TESSA VIRTUE HAS A NEW JOB
What it’s like going from the podium to the corporate world
by Katherine Lalancette June 10, 2021
Most people spend a lifetime trying to achieve their ultimate goal.
Tessa Virtue checked hers off the list when she was 28. Who could forget that gold-medal performance in PyeongChang? The burgundy dress, the incandescent choreography. But nearly as soon as she and skating partner Scott Moir stepped down from the podium, everyone started asking the same question: What next?
After 22 years of training, rehearsing, perfecting, no longer having a clear objective in sight was “daunting,” says Virtue. “I’m so used to that structure and I’m so task-oriented and goal-oriented that I don’t like floundering.”
It’s why for a long time, she admits she threw herself into opportunities, often wearing busy “like a badge of honour.” “I just lost myself in work and I loved it. But I wasn’t really stopping to reflect and analyze.”
If there’s one thing COVID has been good for, it’s enabling us to do exactly that. Like many people, Virtue learned to give herself grace during this time, “realizing it’s okay to not be productive every single day of this global pandemic.”
Not that she hasn’t been productive. The former Olympian is currently half-way through an executive MBA at Queen’s University and has just started a new job at a global consulting firm (NBD). Only these days, it’s not about attaining perfection or coming out on top. “I just want to be a student, in every sense of the word.”
There have been a lot of changes in your life lately. How has that been for you?
“Well, I started my executive MBA at Smith School of Business, which has been an incredible challenge, one that I’d been longing to do for quite some time. And I’ve also started a corporate job, which has been both terrifying and really exhilarating. It’s been great to dive in and get that actual work experience that I’ve been lacking.”
Are you finding there are transferable skills from your previous career as an athlete?
“Surprisingly, yes. I was slow to come to see that or accept it, because I sort of felt like I needed to totally redefine myself. I realized there was a huge skill-set and so much knowledge that I needed to acquire in order to be successful beyond skating. But there are so many things that I can transfer as far as time and energy management, that positive self-talk, even communication when it comes to dealing with a team and empowering others. It’s refreshing in some way because most of the time, I think I’m behind my peers and colleagues, just with certain experiences and in the academic realm and even with work. So it’s kind of nice to feel like, ‘Okay that time wasn’t wasted.’”
Did you feel like you had to prove yourself to your fellow students or co-workers?
“I think I’m always trying to prove myself, but that’s just sort of my nature. I never want to take anything for granted and I never want to just be given something. So I really wanted to work for it and earn that credibility. And it’s such an accomplished group of students. It’s intimidating, actually, to be part of the conversations and to jump in. I have to challenge myself to do that because it’s just formidable what all these individuals have accomplished in their own respective realms.”
How has it been doing all of this remotely?
“It’s tough to pick up on the nuances of culture through video meetings but I’m just so grateful that I’ve been able to work and pursue education and do all of that from home in a safe way. I went from being at the rink and in gyms and dance studios to now everything being online, and Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. So as my life naturally progressed, it seemed fitting to be empowered and buy a Microsoft Surface. [Virtue is a Microsoft ambassador.] I truly feel that’s how I survived last year. I’m not that tech savvy and now I feel so equipped to manage and maneuver my schedule with school, business, personal—all of it.”
Have you started thinking about what you’d like to do after your MBA?
“I’m still figuring that out. I think school was a great short-term goal to set as a buffer between the two worlds. I want to get as much experience as I can in business. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so I imagine it will take shape and manifest in some form, but I’m not sure yet. I’m trying to stop myself from rushing into another project. I have so many fun and exciting things on the go right now that I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into one specific thing because I did that for 22 years—I was just an ice dancer. I’m trying to stay open and learn.”
Are you still skating from time to time, or have you sort of left that in the past?
“Not often, no. I did go through a phase where I was trying to reconcile that, partly because I didn’t want to be the person holding onto that. You know, showing up and people thinking, ‘Okay, that was 10 years ago. Stop talking about the Olympics already!’ That can’t be the pinnacle of my life, even though it was so special. But now, I’m realizing that person is in me and will always be, and those experiences are part of what has shaped me. So I’m trying to bring that forward with me. It’s fun to reflect. Sometimes I’ll call Scott and say, ‘Are you feeling this?’ or ‘Do you remember this?’ It’s healthy to remember and feel grateful for those experiences. But part of being an athlete is looking ahead to what’s next and wanting to improve, and I think that’s also my nature.”
Do you ever miss it?
“I miss the big stage. I miss performing. I miss the Olympics. But I don’t miss the pressure and I don’t miss that environment necessarily. I think it was really, or could be really toxic. I imagine it will be very difficult to watch the Olympics, even the summer Olympics and I have no business being at the summer Olympics! [Laughs]”
I imagine your life as an athlete must have been quite regimented. Have you maintained the same sense of routine since retiring?
“It’s a good question. I think naturally after retiring, the pendulum swung in that I wanted to be healthy and move and eat well, but it was more just because it felt good. It wasn’t because I felt I wasn’t good enough. Just kind of reframing that in my mind. I’m not strict with any of that and I think it’s because I lived with so much restriction before. As far as that discipline and routine, I would say it comes and goes in phases, and I’m okay with that. What I’ve found to be really helpful is just setting intentions and little micro goals for the day so that throughout a week, I’m actually accomplishing a hundred goals and they’re tiny things, but it’s something that I can hold on to and celebrate, so I can build that self-esteem when I’m not getting it in a different way.”
What has brought you joy in the last year?
“My dog! It’s so funny because even if we’re in the car and I have the windows down and she’s looking out, she brings joy to so many other people. I don’t know if that’s just a thing because she’s mine and I just assume everyone loves her! [Laughs] That’s been really special. You know what has really brought me joy? Just small simple things, like a bundle of tulips makes me ridiculously happy. Or trying a new recipe. Just mundane, real-life things that I was pretty sheltered from for so long. And now realizing it’s just those things that you need. Those are the things that matter.”
