Harnessing my Opportunity for Growth

Srusti Pandya, past Associate Consultant recently has been promoted to the next level within our firm. We asked her a few questions on how she harnessed her opportunity for growth at MacPhie:

What was your biggest learning?

My biggest learning at MacPhie is the importance of self-driven growth. Coming to the firm, I had not anticipated the amount of opportunities I would have. In a few months, I began to realize that at MacPhie you are only limited by your own potential. Growth is not only supported, but also encouraged at the firm.

There are two takeaways from my experience, for both organizations and individuals:

• I encourage organizations to create an environment where your people have opportunities to both put their core competencies into action and continuously develop new ones. Communication of this should start at onboarding – new hires bring a level of energy and fresh thinking that needs to be harnessed not suppressed.
• My challenge to individuals at all levels of an organization is to not wait for permission to grow. Drive your own growth – that level of proactiveness is not only appreciated by managers, but also demonstrates valuable leadership qualities. It’s ultimately a mindset shift to actively pursuing growth today, rather than waiting for a new title or years of experience.

What was your biggest achievement?

Reflecting upon my work at MacPhie, it’s hard to identify a specific client engagement or internal initiative that I view as my biggest achievement. No one project has been the same, but rather an opportunity to grow in a new and different way. Thinking holistically about my work, I take the greatest pride in the impact I’ve had within the broader public and social sectors. I joined consulting with a vision for driving strategic change through supporting leaders and organizations become more purpose-driven. The organizations I’ve had the privilege of serving have not only provided an opportunity to achieve that vision, but also continued to energize and inspire me through their bold and transformative thinking.

What are you most excited about for your new role?

Moving into my new role, I am most excited about continuously advancing our strategic planning practice through identifying greater opportunities for organizations to meaningfully engage their key audiences. The strategic planning engagements where I’ve seen the greatest success are when the planning process has engaged teams in such a way that they feel a sense of ownership in bringing the plan to life. I look forward to collaborating with my team on new approaches to strategic planning that not only help organizations undertake data-driven decision-making, but also inject energy and inspiration into the organization.

By: Srusti Pandya