“Funny how by giving things a go, being yourself & seeing the good in people makes life feel a touch easier. More enjoyable.”

Today’s guest is David Lancefield. David is a Partner in Strategy&, PwC. David is a TEDx speaker and has been featured In the Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, Financial Times and numerous other publications. He is also the host of his own podcast ‘transformation talks’ which I’d highly recommend checking it out

David’s approach and outlook are hugely refreshing and something that anyone with aspirations of make Partner should take note of. If you want to get a flavour for this you can check him out on twitter @Dlancefield and see the thought provoking posts he puts out on a daily basis.

David has a huge amount of experience and shares so many great insights in this conversation including:

The importance of being yourself at work and what this means both for project managers and project team members.

How to find your sweet spot and let others know what you’re good at.

The importance of feedback both up and down a Consulting firm’s hierarchy and the mistakes people make in giving and receiving feedback that hold them back.

How to make Partner in a big 4 firm and the common mistakes that those who fail to get there make.

The importance of developing and managing your personal brand as a Consultant both within and outside your firm.

And much,much more!

Having listened to the first episode of David’s Transformation Talks I thought this would be a good interview and I have to say it exceeded all of my expectations! In-depth and actionable advice from a senior leader in one of the world’s biggest Consulting firms. I hope you enjoy it.

You can find out more about  David on his Linked In Page https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidclancefield/

And on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Dlancefield?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Specific Things We Discuss in the show:

Dan Cable – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-cable-a0b581a0

Transformation Talks by PwC – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/transformation-talks/id1400295044?mt=2

PwC’s apprenticeship scheme – https://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/school-jobs/jobs.html

David’s TED talk “How business can tap into all of our special needs“ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezXZ4z9QqiI

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – https://amzn.eu/enn0cvN

How will you measure your life? by Clay Christiensen, Karen Dillon and James Allworth – https://amzn.eu/3zScfNe

Alive at Work by Dan Cable – https://amzn.eu/04NezdI

What we talk about:

00:03:37 – David’s life philosophy and what it means to him and the way he approaches both his work and personal life.

00:06:43 – How to be yourself at work and the challenges Consultants and Consulting firms need to overcome.

00:09:25 – David’s career advice for those looking to climb in Consulting as well as those considering whether it’s time to leave the industry.

00:16:30 – Doing what you enjoy and finding your ‘sweat-spot’ at work.

00:19:00 – How you as a new Partner can get the best out of your people and your team.

00:21:32 – The importance of brining a diversity of thoughts and perspectives together to solve a problem and how to do it effectively.

00:27:50 – How to create a positive feedback culture and the importance of gathering feedback from people both up and down your firm’s hierarchy.

00:32:49 – How to make Partner in PwC and the skills and attributes they look for.

00:35:24 – How develop your expertise as you climb in Consulting and balance between current hot topics and emerging future trends.

00:39:33 – The common mistakes those who fail to get to Partner make and how you can avoid them.

00:41:07 – The importance of Personal Brand in Consulting and why you should be building your brand both inside and outside of your firm.

00:51:10 – David’s book recommendations.

00:54:00 – David’ s closing advice for you whether you’re just starting out in Consulting, In the middle grades or approaching Partner level.

00:56:30 – How to get in touch with David