Power Women: Accenture’s Victoria Pelletier On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman
An Interview With Ming Zhao
First and foremost, one must perform to be successful — in leadership, this is multi-faceted; business results, people results, demonstrated accountability to others. Performing in leadership also means surrounding ourselves with diverse team members with different backgrounds, skills and experiences who can help us achieve these results. It also entails continual growth and learning and development of our whole selves.
How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Victoria Pelletier, Managing Director Global CEO Transformation, Accenture.
Victoria Pelletier is a senior executive with over two decades of progressive experience in strategy, operations, growth initiatives, and business and talent development. She is a visionary leader with a passion for innovation, creativity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In fact, Victoria has won both the 2020 Mentor of the Year award from Women in Communications & Technology AND the 2019 HSBC Diversity & Inclusion in Innovation Award. Victoria was also recently named one of 2021’s 50 Most Influential Business Leaders in Technology.
Victoria serves as a board member for several organizations; she is also a published author, regular contributor to Forbes and is an in-demand public speaker and appears regularly on national radio and television.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
My backstory looks like a Dateline NBC episode. It was a mixture of terror, isolation, chaos, and resilience. My mother, a teenage single parent, fought addiction, mental illness, and unfortunately, me. I had a rough childhood. Abuse, neglect, and many of the other things that always have protective services snooping around are a big part of my origin story. The low point was getting yanked from my home with nothing more than a teddy bear to comfort me. My mother threatened to kill me if someone didn’t remove me immediately. My grandparents didn’t want me, the extended family didn’t want me either, so I learned how to take care of myself at an age when most kids are living on cereal and cartoons. Remember I said “resilience?” The R word is the best thing to emerge from my backstory.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
I think a lot of different currents led me to my spot in the corporate world. Importantly, I learned to follow my passion and the things that bring me great joy. I learned from the examples of both great leaders and horrible ones, I decided early in life that I was built to lead, not be led. You might say my path toward leadership was a natural outcome of my gritty childhood and adolescence. When you have nothing handed to you in life, you learn how to adapt, persevere, and surround yourself with bright, driven people. Leadership is learned behaviour. Life is the best teacher.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Well, my answer to this one is certainly different now than back in LBC = Life Before Covid. Literally a couple of months before the pandemic, my previous employer relocated me to New York City. The family and I packed up our lives, moved to midtown NYC, and prepared for the adventure of a lifetime. You know what happened next, right? Boom. Everything shut down. I had to lead a team, most of whome I hadn’t yet met in person, engage with new clients and doing so remotely. It was surreal on the home front too. We were hunkered down in one of the greatest cities in the world, unable to take it all in. Now, I was used to working virtually in between air travel dates, but this was on a whole new level! Well, at least we had Uber Eats!
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I’ve already mentioned resiliency so I will expand on this before sharing some others. Business leaders are resilient. Their rise up the corporate ladder is often marked by significant setbacks, obstacles, and the occasional fall. If you are not ready to fail, you are not ready to lead. Resilient leaders learn from the falls, leveraging the challenging times to improve processes, revisit their vision and mission, and hone their skills.
Successful leaders focus on what matters. They are relentless about aligning their strategy with purpose and ensuring that the purpose is known and that it is clear, compelling and matters to all their stakeholders.
Effective leaders are also adaptable. They evolve and learn how to integrate — new technology, new tools, systems and data. They learn HOW to evolve; to be nimble and innovate, to iterate, improve, refine and learn. Remote work during the pandemic (and beyond it) is a great example of adaptability. If you didn’t find new way of working or create workplace flexibility over the past 18 months, you didn’t lead.
Leaders must also connect and engage deeply with their stakeholders — both internal and external and practice great empathy. One of my big takeaways from leadership in 2020 and 2021 is the power of empathy.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?
Hmm… I don’t think society feels uncomfortable with strong women, at least not in North America; rather, there is a bias — unconscious or not, around what strength looks like — how it manifests in men versus women and what the acceptable trade-offs or balancing acts may look like for each gender as they rise to the upper echelons of the corporate world.
Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?
Many years ago, I was involved in a series of M&A transactions in succession, each involving complex restructuring and reorganization and it was at a time when my children were quite young. I traversed North America weekly and needed to make difficult decisions and deliver, a series of very tough messages to the team. I learned that I had earned the nickname of the “Iron Maiden” because of these activities and my commitment to my children and motherhood was questioned due to the amount I worked. I NEVER heard my male counterparts called such names, nor their commitment to their families questioned for their long hours or travel schedules. There existed a bias that my intense work efforts and extensive travel meant there had to be a trade-off against family commitment, rather than recognizing that the two could co-exist and I would create the appropriate balance, in a manner that I chose.
What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?
Powerful women need to be authentic, engaging and approachable women. Perhaps the key to approachability is the empathy I referenced earlier. There is nothing wrong with learning about, and supporting the personal lives of your team members. I also think it is important to be vulnerable and to share more about our own personal lives — the “whole person” that needs to show up to be effective in our roles. Mentorship is important too. Leaders who are willing to share what they know, and their own personal experiences lift the next generation of leaders and demonstrates the ease in which they are to be around.
What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?
Have we forgotten that women represent half of the population? Relegating women to the proverbial secretarial pool — this is a bit of hyperbole — is to dilute the talent pool. Women, like their male counterparts, are immensely talented, dedicated, and creative. If we want to deal with our uneasiness around powerful women, then it is important that we open our eyes to all the significant contributions women have made — and can make in the future. We must provide education, such as unconscious bias training, as well as setting targets and building the framework and institutions to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion for ALL.
In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?
Unfortunately, there is plenty of evidence out there that shows that women are often objectified by their male counterparts. I’ve seen the stares and heard the inappropriate remarks. I’ve had several senior leaders, and more than a handful of clients, suggest that I could progress my performance results or career by consenting to highly inappropriate actions or activities. Sadly, I’ve learned quite effectively how to maneuver through these sticky situations and have spent time in many coaching sessions with other colleagues, supporting them through similar scenarios and seeking out escalation and appropriate HR and business action.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Unfortunately, as I shared with my own personal experience, there seems to be a broad myth or sentiment that “Women can’t have it all.” The implication is that women can’t have both amazing families and amazing careers in the corporate world. Unfortunately, this myth is often perpetuated by women as well — I get asked more times than I can count, by women themselves, how I’ve managed to seemingly “have it all” or how I am able to balance the competing priorities — something I never hear asked of my male colleagues when we sit on panels together.
It IS possible. You can have it all. Great career. Great partner. Great kids. Great health. This isn’t reserved for one gender over another.
Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?
See?? You just proved my last point. To be effective as a leader, let alone one with a partner and/or family obligations, it is ALWAYS a balancing act. A need to constantly refocus and re-prioritize as strategy, circumstance and quite frankly, LIFE shifts and changes.
I am not saying this is easy for anyone and there will be times that we are all a little out of balance between our personal and professional obligations or commitments. There was a time, much earlier in my career, when I did not have balance. I traveled all the time. My kids were unhappy. My first marriage failed. I was surviving on caffeine and adrenaline. While none of the above were all on me, I knew that my imbalance was complicating the situation for everyone. The key for unraveling the mess was figuring out how to healthfully balance career, relationships, and selfcare. There is certainly time to do all the above. Balance requires discipline, revisiting priorities, and building an action plan.
What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?
It looks like we’re on the same page! Let me add this from what I previously said about balance. It is vital to prioritize personal health and growth. If we neglect ourselves, how will we ever muster the resources to keep the other parts of our lives — including relationships — in a healthy state? I exercise, I listen to music, I people watch and drink wine — I have fun!
I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?
I very much believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that what is more important is one’s confidence in business and in public overall. Confidence, for me, means that I show up understanding the work, the context or background of the situations I am in, but it also means knowing that I am showing up in the best way possible. This means that I demonstrate that I care about myself, my health and my appearance. But this is deeply personal and unique for everyone. For example, I do not wear a lot of rings or jewelry, but I choose to have manicures to demonstrate self-care and style as I change nail polish colours to match the season or holiday. Additionally, I regularly colour the grey hair that sprouts up — not because I’m afraid to show my age, but because my curly strawberry blonde mane is such a significant part of my personal brand and how people recognize me, particularly as I regularly appear on stage and television.
How is this similar or different for men?
I think that the expectations around what beauty is and how it is demonstrated publicly, is more acute for women than for men, but I wonder if this goes back to some of the archetypal stereotypes or even the pressure that women put on themselves to always show up as “put together”, which can often equate to beauty routines or outward appearance. I remain firmly grounded in the position that confidence is most important in HOW leaders show up — regardless of gender.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
Perform
First and foremost, one must perform to be successful — in leadership, this is multi-faceted; business results, people results, demonstrated accountability to others. Performing in leadership also means surrounding ourselves with diverse team members with different backgrounds, skills and experiences who can help us achieve these results. It also entails continual growth and learning and development of our whole selves.
Personal Brand
I have found that many believe that their performance alone will help them achieve new or greater heights in their organizations — this put one’s career into the hands of few to advocate or sponsor on their behalf. It is critical for individuals to control their own career trajectory and crucial to this is building a strong personal brand — a widespread narrative that you control. It includes not just your expertise and strong performance, but your values, your relationships and how you engage and lead. I present talks on this very important topic and coach so many as I believe it’s critical for success — even more so in this very digital and connection age.
Networking/Relationships
Despite how large our world population is, it is quite small and incredibly connected. And the adage “it’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know” rings very true. People engage and do business with people that they know, and they trust and therefore WANT to do business with. I encourage others to do three things as it relates to networking: first, open their circle very wide and far reaching as they build their network; ignore hierarchies and build relationships with everyone — you never know who is connected to whom in our digitally enabled world. Next, be incredibly intentional about who you seek out to build relationships with — as you develop goals for business and career growth, understand who your clients or prospective clients are, and those who will coach, mentor and sponsor you. Last, as you build your network, whether you are engaging by happenstance or via direct intentional networking, approach and build authentic relationships, founded on trust without forced outcomes or expectations — from a place of curiosity, care and empathy; I believe with this approach, good things will naturally evolve.
Balance & Boundaries
I can’t say this enough. If you want to thrive, you must seek and sustain balance, and you must create boundaries for yourself. Balance is essential to thriving as a powerful woman. Learn to ruthlessly prioritize and then re-prioritize as needed and be comfortable with making trade-offs in the short term to gain the long-term equilibrium and outcomes you’ve set for yourself.
Know and articulate your “WHY”
All leaders — not just female leaders — need to function at a strategic level if they want the organization to thrive amid change and transformative growth. Part of this means constantly steering the organization back to its stated purpose and vision and the strategic priorities tied to such. As a leader you must not only understand the organizational purpose but connect it to your personal purpose — your own “WHY” for showing up and leading every day. I started my career in operations and am highly effective at leading large operational teams and businesses — I can dive deep and roll up my sleeves to solve challenges, but MY purpose, my WHY, is about having significant impact on the people I serve — my clients, my team, my community. This means that I am often delegating and coaching others to dive deep, to solve the challenges that I am more than capable of assisting with, to focus on the strategic elements that means the most to me and deliver the kind of impact that I want to lead.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I think MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos) — has a great story to tell. While it would be interesting to learn what life is like for someone who has almost 60 billion in the bank, I am far more interested in learning about her philanthropic vision. How will she prioritize her causes? How does she mentor other women? What brings her personal joy?
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
