Leading for impact: 7 leadership essentials from one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women

For me, my career is very much about “what is the role where I can make the biggest impact?”

Julie Sweet, Accenture’s CEO and #9 on Fortune’s 2019 list of Most Powerful Women, shared the question she asks herself above, which serves as a compass to guide her career and speaks volumes about how she values our people, the communities in which we work and live, and our clients.

In her first days as Accenture’s CEO, Julie articulated seven leadership essentials that not only give insight into what she values as a leader and expects from us as leaders, but also clearly signals that while delivering results is essential, how you lead is equally important. I’ve since reflected on how I can apply these essentials everyday as a leader.

1.     Always do the right thing in every decision, every action. This is non-negotiable and a golden thread that unites our people around the world. It means asking ourselves just because we can, should we? This question should be paramount in all interactions with our clients, with each other, with our families, and in our communities.

2.     Care deeply for all our people, to help them achieve their aspirations personally and professionally.  This requires investing in our people to ensure they have opportunities to continually learn and grow in their careers. And it also means that we invest time and emotion to really know our people as human beings – understanding their aspirations both inside and outside of work and helping them achieve those aspirations.

3.     Live our unwavering commitment to inclusion and diversity. Living this unwavering commitment means that we need to work hard to ensure our people feel they truly belong just as they are, so we can unlock their full potential. 

4.     Exemplify client-centricity and a commitment to creating value – for all our stakeholders – our clients, shareholders, partners, people, communities, and certainly our own business.

5.     Lead with excellence, confidence, and humility. Excellence is setting a high standard and executing with confidence, but also having the humility as a leader to realize there is always more to learn.  Julie leads by example. One of the first things she did for our people was be transparent about her own learning – launching her own learning blog that shares both what and how she’s learning.

6.     Act as true partners to each other, to our clients, ecosystem, and communities – underscoring that we are always better together.

7.     Have the courage to change and ability to bring people along on the journey. Navigating high-velocity change requires bravery and we must recognize that we’ll get better outcomes when we listen to and involve our people.

Following these essentials is, in part, what makes Julie an extraordinary leader. What strikes me as most profound is it’s not about the power she holds, but rather, the power she gives back to people. By empowering others, she lifts everyone up. 

Julie is also passionate about making an impact beyond Accenture’s doors, creating value in all our communities – through trust and responsible leadership at the core. Her conviction to these leadership essentials is clear inside Accenture, yet by signing the Business Roundtable’s new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, which redefines a company’s role in society in a way that benefits all stakeholders, Julie brings transparency to these convictions externally. In her own words, “This is what responsible business looks like today.”

Personally, I’m inspired by the leader that Julie is day in and day out. Being one of Fortune’s MOST POWERFUL WOMEN validates that how we do things is as important as what we do. Thank you, Julie, for leading by example and lifting each of us up to achieve our aspirations and make an impact – on each other, our clients, and in our communities.