Voice of Experience: Camille Mirshokrai, Senior Executive and Director of Global Leadership Development, Accenture

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“We all have different definitions of success,” said Camille Mirshokrai, Director of Global Leadership Development at Accenture. She continued, “The only way we can define it so to truly know ourselves.”

After almost 17 years at Accenture, the majority of them working in leadership development and succession planning, Mirshokrai has helped design the fabric of the company’s leadership culture. She said, “We have to manage our career instead of the organization managing our career. Be in control of your destiny.”

Mirshokrai said, “It’s important to me, [when working with] groups of women, to urge them to be supportive networks to each other. We have to help the women in generations that come after us. Someone helped us climb the ladder, and we have to help them climb the ladder.

She continued, “The best way to retain women is to take on roles with responsibility for the next generation.”

From External to Internal Consulting

Before joining Accenture, Mirshokrai, who received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Texas A&M University, said two pieces of experience helped prepare her for her career – working for a plc in London, and being a NATO scholar. She explained, “I had the opportunity to learn about various cultures and international politics.”

She continued, “The bulk of my professional experience is post graduate degree – I got my MBA in information technology and HR, and joined Accenture almost 17 years ago.

“It feels like it has just flown by!” she added.

Mirshokrai began her career in systems integration for the oil and gas business. “As a young person coming out of an MBA program, I wanted to advise CEOs – and here I was programming in Cobol. I thought there must be some mistake!” she joked.

But, she said, the experience proved valuable.”I learned how a company runs, from the inside out – how the pieces of a company come together and how the flows of information come together. I was plugging in systems to help senior executives make informed decisions.”

At the time, she explained, she had married someone who also worked in consulting. “The lifestyle was different – we were on the road, seeing each other once a month. I came to my manager, concerned, and said, ‘I’m not sure I can make this work. Maybe it’s time for another opportunity.’”

Mirshokrai said the company was willing to work with her to find an opportunity to stay put for a bit, getting a position in campus recruiting in Dallas, and eventually recruiting in the entire region for both experienced and campus recruitment.

“To be honest with you, after a piece of time, I could tell it wasn’t for me. I was good at it, but it was not personally fulfilling,” she explained. “I wanted to do something truly different, something more challenging to me – what I had prepared myself for professionally.”

Mirshokrai discussed the issue with her husband and decided she wanted to go back on the road again, and found an exciting opportunity – a joint project with Microsoft and Accenture, now known as Avanade. “But back then it was a super secret project… and who doesn’t want to be a part of something like that?”

She continued, “It was a very exciting company – we built it from scratch. There was extensive travel, but it wasn’t bad. And I was able to do professionally what was so satisfying to me. Eighteen months later, at the end of the assignment, I was on the bench about a week, and heard about an interim project. It was a new group, reporting to the chief executive, an internal resources operations group.”

“And that’s where the second half of my career journey really started,” she said.

Leadership and Development at Accenture

Mirshokrai began working internally running leadership development at Accenture. “The work became the standard by which we run leadership development across all of Accenture. And then I was asked if I would be interested in running the leadership development program, and now I’m also responsible for succession planning.”

She added, “I’m responsible for global leadership development at Accenture, and I’m still in Dallas, and still married.”

Mirshokrai said she’s most proud of her work designing and implementing Accenture’s senior managers’ leadership development program. “I was given a lot of leeway and designed it from scratch. I had the full support of Accenture’s leadership team to implement across the company.”

The extent to which the program has been adopted throughout the firm is the reason Mirshokrai finds the project so fulfilling. She explained, “It’s become part of the fabric of Accenture. It’s part of our culture – and part of my legacy. I think we all want to make a difference.”

She continued, “I’m very excited about building the leaders of tomorrow. I’m very excited about our diversity of leadership. That diversity is holistic – in terms of geography, gender, experience, etc.”

Advice for Women in Consulting

“My job means heavy international travel. In September, I traveled every single week. And that’s not uncommon, but it works for me.”

She explained, “I think integration is more important than balance. The only way it works if is you integrate your schedule well and ask for help along the way. I don’t think you can institutionalize it. It looks different to each person.”

“The basics are time management – proactively managing your calendar, and taking time off and not feeling like that’s a selfish decision – like blocking time to go to the gym,” she said.

She continued, “When I first started, I assumed that everyone at Accenture expected that I should know everything. But I’ve learned to ask for help and it is not a sign of weakness. Asking for help is a sign of confidence. It’s a sign you want to succeed. I should have asked for help much more than I did.”

It’s also important to take the time to find out what your strengths are, she said. “Find what you’re going to be famous for. That’s not to say you should ignore your weaknesses. But make sure your strengths are aligned with what you want to be famous for – what your legacy will be.”

It’s also important not to underestimate the value of a strong network, she said. She continued, “Find a mentor, or more than one mentor, and find great coaching.” Women should also work to convert their internal mentors to sponsors.”

Outside work, Mirshokrai sits on a number of boards of non-profits, including the National Kidney Foundation, Head Start, and the Boys and Girls Club of Ft. Worth. She said, “Education is key, for women in particular. Control your own destiny.”