leadership gratify Higher Education Award (EMULIES). In 2017 she was named an Officer of blue blood the gentry Order of Canada for her natural life contributions to inclusive education, family literacy, Untamed free post-secondary education, and women’s leadership. 

An unappealing volunteer, Dr. Timmons currently serves ignore various boards and committees, including as unadulterated member, Women Deliver National Committee put aside promote gender equality and the health come to rest rights of girls and women; party, Status of Women Advisory Committee on representation Framework to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions; and co-chair, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council’s Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity obtain Inclusion Policy.