The Biggest Change I Ever Managed Was My Own
A Part of the WIA Today Change Management Series
By Jacqueline Langlois, Gen D Consulting, with Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Women in Agribusiness Media (September 8, 2026)
In this fifth installment of our change management series with consultant Jacqueline Langlois, founder and CEO of Gen D Consulting, we switch things up. Instead of a deep dive into a single framework, we’re sitting down with Jacki for a candid Q&A about the biggest change she’s ever navigated: leaving corporate to build something of her own.
Over the course of this series, we’ve explored navigating chaos, rethinking feedback, leading with influence, and building mental fitness. But underneath every framework Jacki teaches is a story - and this one starts with a choice. An expat assignment ending, a corporate reorg underway, and a question most leaders carry quietly: what if I bet on myself?
Jacki’s work centers on what she calls human intelligence - the behavioral shifts, perceptual shifts, and mental fitness that enable leadership to scale in ways that technology alone can’t. In this conversation, she pulls back the curtain on what it actually looks like to practice that in your own life.
Here’s the conversation...
WIA Today: You had a 15+ year career in agriculture and life sciences, working globally for major corporations. What made you walk away from that?
Jacki: I didn’t walk away from it, I walked toward something else. That distinction matters to me.
I was at the end of my second international assignment contract. The business was going through a reorg, and the path was a role that was still TBD. Meanwhile, I’d been building a life in Europe: relationships, travel, and a community that fit. I had a choice: go back to something undefined, or stay and figure it out.
I found a self-sponsored visa option if I started my own company. And honestly? People had been telling me for years that I should do this professionally. I was always the one building leadership development groups, mentoring programs, and resource groups inside the organization. That was never in my job description - I just did it because it was a passion of mine and felt like the right thing to do.
So I thought: why not? I could always navigate my way back into corporate. But why not bet on myself and take my future into my own hands?
WIA Today: Gen D launched in 2024. What did that first year look like?
Jacki: The company officially started in May 2024, but I didn’t launch publicly until November. I wanted to take the time to really focus on what I was building. “Coach” or “Consultant” is kind of like saying “sustainability” – people know what it is, but the definition can be broad, and to some organizations it’s become a buzzword. I wanted professional training to hone my craft and figure out what my specific areas of focus would be.
And then reality hit. No corporate name behind me. No title, no product team, no company vehicle, no health insurance, no consistent monthly paycheck. I was it. Sales, marketing, communications, finance, legal, product development – all me. The one-woman wolf pack.
It was an emotional rollercoaster. Thrilling at times: I’m building this thing from nothing. Exhausting at others: long nights, prospecting clients, trying to understand what it’s like owning and operating a company in a foreign country. And very humbling. You find out who your friends are, especially when there isn’t a big name, title, or product you’re supporting and you are the product. But there’s also the opportunity to meet people you never would have had access to inside a corporate bubble.
I knew I was capable. Not just because of the type of person I am, but because of the experience I had across my career. I knew the hard work I was putting in now would pay off to my future self.
WIA Today: What’s the hardest part of being a solo operator that nobody talks about?
Jacki: It can be lonely. You can feel guilty. And financially stressed.
You sometimes feel like if you’re not tied to your computer, you’re not doing anything. You feel guilty when you take a break. And if you’re not careful, you create your own prison, which is ironic, because you left corporate partly to have more freedom.
Here’s what I’ve learned: getting out is key. Taking breaks is key. And for the love of everything, pick up the phone! Stop hiding behind your computer and email and checking the box. Putting yourself out there is the only way people learn who you are and what you’re about. You can’t build a business from behind a screen.
Of course there’s always the concern about finances. But you can’t save your way to prosperity. It’s about taking risks, betting on yourself, and trusting your gut.
WIA Today: What would you tell a leader in ag or life sciences who’s comfortable but restless — thinking about making the leap?
Jacki: Start preparing now. On average, it takes two to three years for a solopreneur to make it. So start planning ahead: financially, your niche, your customer base. Get the foundation in place while you still have the safety net.
And when you launch? Just launch. Get the MVP – minimum viable product – out and pressure test it. See how people react. Don’t wait until everything is perfect, because it never will be. And don’t be afraid to pivot if needed.
Trust yourself. You’re going to get so many opinions – some good, some bad – from so many people. But at the end of the day, you’re the one making the decision. You have to believe in yourself. Find people who can be trusted advisors, not just people who tell you what you want to hear.
Don’t be afraid to suck at something new. That’s one of my mantras. You’re going to be terrible at things you’ve never done before – marketing , accounting, legal compliance in a foreign country. That’s fine. That’s the deal. Learn as you go.
And don’t burn bridges. The industry is small, and the people you leave behind in corporate might be the same people who become your first clients.
WIA Today: This series has been about change management — navigating chaos, feedback, influence, mindset. How does your own entrepreneurship story connect to all of that?
Jacki: It confirmed everything I already believed. There was a need for what I was doing – I just needed to get it out there.
But here’s what I didn’t expect: how much it would teach me about the work I do with clients. I’ve now seen massive change from both sides – inside big corporations with thousands of people and budgets and politics, and as a startup of one where every decision lands squarely on my shoulders. The decisions that have to be made under pressure, sometimes without all the variables identified – you can’t what-if yourself to death. You just have to do.
My mom gave me a quote years ago, from Horus: “Believe in yourself, for you are truly capable of much.” I come back to that constantly. There was a lot of self-reflection and self-coaching in that first year. Building a support group became my mirror – people who could tell me honestly whether what I was doing was right for me, my brand, my business, and most importantly my clients.
And my 3C framework: clarity, confidence, and communication. I definitely didn’t have all three when I started. But I worked on them. And that’s when I realized: that’s exactly what my clients are looking for too.Sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. And that’s not dishonesty – that’s believing in yourself before the evidence catches up.
WIA Today: If you could go back to the version of yourself at that crossroads — contract ending, reorg in progress, life in Europe on the line — what would you say to her?
Jacki: I’d say: you already know. You’ve always known. Stop looking for someone to give you permission and just go.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I was watching that play out: the same reorgs, the same talent problems, the same leadership gaps. And I kept thinking, I know how to help with this. I just kept waiting for the right moment.
There is no right moment. There’s just the moment you decide to bet on yourself. And once you do, everything – the fear, the doubt, the financial stress, the loneliness – it becomes fuel instead of friction. Because you’re not doing it for a company anymore. You’re doing it for yourself and for the people you’re going to help.
That’s the biggest change I ever managed. And it’s the one that made every other piece of this series real – because I’m not just teaching change management. I’m living it.
Change isn’t just something that happens to organizations. It happens to people – including the ones leading it. If this series has shown anything, it’s that the tools we need most aren’t always systems or strategies. They’re human: clarity about who we are, confidence to act on it, and the communication to bring others along.
That’s what I call human intelligence – and it’s what actually makes leadership stick. Curious where you fall? Take the Human Intelligence Assessment – it’s a quick way to see how you’re showing up across the dimensions that matter most.
See earlier posts in this series: “From Chaos to Clarity” (part 1), “Feedback Is a Gift... Or Is It?” (part 2), “Leading With Influence or Authority” (part 3), and “You’ve Measured Everything Except This” (part 4). Start reading here.
ABOUT JACQUELINE LANGLOIS
Jacki Langlois is the founder of Gen D Consulting, where she helps leaders and teams in agriculture and life sciences break out of survival mode and lead with clarity, confidence, and communication - her 3C framework. She believes human intelligence is what scales leadership, not another system, not another tool. Certified in Positive Intelligence (PQ) and Adaptable Leadership, she coaches the person, not the problem, blending 15+ years across product, agronomy, marketing, sales, and sustainability with a positive-possibility mindset that changes how leaders show up under pressure. Jacki’s mission is to strengthen the human intelligence that enables leadership to scale in a digitally accelerated, globally connected world. Based in Europe with a global lens, she’s redefining what leadership excellence looks like for the digital generation: where scale, speed, and humanity coexist.
