Kimberley Lecomte

Background

About Kimberley Lecomte

I was a reluctant leader 16 years ago when I was asked to take on the oversight of a team. As a consultant I loved my clients, solving strategic problems and helping optimize results through leveraging talent more effectively. It came as a bit of a shock to me when I was asked to turn my consultant perspective inwards, focusing instead on my own organization. As I stepped into a leadership role, I was not expecting to care so much about the people who eventually became “my team.“ I noticed that when I invested in them, provided feedback, customized their development plans, that they flourished and, as a result, clients were retained, new clients came, and revenue grew. It shouldn’t be an epiphany that, if you sell intellectual capital, the most valuable asset is your own people. I have been privileged to lead many excellent colleagues over the course of my career and I have grown and been enriched as a leader by the colleagues who have chosen to follow me over the years. Things I have done, but never anticipated doing when I agreed to accept a leadership role 16 years ago: · Participate in restructurings, acquisitions, integrations, cultural shifts, and transformations. I have navigated more change in my career both with clients and in the organizations where I have worked than I can even count. Managing expectations, engaging those impacted by changes and letting them participate in the creation of their destiny is the key to successful change management. · Selected and developed talent, created mentoring and succession plans, tracking progress over time. I watched many individuals become the next generation of leaders. I am proud of the leaders I have had the opportunity to influence on their journey. · Organized for efficiency and created growth where there was little or none. What do clients want and need? How does their feedback inform where and how we invest in the business. How do we take our colleagues on the journey toward shared glory? Engaged colleagues create results. I have been a part of creating double digit growth in every role I have been in as a leader, and it was never “about me.” It was always about what we could do together as a great, highly engaged team, winning together. · Developed a “Midas Touch.” I have successfully identified problems, developed strategies, and executed plans that created exceptional growth without compromising margin. Apart from great luck, I attribute this “touch” to good intuition, my highly transparent style and excellent emotional intelligence.