The Best That We Are: Stantec’s Arliss Szysky on Perseverance, Advocating for Others, and Putting Fear Aside
By Gail Kutac
Calgary-based Arliss Szysky is inspired by the creativity, beauty, and diversity of a community. As a leader at Stantec, she creates collaborative relationships and innovation approaches that achieve impactful design and business outcomes. Her approach to business is founded in people — whether engaging clients, project teams, or the benefactors of the space she helps make. Lending her expertise to game-changing projects, Arliss is inspired by the opportunity to shape the spaces around her.
In her interview with Gail Kutac, Arliss talks about working across all business lines - building practices, community development, environmental services - and showing kindness, advising those just starting their careers to believe in their potential.
GK: How did your interest in engineering and the built environment develop?
AS: I was always interested in building things, even as a child. I enjoyed being creative, but I was also analytical, and I think that’s an interesting combination to have. A lot of times people are one way or the other. I remember in Grade 11 when I went to an architecture firm for career day. I loved the design development, but I was also interested in the details of how things could be built. So when I looked at my career and where to start after high school, I decided to pursue an engineering degree and, frankly, it was because it was one of the toughest degrees! I felt that if I could survive engineering, I could survive anything, and it would give me a good foundation.
What did you learn about yourself in studying engineering?
Perseverance! No matter how hard something is at the time, you can forge ahead and get through it. It taught me that I could take that extra step, regardless of how scary it might be. When you succeed, you realize you’re resilient. That then helped prepare me for a challenging career, moving from a male dominated field in university to then working in the consulting industry, dealing with very complex projects, different types of clients, and multiple disciplines.
BMO Centre image credit Calgary Muncipal Land Corporation.
So you’ve got your degree at this point, now how did you get your start in the field?
I started with a small consulting firm in Calgary, Alberta, where I am from. I am very grateful that I had a professor who helped make that initial connection. When someone does that for you, in the future, you want to help make those connections for other people too. I always try now, when I have conversations with students, to help kick start their careers. I think it’s very hard when you’re coming out of university with a degree - how do you make it over that first hurdle? You can see where some people have had that support, coaching, and the connections, to get that first opportunity and kick off a career.
Then I had an opportunity to join Stantec. I felt very fortunate that I had started my career at a place where I enjoyed working with the people and didn’t feel like I needed a change. I saw the opportunity with Stantec, given the size and breadth of the firm, to work with a lot of different types of professionals and to get exposure to larger, more complex projects. But I was quite comfortable with where I was! I was a young engineer in my late 20s, and the thought of change scared me. If it’s something new, it should scare you a little bit. As soon as you get comfortable, I think that leads to some complacency. So I stepped up and took that opportunity with Stantec and I’ve been quite fortunate to progress through the company in various roles, to now be a Senior Vice President and the Business Leader of Operations for our Buildings Practice.
You had your entry level job, then moved to Stantec, and you’ve been there ever since?
I’ve been at Stantec for almost seventeen years now and I can’t imagine a better global design firm to work for. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to start with one firm but then to ultimately find a firm like Stantec where they have the breadth and depth for me to grow and develop with different roles within the same organization.
I started my career at Stantec in the Transportation group, working my way up from delivering the technical aspects, to being the project manager, to the practice lead, and then to the managing lead of 70 people. Then I had an opportunity to take over as the Regional Leader of Alberta South here in Canada. That was an interesting role because it worked across all business lines, so it was collaborating with the Water group, the Buildings practice, Community Development, Power, Energy and Resources, Environmental Services - I’m sure I’m missing a few [laughs] - but it was across all business lines. For women, we often think we need to be overqualified for something before we step up and put ourselves out there. I remember at the time thinking, “Oh, I’m not there yet - I need more experience, I need to work in my current role longer.” I decided to apply after two male colleagues told me, right before the job posting closed, “You know, you’d be great at that. You should put your hand up and try.” It was outside of my comfort zone, and I wondered if I was ready for that. I have to thank my colleagues who encouraged me. So now if I see someone in my industry and there’s a job opening that I think they are well suited for, I feel it’s a responsibility, as we get more senior in our careers, to say, “Hey, I’d like to recommend this for you.” I think that encouragement, especially for women, goes a long way.
“...sometimes it’s easier to stay where you currently are and continue to be successful, but it’s another thing to push yourself and to try something new.”
I was in the Regional Leader role for almost six years when this opportunity within our Buildings Practice came along. It was a similar situation, where I had heard about the posting, and I had some very senior leaders in my organization reach out to me, and I was absolutely interested. To me, this is the combination of all the things I like to do. It’s the high design aspect of buildings, it’s using my analytical background, as well as my desire to run a business. To have all of those pieces come together, this was the ultimate role for me. I can say now, as soon as I’ve started tackling it, I’m having so much fun doing it that I can’t imagine having not stepped up for the opportunity and the challenge. There are always lots of challenges in new roles and sometimes it’s easier to stay where you currently are and continue to be successful, but it’s another thing to push yourself and to try something new. For me, it brings back a new level of passion and excitement.
That’s an impressive progression and shows the importance of having not just mentors but people to advocate for you within your organization. What have been some of the biggest challenges so far in your career?
Perhaps I could touch on the elephant in the room or in Canada it’s what we call the dead moose on the table - the challenge of balancing family, career, and “having it all.” We’re constantly trying to figure out how we can balance family life and career, but what I came to realize is that one doesn’t have to suffer at the hand of the other. I have two wonderful daughters who are 13 and 10 and I don’t think you have to hide your desire to have children, or the fact that you have children and how sometimes you want to balance it out. I’ve been very fortunate with Stantec that they have given me the flexibility and the autonomy to have both, where I can foster a career and contribute in many ways but am still able to balance family life.
I think if we hide ourselves, it doesn’t allow us to be the best person we are at work. We talk about this a lot when it comes to inclusion and diversity - you want to allow people to be their true selves. It’s the same for a career minded working mother - I still have children, sometimes I want to attend that school performance. How do I balance those things? I think you have to speak up for that and say, “This is how I want to function and can manage my responsibilities,” and don’t hide who you are.
Arliss is an active supporter of Stantec’s community engagement and the firm’s commitment to making a difference in the places where they live and work.
Lending her creativity to game-changing projects like the BMO Convention Centre expansion, Arliss is inspired by the opportunity to shape the communities she serves.
It sounds like you’re an amazing boss! Do you have any direct reports who are women?
I do. I’ve always wanted to foster and mentor women and am proud to have sat on Stantec’s Inclusion and Diversity Council for Canada since its inception. I feel that it needs to be an open conversation and we need to talk about what everyone needs in order to bring their true selves to work. How do we foster a more inclusive work environment - and that can mean so many different things. But I think it’s also an easy question to ask what’s going on in someone’s life. For example, are they dealing with the challenges of aging parents? Sometimes it doesn’t have to mean belonging to a certain group, sometimes it’s just life challenges. During Covid, we’ve seen so many people trying to manage their home lives in different ways. I try to be open to the different ways people can function and work and allow them to do their best work under their own context.
What has been a highlight of your career?
Winning and being involved in the BMO Convention Centre Expansion here in Calgary. It is an absolutely iconic project. It’s city-shaping for us, from a design perspective, but also the fact that it’s a convention center where we are going to be welcoming people from around the world to our City. I’m also working with great clients - Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and the Calgary Stampede. I think when you find the right partnership, an awesome project with a client that you can collaborate with, you can achieve greatness in terms of the design, and have a positive experience over the four or five years. I’m fortunate to be the executive sponsor on that project, and have a strong team working on it with us. I recognize how important relationships are to the success of the project, as so often clients want to work with teams they know, like, and trust.
“It’s something important to think about every day - how have you shown kindness to other people today?”
That is the cornerstone of running and developing a business! Who are you admiring right now and why?
There are two people I have in mind. The first one is Michelle Obama. I saw her live - it was a highlight, and who would have thought that she’d come to Calgary, Alberta! This was about three years ago, and I ended up taking some of my female colleagues. Even now I reference back on different points she talked about because she’s so successful but so relatable. She didn’t come in with an air of arrogance, despite everything she’s accomplished. She talked about real life challenges and shared stories that showed that no matter how successful you are in life, and whatever spotlight you’re in, just be true to yourself and who you are. It was just wonderful to see her, and I admire her persona and how she puts herself out there in the public world and the stories that she shares to help other women through their careers.
The other person is Amanda Gorman. What I admire about her is the fact that she put herself out there at the inauguration. I think so many times, it’s easy to stay back and not put yourself in the spotlight, but there was a clear sense that she believed in herself, she stood up, she took a leap and wasn’t fearful. She came forward with such bravery and I think that’s really encouraging.
Michelle Obama and Amanda Gorman have influenced and inspired so many people. What’s the impact you’d like to have in the world? What would you say is your core mission?
Having an engineering background and an interest in design, the impact I’d like to have is to leave the places where we live better than how they started. I think that comes back to when we look at the projects we’re doing, the buildings we’re creating, that they are desirable places where people want to visit, live, work, and play. We are trying to leave something of significance behind. We need to think about everything we’re building - there’s a period of time it’s going to be there - and how does it contribute to the built environment? I’m proud when I travel around my city and say that I have had a hand in a project, and to see how I’m contributing to people’s lives and to a positive environment.
My core mission is a basic one and it’s about showing kindness to people. It’s a basic thing that we can all do. I think everything stems from being kind, no matter what tough conversation you’re having with someone, maybe a direct report or a colleague who’s not performing well, you can still have that conversation but do it in a kind way. In our world, as you venture out and are interacting with a lot of people, you can show kindness in ways that are small. It’s something important to think about every day - how have you shown kindness to other people today? The more we do that, the better the world functions.
A respected industry expert, Arliss often shares her insights and thought leadership with internal and external audiences.
What advice do you have for someone starting their career and would your advice be any different for women?
For starting a career, you need to believe in your potential. Know that you can do it, if you want to do it, and if you want to put the time, energy, and focus into it. But you have to believe in yourself first. You also need to embrace who you are, not try to present yourself as something different, be proud of who you are.
My advice for women in particular would be to put fear aside, don’t be paralyzed by it. If it scares you, it’s likely good for you, and to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, and that’s how you’ll grow and develop. If you sit back and get too comfortable, you’re not going to develop or live up to your potential. We need to quiet our voices of self-doubt and put aside the fear - put your hand up and give it a try.