Voice of Experience: Lynne Doughtie, National Managing Partner for Advisory Services, KPMG

Lynne Doughtie, KPMG’s National Managing Partner for Advisory Services, had one goal when she entered the firm upon graduating with an accounting degree from Virginia Tech: she wanted to be an audit partner serving banking clients out of KPMG’s Richmond office.  But, ten years out, due to a major consolidation effort going on within the banking industry, that goal was becoming more elusive each day.  “That was a really difficult time for me because, within a two-year time period, one after the other, my banking clients were disappearing.  So by the time I was ready to get promoted to partner, I had no clients. That was a huge crossroads for me.” 

Originally studying computer science in college, Doughtie quickly recognized that there were still opportunities for her at the firm if she were to leverage her tech background. “At the time, KPMG was beginning to build its IT advisory business.  And I had the opportunity to stay at the firm and try something completely different. Looking at what had happened to my client base, I thought I would give it a shot [rather than stay in banking].”

Although she took up the challenge, it was not without some apprehension.  “First, going into it, I felt a little intimidated because I had so much to learn [on the tech side]. What I found, though, was that particularly with consulting around technology, what I brought to the table was being able to translate the technology risks into business terms that CIOs and CFOs could understand.  And, to cover the tech side, I had the support of some very  knowledgeable people on my team.”

That business that Doughtie entered in the late 90s grew into the largest segment of what is now KPMG’s billion dollar US advisory business which Doughtie co-leads as a national managing partner. Said Doughtie, “What I learned from that crossroads is to be open to opportunity and change, and not be discouraged by things you may first see as setbacks. For me, at the time, my plans for the banking sector seemed like a huge failure but, in the end, it turned out to be a great success.”

She cites her high profile national role as a great professional achievement, but more importantly, an opportunity  because of the positive impact she can have on the careers of other professionals. “This national role puts me in a position to mentor and support the careers of so many others. At every level, being able to lift up others as you rise within an organization is the most satisfying thing.”

Doughtie herself has had many mentors over the course of her career, but none more influential than her entrepreneurial mother. “[My parents] had a refuse trucking company that they started from scratch when I was five years old. My mother ran the [very successful] business. Just by watching her and her commitment to her customers, I learned a lot.”

But Doughtie also learned some important lessons about being a businesswoman while having a successful home life.  “[My mom] worked throughout my childhood, but she was also a great mom. It never occurred to me that you couldn’t have a career and a family.  It wasn’t so much that she told me ‘you can do it’, but that she showed me I can.”

And while Doughtie sees the competing demands of career and caregiving responsibilities as a challenge to women in the industry, she doesn’t see it as an insurmountable barrier if women can think creatively about their career paths.  “I think that there are many times when women have to make certain choices around their careers versus being the primary caregiver for kids or parents.  If you think too narrowly, you might not realize that there may be opportunities when you can choose to step off of the career path or slow it down or take a different route. I think that women have to be self-confident and flexible enough to explore multiple options rather than thinking the traditional route is the only route.”

That said, Doughtie does see the need for some industry changes, since this is a matter that will increasingly impact men and women alike.  “I think that today men are participating more and more in [caregiving activities].  KPMG recognizes that all of its professionals—men and women— have other priorities outside of work and is very focused on developing ways to help employees make the non-work priorities fit into the firm’s work structure.”

Doughtie knows from personal experience that it takes hard work and planning to achieve a satisfying balance between career and family. “You really have to set priorities for the things that are important during a given time based on who needs you and what is it that you feel responsible for.  For example, when my son was in Little League baseball, I immediately put all the games on my calendar to make sure that I could fit my work around getting to as many games as possible.  While I wasn’t at every single game, I really tried to prioritize that because it is important.”  She added, “You take it day by day and week by week. But, putting it all together, I think I’ve managed a pretty even balance.”

As part of our ongoing Voices of Experience series, Managing Editor Pamela Weinsaft spoke with this executive woman from the Big Four about her surprising career path, her most important mentor, and the challenges of balancing work and life