How to lead beyond your comfort zone with Marc Monteil

Excellence doesn’t live in a slide deck; it shows up when the stakes are high and the ground is unfamiliar. That’s why we invited Mark Monteil, who left a successful manufacturing career to lead in New Caledonia’s mining sector, to unpack what changes when your decisions echo for years and people’s safety depends on your culture. The story starts with a courageous pivot: trading autopilot for responsibility. From there, it turns into a field guide for leaders who want to build trust in complex, high‑risk environments.

We dig into the practices that travel across industries, clear standards, daily discipline, and going to the field, while recognizing what must be translated to local context. Mark explains why the first step in transformation isn’t optimization but reconnection: introducing yourself to tribes, unions, and mayors; honoring ceremonies; and listening before fixing. He reframes emotional intelligence as hard protection, the difference between near‑miss and catastrophe, and shares prompts that surface unspoken risks. You’ll hear how psychological safety, humility, and systems thinking create the conditions for continuous improvement that actually lasts.

Along the way, we talk about avoiding the trap of labels. Rather than launching another program, Mark embodies timeless principles without the baggage of acronyms. We explore the tension between quarterly results and culture that compounds over years, and we map a path that blends quick wins with long‑term trust. Mark also opens up about the personal routines, meditation, running, and intentional presence that help him slow down, adjust speed, and bring people with him.

If you’re ready to lead closer to reality, fill your calendar with field time, and choose courage over comfort, this conversation is your cue. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs the nudge, and leave a review with the one behavior you’ll change this week.

Transcript

Welcome & Theme Of Courage

Nancy Nouaimeh 0:13

Excellence demands that we outgrow the limits we set for ourselves because no leaders ever transformed their world by staying where they felt comfortable. Welcome to the Excellence Foresight, the podcast where we explore how leaders build cultures of excellence that last across industries, borders, and uncertainty. Today's episode is particularly special because it's about courage, leadership, and making a difference when everything around you changes. My guest, Mark Monte, recently made a bold move leaving the can-making industry to take on a leadership role in the mining sector in New Caledonia on a completely different continent. Mark brings a rare combination of operational leadership, emotional intelligence, and organizational excellence. This conversation is not about theory. It's about what excellence looks like when you step out of your comfort zone and choose to lead differently. Mark, welcome to the Excellence Foresight. Please tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Marc Monteil 1:15

Hello, Nancy. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm really, really happy to be here with you and your audience. What will I say? My journey has never been really linear. When I was about 11, I wanted to be an engineer already. Because for me, engineering meant imagination. You build things, you create, you make ideas real. And I did my engineering degree, but then I realized I was just as fascinated by something else. Really how people work together, how organizations run, and why the same system can produce very different results depending on leadership and culture. So I went on and I did an MDA in international business. Then early in my career, I joined a packaging company during a big transformation. I had a chance to go to Japan to learn the Toyota Way, Geisen, TPM, continuous improvement. That experience I would say changed my DNA deeply. I was going to say NDA because I'm mixed up, but really my my DNA. And it it changed how I see problems, not as obstacles, but always as opportunities to learn and to improve. You see things like solutions, and you are you become a solution provider, and you are really more customer focused or customer-centric from this time. Since then, I've worked across manufacturing, gun-making, as you mentioned, textile. I had the chance of building factories, transforming teams, sometimes unfortunately closing sites. To be honest, I never chased location. This was never my dream of where I would start and where I will work. It was more about the challenges. And by doing that, it took me across many countries and continents. I went, I worked and lived in Africa, in Middle East and Europe. And I thought thanks to that, I learned a lot. And it taught me, I would say, that respect and clarity travel everywhere. Over time, I was really fascinated with it was not only performance which was really important. It was how and why trust, culture, leadership, behaviors can really change something that can make a difference. So moving to come back to your question, so moving to mining in New Caledonia, for me it was not a career upgrade. It was a choice to go where leadership really matters, high risk, real impact, and strong cultural roots, especially in uh in New Caledonia. I didn't change industry to be comfortable. I changed industry to be what I will say useful. And Nancy, again, thank you really for inviting me.

The Leap To Mining In New Caledonia

Nancy Nouaimeh 4:20

Mark, this is really a pleasure to have you on this podcast. And it's an impressive journey. I think you've worked in a multicultural environment. You've changed your DNA, I think, many times. And I'm sure our listeners will benefit a lot from the discussion here today. So let's start with the big move. You transitioned not only across industries, but from one sector to another and across continents. What drove that decision? And I think you alluded a little bit to it in their introduction, but what made you really say yes, let's go and change?

Marc Monteil 4:50

Honestly, it was uh yes, this career pivot has been a mix of discomfort and alignment. It has been a mix of both. Where I was professionally, I felt that I was starting to operate a bit on automatic mode. You know, like when you when you when you do jogging and you run and you just forgot to breathe, and you just walk and run, and you don't just follow the road, but you are not really you are in automatic, you are in pilot uh automatic mode. And for me, it's a risk. When you stop learning, when you slow or slowly stop evolving, uh I don't like to be in automatic mode, I like to be that it has to be engaging, evolving, and growth. So I was drawn to an environment where leadership has consequences beyond KPIs. Um in the mining industry, in New Caledonia, of course, you have safety like many industries, but mining safety is very, very important, very critical. Um, we are like in a Veso site, I don't know if it's in English Veso. That's uh we are losing dynamite, you are called uh death in our industry, it's it's very dangerous eventually if you don't apply all the safety rules. The importance of communities, as uh you have to respect the land, the tribes, the where you are involved for the past and the future. So you have long-term responsibility as well. And for me, New Caledonia was not familiar territory, I've never been there before, but it aligned with my values, uh, people, and human aspect itself, build and live something stronger than you found it. And I'll say something simple. After years working in mostly in English environments, also, Berness, it was also nice to speak French again and go back to a French speaking uh environment. I didn't move away from manufacturing, I moved towards uh responsibility. This is what uh I would say on for for these questions.

Nancy Nouaimeh 6:56

Mark, this really takes a lot of courage, I think, and I think you chose growth over familiarity, and this is something very, very important, I think. And being able to take risks and have adventures in new countries, and I think you alluded to the communities also, which is something uh when we were preparing, you spoke about like that you needed to really understand these communities. And that's I think as a leader, this really helps um uh helps to grow and uh face new challenges. And uh when we talk about excellence, Mark, we assume that excellence models only work in certain industries and you are in a completely new environment. From your experience, uh, what leadership principles transferred seamlessly with you to this new environment? And what challenged you the most in the mining uh industry, which is completely different from like being in manufacturing and uh and compliant, I mean um highly regulated environment.

Transferrable Principles Vs New Realities

Marc Monteil 7:50

Yes, you're right. It's a very, very good question, Nancy. I said what transfers seems seamlessly, argue my English, is respect for systems and people, and to combine them together. You cannot work independently, you cannot only work on systems and you cannot only work on people. So my approach, and I've seen it across all the countries and industry have been working on is uh you need to have clear standards, you need to have daily discipline, you need to go into the field. I think in Japanese we said gamba, listening before fixing, and I will come back to that later on the importance of listening, and especially in New Caledonia, but not only what challenged me most in the time horizon in match manufacturing feedback is fast. In mining, like I would say, decision can echo for years. So the the mining where I'm working started in 1888, so a couple of three years ago. Uh and then you have its impact generations. I have people in the factory or the mine that are working for six or seven generations. Um, so the DNA again is very important of what you do today, how that does impact the generation of and future generation. And culturally, the first step is not for me optimization, the first step is reconnection. How you connect with your environment, how you connect with your people, how you connect with your shareholders, stakeholders, XK. You need here to introduce yourself properly. Uh there is a kind of culture ceremony that before starting work, if you miss the introduction at the start, then you will miss the rest of your career. So you go back to the roots and basic to say hello, to go to the communities where you present yourself, the community introduce themselves, you take time to listen. And you do this also with all your teams, with your unions, with the mayors. It's a full introduction communication people uh to start with. It's you don't jump directly to the machines and the KPI and your budget and your habitat and your cash flow. This, of course, is important, but if you miss the human connection with your communities, mayors, union teams uh in New Caledonia, then you can take your ticket back and it you will sell from the beginning.

Nancy Nouaimeh 10:26

So back home.

Culture, Ceremony & Community Trust

Marc Monteil 10:28

Yeah, back home or yes. I mean, at least they will not keep you for the job because the door does not open. You cannot have a discussion. It's it's so important. Here, yeah, for example, there is a ceremony when you you do uh offer some gift, which is uh a piece of uh cloth, uh it's called uh manu in French, but it's like uh uh parero or um how would I call it in English? Uh Java cloth uh textile. It's very traditional, which is quite interesting because I did manufacture that when I was in Ghana. So the the textile you give is the the yarn of creating a link between the communities and the people. So it's it's a lot of symbols behind that, very powerful. So before doing a transformation, you go back to basic. Uh sometimes we forget in big cities, but you said hello, you say thank you. You have a lot of gratitude. And this is something also in New Caledonia which was very impressive when I was in New Mea on the round that you cross people in the street, you cross people in the car, um, people just said hello. Uh, they don't expect anything in return, it just uh greets you. Uh and it's it's quite nice. I was initially I was educated like that when I was uh in Europe a long time ago. But now when you said hello to someone sometimes in Paris, and people are scared, they think that you are going to ask something, want something, or they change even the pavement. Uh, here it's the opposite. If you don't say, if you don't start to listen and say thank you, then you don't open the gate of dialogue. So you need to listen. So this is really uh something different. It's I don't know if it's a mix, I don't think I cannot say if it's the mining things because I've not been enough in many mining, but it's part of the human being side of New Caledonia. Uh this is the kind of transfer that I can uh I can recognize. So it's really startup, discipline, going to the field and listening before fixing.

Nancy Nouaimeh 12:33

This is really impressive, Mark. And I think you're you're picturing um here um a new environment, I think, for me and for all our listeners. And it's really important to see that you're focusing on listening and respecting people and to go and observe and uh being part of that community. And I'm um what what uh struck me is that you said this is really the long-term impact of the leader, right? So you the decisions echo for years, and we don't really think about it. We don't think about the impact of leaders when we take sometimes uh decisions on the go. So um I think this is where where I see her impact, and I think it's it's really great to be able to contribute to the community and also to the to the industry there. And uh when you're talking, I mean, a lot of what you were saying is really about emotional intelligence, and I think this is one of your strengths. How can you really make these situations uh work and these new connections work? So, do you have any example where you could share a little bit about um an emotion a moment where emotional intelligence changed an outcome for you, especially now in your new setup?

Marc Monteil 13:34

Um yes, no, thank you. We may not use, I realized here the world of emotional intelligence as such is is is not used much or it's people are scared about it. But the emotion and the importance of listening, yes, the empathy, yes. I mean, all the skills around emotional intelligence are are very critical without mentioning it, without necessarily having a knowledge or understanding of what is behind the concept or the global skills of emotional intelligence. But if I take in mining, emotional intelligence is not soft, it's really protective. Because when someone stops a job because something feels wrong, that's I would say it's also emotional intelligence. Um when a supervisor listens instead of proving authority, that's emotional intelligence. It's not like everywhere. I've seen some people that are, I would say, not born with, but they've got these strong uh skills compared to others which are more autocratic and in the control and command. Those who have more emotional intelligence skills will be more into the uh trust and uh inspiring, and then they have this dialogue. And I've seen that quite a lot in the tribes where I've been introduced because they have a complete process of listening to people. Sometimes it's very hard. People they said speak truth or uh very very hard in a way of expressing what they feel, but it's not personal, they just express what they are feeling. Uh so you should not take it personally, it's an expression of the emotion. And you need to leave or not leave, but uh give the chance of the person to empty all this sometimes anger or energy or passion, not react directly, let it cool down, and then you can you can react. And this it's something that I have I have I have seen that if you do that, it does help, of course. Uh, and but it's not yet natural, of course, uh for everybody. What I've seen is high risk, we are as I mentioned before, we are in high-risk environments. And high risk environments, mining, they rarely fail because of procedures. We have plenty of SOPs, procedures, what you should do, what you should not do. They will fail when or because people don't feel safe to speak up. So you need to have a safe environment, mental and physical, where people feel in a safe environment to express themselves. And then it's where AI or not AI, AI, so emotional intelligence becomes very practical. Um, you really need to make sure, and it's not only from mining, but it's so strong in mining industry. So, one one question I ask often is what are we not saying right now that matters? Because sometimes that single sentence changes everything. It's like a repose. And people uh need to have this emotional intelligence need to develop to be able to feel free to speak. And sometimes you have the pressure of the culture where you are. You don't talk if you are elder, you don't talk if you are someone which is uh hierarchy and and you don't feel legitimate to speak. Uh, so you need to have this safe trust environment first, I would say. And this is a key element for developing emotional intelligence.

Nancy Nouaimeh 17:06

Absolutely. And I think we've been talking a lot about psychological safety, um, especially after the COVID. And I think this is where people feel that they can really say and stop work if required. And this is one of the things we we we teach when we talk about the shingle principles, Mark. And I know that maybe the model is not rolled out um I mean in your company now, but uh we've had previous discussions about the model, and uh the shingo principles show up in a lot of day-to-day um leadership activities. Do you have a couple of examples maybe to share? How do you think? And you've already talked about listening and being present, but other other uh principles, how do they show up in your day-to-day uh leadership um activities now?

Emotional Intelligence As Protection

Marc Monteil 17:47

Yes, and thank you, and I know that you are you are really yeah, I'm lucky that I know you and you are an expert in the shingo model. I have some experience in it as well, but not as your strong expertise. And uh I'm using Shingo and the way of life and all other guys and system, but here I'm I'm very careful with labels. So if I arrive saying let's use the Qingo model, uh it sounds like another program and it's not uh a program from the group at this stage. We've got our own um we'd collect uh we've got different uh group programs. But for me, I'm still even if I don't use the label, I don't use shingle as as a name. But the principles I use, I mean uh respect, humility, system thinking, they are timeless, and these are values from the shingle uh system, if I'm not wrong. Is it correct?

Nancy Nouaimeh 18:40

Uh absolutely, absolutely.

Marc Monteil 18:44

I was uh suddenly as a cloud. So I don't try to implement shingo as a brand, I try to behave it. So people, what I've seen is they don't experience models, they experience leaders' behavior under pressure. So this is how I'm uh operating uh implementing the the shingle spirit without mentioning spingo, but step by steps at the same time.

Nancy Nouaimeh 19:12

Mark, you're touching a great point here, you're saying without labels. I I do totally agree with you. I think and I've started my newsletter leading in alignment. And one of the things is that we created a lot of frameworks, we created a lot of methodologies, and we rather than creating harmony and synergy, we're separating sometimes key elements in organization because we label them, we label them differently. And I totally agree with you. I think we have to live live the things we believe in, we have to live the principles and have a certain way of life and way of leading where it brings people together, create synergy, um, help us get the best outcome. And I think that's where maybe companies are getting it wrong, and leaders is that they're creating rather than creating synergies, they're creating silos in the way they're introducing things and talking about methodologies and programs. I think it's we need to bring together everything that works for an organization considering its context and try to get the best for that organization. But labeling and creating separations and frameworks and methodologies, I think, is taking us in the wrong direction. So thank you for highlighting that.

Marc Monteil 20:14

And uh just for interrupt you, Nancy on that, I will add if you don't mind, is uh this structure program like action like Shingua are very for me are very good and very helpful. The difficulties we face, uh we may we might uh face sometimes is it's not a quick win, one-shot exercise. It's a cultural long-term way of working and it's a philosophy at the same time. And the challenge is when you work for companies which are on the stock exchange market, especially, where you have on the shareholders, you need to bring results on a three-month quarterly basis. So you have always to balance between a long-term program and starting to deliver results uh on a very short period of time. So this is sometimes also uh a conflict or a challenge of life. It's a reality, so just need to manage it at the same time.

Nancy Nouaimeh 21:13

Absolutely. And and we need to have quick wins. I think we we should always keep the focus on the long term, but we need to have some quick wins to keep the momentum mark. And and I totally agree with you. And that's the question usually we're asked: how long does it take for me to change my culture? Say it depends. It depends where you are, it depends what value priorities, depends where you want to go. So absolutely. I mean, thank you for this advice. Uh, it's it's very important, I think, to keep that in mind um as leaders. And Mark, you you've had a great experience, it seems like, so far in your new role and your new life uh adventure. So, can you tell us maybe a little bit something more personal? Um, how did this experience bring out something you need more personal uh to you? I mean, a leader cannot separate his personal life and personal experiences from from professional somehow, but for you at the personal level.

Marc Monteil 22:03

At the personal level, I was at first I really enjoyed the early wake-up at 4 30 in the morning with the sun on fire.

Nancy Nouaimeh 22:10

Beautiful.

Principles Without Labels

Marc Monteil 22:13

Lovely uh bird songs uh and the uh waves of the sea that you can see almost from everywhere around the New Caledonia. So this is magical. So even if we have a lot of pressure and it's always difficult, I think it helps me to um pause, uh look around, take a big breath, uh breathing, it's very important. Slow down because if you don't take the time to slow down, you are always in the movement, and then you you may miss what's around and the dynamic. Uh so this is something I find very uh nice and very important for realignment or alignment with myself, in fact, uh in New Caledonia. And entering a new culture, it forces presence. And I need to be uh really present. It's at the beginning, it was very strange. It was the first month, it was very tiring for me. It was like I remember the first time I was in Scotland and at 4 p.m. when I was learning Scottish and English, and I was so exhausted and so tired of learning a new language. And here, even if it's French speaking, new company, new acronyms, three letters, four letters, uh, French, and and then new things about mining. I was really, really, really tired and exhausted at the end of the day. Like I was learning a new language. It took me a while to adapt. But at the same time, it gave me so much energy and joy. And uh I felt, or I feel, I don't know which one will be the right one. I think both probably. I felt in love with the we call it the the stone, the cause, uh, the New Caledonia. I find it's uh wonderful, very difficult in terms of diversity, but this is what makes it so important. Uh at the same time it's forced me to be quieter, more observant. So you stop, you look around, and you discover things. But if you're in the movement when you're running or or walking, you don't see it because you are going too fast. So you and also I need to be more patient with the complexity, uh, because if I go, I try to go too fast first, then then it's like uh I'm in a train, but nobody is inside the train, so then there is no interest. So I need to make sure that I don't want to slow down too much, but I need to make sure I find the right speed that I can engage and get commitment and have the team and the people on board. So this is uh fine, you need to adapt also uh to your environment. And I would say I don't know if it's personal, yes, you wanted to ask, sorry.

Nancy Nouaimeh 24:49

Something or no, I'm just reflecting on what you're telling what you're saying, Mark. It's all about balance, right? So we need to be patient but at the same time get results, we need to be observant and in the same time being able to act. So I think for for a leader, create, I mean, having good balance uh is is very important, and um what you're talking about is is exactly that.

Marc Monteil 25:10

What I have uh as a practical example, so everyone finds his own way. Since I'm here, I really do meditate morning before I start my day, and also before I uh go to sleep, I do meditate again and I try not to try, I run uh three, four times per week. Not long, it's not about speed, it's just to uh uh to get out and look around and enjoy the not for I would not say fresh air because it's like 32 degrees Celsius, even in the evening for now, so it's quite hot, but still enjoying the the scenery and the environment. And this helps to balance uh your your mind, your body, your your spirit, and uh what's happening in the day. So this is something that's helped me to, even if I was in a non-comfort zone or in a different zone, at least it helps me to find some um anchor. And regarding the ship, I said it's not about having all the answers. I don't have all the answers, I've got many questions. It's more about creating conditions where I try to help my team to have answers that can emerge. So, and then we all grow together. This is uh what I will say from for for this comfort zone particular.

Nancy Nouaimeh 26:23

Yeah, I think I mean this is really great. Uh, thing, I mean, sometimes people yeah, forget leaders forget that we grow together, right, with the team. So it's important to have that. And Mark, if you look now from five or ten years ahead, what emerging behaviors, capabilities, or mindset do you believe leaders will need and not any more optional to have to thrive in complex and high-risk environments like yours? So, what are the what's the key things you would tell the leaders focus on now to be able to succeed in the future? Can you give us a couple of those um items?

Balancing Long Term With Quick Wins

Marc Monteil 26:56

I mean some advice are really now. Yeah, yes. Some advice I already know what would come directly out of my mind, three things. First, don't confuse urgency with clarity because culture does not resist change, as people resist being changed without being understood. So it's uh you need to lead closer to reality. And what I've seen is if your calendar is full of meetings but empty of the field, then you are not you are leading blind. So and uh third, uh transformation starts with trust. So I mentioned that in the beginning, but I think building trust takes time, but it's something very very important. Uh is and is it yeah, this is what you come back. Do you want to uh also is it the lesson learned? Maybe that's intuitive. That's why I'm not thinking that uh listening what I'm speaking, but I mentioned that I think several times during our discussion today. It's it's so important, active listening. That you put your phone on the side, you you stop your computers, and and the presence and the time you've got even if it's five minutes or ten minutes, you are you put your notification off and you are with the person, human being that you are in front of you, and you take the time for that. Otherwise it's um yeah, it's very important, definitely. And silence means respect, reflections, relationship. So it's really uh I think it's as mentioned also at the beginning, leaderships you either you adapt to this environment, especially in New Caledonia, or you stay foreign, you stay foreign. This is will be my my my what I learned so far with a couple of concepts up in there.

Nancy Nouaimeh 28:56

These are great advices, Mark, and I think active listening. And what you're talking about is really about soft skills of leaders, right? So we we know the technical part of things is I think we all get it. It's more really about how to build connections, synergies, and make things happen, which is very important. And you said transform, transformation starts with trust. I think that's the hardest thing. We can't really burn steps in the beginning. We you can't really burn steps when you create trust. So you need to create that and then transform. And that's I think very important. So I'm sure the listeners will um take a lot of good lessons um as they listen to this episode. And as we come too close to the end um of our episode, what stands out um in your in your journey, Mark, is that excellence is not about the industry, it's about how leaders show up, especially when the context changes. And this is exactly why uh excellence models work around, I mean, uh works uh um across different industries, right? So they are there to help us, and especially when like the shingle model is principle-based um excellence model, it's crowded in principles and behaviors and not tools. And in all what you what you already said, it's really about the behaviors, it's about how people interact, how leaders interact with others, how leaders create uh environments for people to be able to thrive and to do the right thing. So if there's one thing you hope leaders take away from your experience, we spoke about money. What would be the one thing you tell them focus on it now?

Marc Monteil 30:22

I will come back exactly as you said regarding excellence. Now I would say excellence is not comfort refined, it's really courage, practice, daily. And I will advise leaders that go where your leadership is needed most, not where it's uploaded most. This is will be my uh uh word of hand word for today. If I have no my ending word for today would be first to thank you for this conversation, of course, Nancy and the audience, and to thank um everyone listening. Thank you for your time and really for your openness.

Personal Practices For Presence

Nancy Nouaimeh 31:02

Mark, thank you. I mean, uh I should be thanking you for your honesty, your leadership, and for reminding us all that real excellence begins when we choose courage over comfort, right? So we can't really make a difference if we stay in our comfort zone. And to our listeners, if this conversation resonated with you, reflect on this question. What comfort zone might you need to step out of to make a real difference as a leader? Thank you for listening to the Excellence Foresight. Until next time, stay focused on building systems, cultures, and leadership behaviors that endure. Mark, thanks again.

Marc Monteil 31:34

Thank you. Thank you, Nancy.