Page 11 - CCCA Magazine Spring 2015

{ ProFile } Gold Medal perFormance jennifer jones lives for big moments and when pressure, even anxiety, threatens to affect her performance, she takes a minute—and remembers to smell the ice. By Michael Dempster t’s a trigger, a way to cope, Jones says. As “A lot of us [lawyers] are perfectionists in-house counsel, an Olympic cham- at heart and we can beat ourselves up,” she Ipion, frequent fyer and mom to a two- says. “If we can just be our best and not year-old daughter, stress is part of her fear failure… that takes away so much of daily life. Whether it’s throwing the fnal the stress.” rock to win the 2014 Olympic gold medal Millions of Canadians have wit- in women’s curling or working with little nessed Jones at her peak, unfappable sleep on a major fle with deadlines loom- in pressure-packed situations. She is ing, smelling the ice brushes away nega- best known as the skip who has won tive feelings like the fear of failing. the Olympics, the World Championship “It takes me back to curling as a kid,” and four national titles. Fewer people Jones says. “It’s a reminder of how much across the country know her as a lawyer, I love the game and to appreciate what I the Senior Legal Adviser and Corporate get to do. On major fles, it’s helped me Ambassador at National Bank Financial break down the work into smaller pieces. in Winnipeg. And only a small group Thinking one step at a time clarifes mat- knows the back story. How almost ev- ters, keeps me from being overwhelmed eryone told her bluntly that she couldn’t by the magnitude of some things.” possibly dream of being both a lawyer This spring, Jones will be a keynote and champion curler. speaker at the 2015 CCCA National Con- Jones didn’t give in. Instead she fol- ference in Toronto, April 19 to 21. When lowed the example set by Carol, her her peers leave the keynote, she hopes they mother, an oncology nurse. She had an will take away a greater passion for living energy about her, Jones says, an ability to in the moment, a life skill she’s sharpened enjoy every moment and she believed I in recent years. could do anything. Canadian Corporate Counsel assoCiation | CCCa-aCCje.org 11