Julie Candy, now the worldwide CEO of Accenture, has opened up a few turning level in her profession that set her on the trail to main one of many world’s largest consulting corporations. Again in late 2014, only a month earlier than she was recognized with breast most cancers, her then-boss and Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme made a stunning comment throughout what appeared like a routine assembly.
“On the finish of the assembly, he closes his pocket book and he pushes it apart, and he says to me, utterly out of the blue… ‘I believe you can run this place sometime,’” Candy recalled throughout a podcast.
Taking recommendation and stepping up
On the time, Candy was serving as normal counsel. She didn’t have a enterprise background, hadn’t spent her whole profession at Accenture, and was working in an organisation historically led by males. Nanterme himself famous that she would first want operational expertise earlier than she might make such a leap.
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As a substitute of doubting herself, Candy leaned on recommendation she had as soon as acquired from Dina Dublon, former CFO of JPMorgan Chase and Accenture board member.
“When somebody offers you a stretch function… chances are high that the particular person providing you a stretch function is as nervous or extra nervous than you might be. So, don’t say something, like: Are you certain?” Dublon had suggested.
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Candy stored that in thoughts when she responded to Nanterme. “I checked out him and I said–with Dina in my head–‘why, sure, I’d have an interest. What did you take into account?’” she mentioned.
That dialog finally led her to take cost of Accenture’s North American enterprise in 2015, earlier than being appointed world CEO in 2019.
Confidence as a management instrument
Trying again, Candy mentioned confidence, together with humility and excellence, has been central to her management philosophy.
“We’re always difficult one another and our assumptions,” she defined. “Once you construct a staff that thinks that the established order is difficult assumptions, embracing change, it means you’re always questioning. You don’t must cease and have a giant technique… since you’re all the time engaged on the technique.”
She added that asking questions and searching for assist continues to form her management model.
“I believe the concept of being a deep learner on the high is actually vital, and that isn’t regular in a number of corporations,” she mentioned. “As a result of many instances, the senior leaders, whether or not it’s the CEO or one degree down, they’re those with all of the knowledge. They’ve gotten these huge jobs, and so the concept of coaching for leaders is commonly actually odd to consider.”
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Studying past experience
Candy additionally mirrored on how her early days in Accenture’s authorized division taught her that she wanted to develop her understanding of the enterprise to succeed.
“I discovered fairly shortly that if I wished to be the enterprise chief with authorized expertise, I needed to deeply perceive the enterprise,” she mentioned.
That mindset, she defined, helped place her for greater management alternatives. “Transparency builds belief,” Candy added. “As a result of the extra worth you’ll be able to contribute [to] your organization, the extra doubtless you’re going to get that greatest subsequent job.”
