I recently interviewed Pam Maynard, CEO of Avanade, for my Lessons in Leadership series in Thrive Global. Pam is a passionate advocate of diversity and inclusion and Avanade is a subsidiary of the consulting firm Accenture and was founded as a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft. We spoke about Pam’s journey, best advice on management and leadership, and tips for leaders on the topic of diversity and inclusion. Here are some highlights:

Adam: How did you get here? ​What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?    

Pam: Well, it wasn’t a straight path to CEO, that’s for sure! I’m often asked if I have a five-year career plan and I don’t—never have.  

I would say that getting here is not something I would have achieved if I hadn’t taken to heart one of the first pieces of advice I was given: “The success of your career will be down to you and no one else….”

There have been many experiences that have served to help me grow personally and professionally, but I’d have to say my experiences as a woman of color have been the most influential.  It’s no secret there aren’t nearly as many women as men in technology. We are working to change that at Avanade. Being the only woman of color in the room for a long time really challenged me and motivated me to go above and beyond. It propelled me forward. It has helped me progress and fight for my place at the table.  

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Pam: I think effective leaders have:

• The ability to challenge old ways of thinking. Earlier in my career, I sponsored an in-person meeting for 200 people from across our European locations. My goal was to help everyone get to know one another, so we could work more effectively together. It was the first time we had ever run a facilitated workshop for that many people and there was some skepticism that it would work. I persevered and it was hugely successful at creating the team spirit that I had hoped it would. It was a great reminder to push against the conventional and to take risks!

• The desire to be accountable and to hold others accountable too. Everyone makes mistakes. What’s important is how you handle the adversity, take accountability and learn from them. It’s an old but true statement that you learn more from your mistakes than from your successes.

• A strong voice that advocates for others. As a woman who is often the only one like me in the room, I feel a responsibility as a leader to ensure that we create a work environment where everyone feels comfortable bringing their “whole selves” to work every day.

Adam: What are your best tips for fellow leaders on the topic of diversity and inclusion?  

Pam: Commit to doing more! 

As a female leader in the technology industry, there’s so much more that we could be doing to ensure that we have more gender parity in the technology industry overall and to help educate the next generation on the power of STEM as a path forward. 

We also need to be fostering an inclusive and diverse environment – a workplace where everyone can focus on doing their best work without prejudice or fear. The challenges our clients face today require the thinking of people with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences and it shouldn’t matter who your partner is or the color of your skin or whether you have a disability.

So, I encourage people to ask: ‘What more could I be doing to create an environment within my company and in my industry where everyone can do their best work and where everyone truly feels valued, welcomed and heard?’ Asking that question opens yourself up to look for ways you as a colleague, manager, mentor can create a more inclusive and diverse workplace.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams? 

Pam: Anchoring everyone around a common purpose is one of the best ways to build, lead and manage a team. One of the first things I did as CEO was to formally introduce our company’s purpose, which is to make a genuine human impact. It’s why we do what we do. In the technology industry, it’s easy to get lost in what innovation can do for our clients and their customers. We can make their business processes faster, more effective and accurate. We can help deliver ambitious business goals. But our purpose inspires all of us to look beyond the technology to the actual human impact of the work we do. 

What does this look like? There are many examples, but one that stands out is our recent work with Answer ALS, which is the largest global research effort in the fight against ALS. Avanade has helped to create a data query engine that allows ALS researchers around the world to submit a complicated research query into its massive data repository and get an answer in hours rather than days or weeks. And it’s an answer informed by and based on what researchers and patients are finding in other parts of the world. The ability to access that information from all corners of the globe so quickly is what we, along with Answer ALS, think could be a game-changer in the fight against the disease. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Pam: I’ve had the privilege of having many great mentors, but my mum gave me a piece of advice that I’ve taken with me throughout my entire career: Walk through the door. 

I would never have achieved the successes in my career if I had not walked through the doors that were opened for me time and time again. Yes, it can be daunting and downright scary, but think about how you are holding yourself and your teams back if you don’t take hold of the opportunities that present themselves. Focusing on my teams and stakeholder relationships gave me the strength and confidence to take on many new opportunities.

Today, as you would expect as CEO, my role is more and more about opening doors for others, which is hugely rewarding.

For the full interview, visit https://thriveglobal.com/stories/tips-from-the-top-one-on-one-with-pam-maynard.