Our story began in early 2017, when Esprit de Merci Founder and Principal Kelly Marchal decided to take a personal and professional time-out. With so many demands on her attention and other available opportunities, she wondered, “Was I leading life or was life leading me?” and “What else might be possible?”
Respect the past.
Kelly believes that everything in our past contributes to where we are today. The people, experiences, places, challenges, and accomplishments in our lives make up our present and will inevitably be woven into our future.
For her, the process began with excavation, which meant digging deep to uncover what was most important for her. This would enable the design for the next chapter for her life, including a vocation to be built around that purpose.
As Kelly began to explore options and direction, one thing was consistently clear. She would always come back to a place of gratitude – the experience of recognizing and appreciating the gifts we receive as well as those we give.
It was this realization that inspired the self-described Francophile to name her company Esprit de Merci, which in French means “a spirit of thank you.”
Kelly continued to dig, and a few more patterns emerged:
an insatiable curiosity—a love of learning, and the joy of sharing new insights with others;
a desire to create—to design and build, embrace the unique, and recognize that one size does not fit all;
experience with change—the pain that often comes with it and the growth it enables by making space for new things; and
the power of collaboration, knowing that we can do more together than we can do on our own.
Be in the present.
Breathe. Think. See possibility.
We are often moving fast, and taking a pause is the farthest thing from our minds, a luxury for which we simply don’t have time. Kelly soon learned her own pause was a critical investment in herself - her health, well-being and strengths. The return was a significant impact on the quality of her life and work, which ultimately morphed into something that could benefit others as well.
Throughout her life and career, Kelly has had the opportunity to build, lead, and be a part of great teams. She has also seen and experienced the frustration, fatigue, and unnecessary cost that result when they do not work together optimally. Workplace dysfunction contributes to long-term adverse impacts on individuals and society with mental, physical, and emotional stress.
Her experience has revealed that this phenomenon is broad in reach and deep in impact – touching all sectors of the workplace including industry, government, non-profit, education, healthcare, etc. Engagement is low, not only at work but also in life overall, and this contributes to the quality of life for team members and those around them. The ripple effect is tremendous, and the opportunity is enormous.
Design your future.
“Esprit de Merci isn’t just about me; it’s about all of us, ” Kelly states, “When we are able to align our work and life with our values, strengths, and purpose, most of us are capable of making an extraordinarily positive impact.”
Kelly sees Esprit de Merci as the place to curate and incorporate themes of her past with the needs of the present to position ourselves for a better future. This insight inspires Esprit de Merci’s design principles. These inform and guide us in our work with our clients, within our team, and with the communities we serve.
Her life experiences have also taught her that diverting energy and effort into attempting to be something or someone not aligned with these ideals compromises our abilities. When this happens, we limit our contributions and ultimately the quality of life.
Through her work with clients, she’s already seen the tremendous benefit in working together to explore our possibilities and in sharing the tools that help us bridge the gap between what is and what can be.
There are many ways to foster and cultivate this collaboration, and Esprit de Merci’s offerings have grown to include executive coaching, organizational design and strategy consulting, our Leadership Foundations Program, custom team workshops, speaking engagements, and other tools.
We continue to evolve and grow and look forward to an even brighter future!