By Sarah Walker
When Devon Lacombe thinks back to what shaped her approach to work, she doesn’t start with her Harvard degree or her first job offer. She starts with the playing field.
“I’ve always had a passion for pushing and challenging myself, whether that be academically or athletically, and sports were always a big part of my life,” she says. “I love working together with a team to do hard things, to deliver great results, to push each other, support each other.”
A scorecard for career moves
That willingness to tackle hard challenges has been critical to Devon as she’s built her career. Devon systematically seeks out professional risks — armed with a decision-making framework that treats career moves like strategic plays.
“I create a scorecard and that includes non-negotiables, things that a job has to have because jobs have to tick certain boxes,” Devon explains. “You can’t compromise on non-negotiables but it’s often easier to compromise. Say you get an offer, and they praise and flatter you – you might think, ‘Well, I guess I can make it work,’ and you compromise. Then you’re stuck in a role that is not the right fit for you at that time in your life.”
That scorecard has evolved over the years as Devon’s personal priorities have shifted, and it has guided her through every one of her major career moves. Fresh out of Harvard, when choosing between roles at two high profile brands, she prioritized working for an inspirational leader. After business school, she discovered that client experience and innovation topped her must-have list. During her family-building years, she made schedule flexibility non-negotiable.
Finding the work that sparks energy
Devon’s current role as Vice President, Retail Investments at Scotiabank, represents the culmination of everything that motivates her and ticks all the boxes on her scorecard. “I absolutely love product ownership. I love being the person who is accountable for every facet of the product and accountable to the results,” she says.
But it’s not just the accountability that energizes her — it’s the impact potential. Devon’s passion for retail banking is rooted in the opportunity to improve the quality of life for Canadians through helping them achieve their financial goals. It can be difficult to navigate the financial system, but her work helps to create options for Canadians to save and achieve their dreams, like her work on launching products like the First Home Savings Account.
Devon believes the passion and energy she brings to her work stems from years of learning to trust her instincts.
Trusting your gut — but backing it with strategy
“You have to trust your professional ‘gut’ — especially when it’s trying to tell you something is wrong. Don’t ignore that feeling. Don’t settle for the status quo. If something does not feel right, it probably isn’t… there are always other options out there.”
But listening to your gut doesn’t mean acting too quickly. Devon encourages people to act on their gut feelings, even if that means sitting with the feeling to help understand ‘the why’ behind it rather than making immediate changes.
Discomfort as a signal for growth
Devon has come to learn that growth almost always happens outside of a person’s comfort zone and advises those she mentors to feel confident to take risks from time to time in your career – and she has not shied away from them herself. Following her own scorecard, she took a role that involved a large pay cut in the moment but gave her skills she needed and created more opportunity for her longer-term career progression. “A step back or sideways is sometimes the enabler of the greatest steps forward,” said Devon. Today, she actively seeks out discomfort, looking for learning opportunities that make her a little uncomfortable.
“I find so many people taking roles where they say, ‘Oh, I can totally do that. I can do everything on that list.’ And guess what? In six months, they’re bored out of their minds,” she reflects. “Don’t be scared to step up, step sideways, or step back — do something. If you’re not happy, try something different.”
“The first time you take a role where you feel like you’re out of your depth and you find that you don’t sink, you swim, you gain a little bit more confidence. Throughout my career, I have learned that doing things that scare me and being successful is how to build my confidence.”
Sponsorship isn’t luck, it’s strategy
When it comes to building sponsors, Devon advocates for a strategic but authentic approach — much like earning your spot on a starting lineup.
“I learned on the playing field that I have to earn the right to be part of the starting lineup. I’m personally not comfortable asking somebody who has had no exposure to my work to sponsor me. I need to earn my sponsors, and I work hard to do that every day.” Over the course of her career, she has jumped at opportunities to showcase her capabilities to influential people. “I have always worked with my manager to make sure that I’m getting opportunities to show my work and get feedback from a wider network.”
Managing energy like a finite resource
Lastly — and perhaps most practically — Devon says that to be great at what you do, you have to listen to your body and manage your energy strategically.
“I listen to my body and listen to myself. There are times when I have this ravenous energy to lean in, and there are times when I feel a little burned out, and I shut it down earlier,” she says. “There’s always work to do. There are times when a deadline dictates how much you work, and there are a lot of times when you dictate how much you work. Listen to your body and your needs outside of work. Balance is critical to success.”
For Devon, success comes down to embracing challenges and digging into things she loves to do.
“Don’t agonize over every single career move. Be thoughtful and intentional. One job is not the make-or-break of your whole career. Every challenge will make you stronger, and every setback will teach you something valuable. Never stop pushing yourself to grow.”
This article was first published in Women of Influence and is republished with permission.
