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Stop. Breathe. Look at yourself and ask: “Is this what success looks like?”
Even if the answer to that question makes you feel like you’ve stopped short of the finish line, there’s hope. I was given a glimpse at what makes success and even how to measure it during my interview with Emma Avignon. CEO of Mentore Consulting, Avignon is a woman who chose to go the extra mile towards creating success – and who found her purpose in teaching others that they can, too.
Avignon has undergone a professional transformation that’s taken her from her accountant position at EY to a whole new world of accountability. She learned how to establish her value while exploring different corporate roles, and she’s cultivated a series of questions that she shared with me that has allowed her to ensure measurable, “real” success.
1. What does success look like?
Success - it can be defined as having accomplished an end goal. While the end goal may be unique to each of us, the way we measure success is the same, and begins with the question, “What is my purpose?” This type of self-awareness is required to recognize real success.
Avignon found her purpose by embracing change. She first worked as an analyst at PWC and then transitioned into Corporate Restructuring and Corporate Finance at EY. Positions like this gave Avignon the opportunity to deal with clients in a face-to-face way—allowing her to gauge their reactions, and to demonstrate the value she could bring as she directly impacted the organizations. She was enjoying a career full of very visible success.
“When you’re client-facing in a professional services firm, you are bringing in revenue to the firm so your value is easily recognized straight away,” says Avignon. “But when you’re not client-facing, it’s much harder.”
When she decided that the time was right to start her family, Avignon was faced with a decision.
Her current position put her on a schedule that wasn’t conducive to caring for children. The jet-setting, front facing, in demand kind of job wasn’t a good fit for her personal life, so Avignon made a career change that demonstrated the best kind of professional evolution – one that aligned with her core values.
2. What is your vision and the big picture?
Align your work with your values. True success is found in living the life that you want to live. Avignon took time to figure out the pieces needed to create her vision of success, and worked towards bringing those parts together.
Avignon moved into an internal position at EY in business development and realized two things: She needed to find another way to demonstrate the value she could bring to the firm, and she needed to do it in a way that spoke to who she was at a professional and personal level.
Avignon knew her big picture needed to include a flexible schedule, and that she had to have the agility to change the way she measured success and the way her value was showcased. She was so driven that she changed the direction of her professional purpose in a position where many might have just faded into the background.
“I didn’t want to be one of those people that others ask, “What does she actually do?” That didn’t fit with my sense of self: I’m ambitious, I’m driven. I might not be client-facing at this point in time, but I still want to be known for adding value .”
There are times when contributions in the workplace will get overlooked. They may be more abstract or a smaller portion of the whole. This doesn’t make them any less meaningful than those that provide a more measurable worth. Know your value, Avignon says. Don’t be afraid to share your success and help others recognize the value you bring.
3. What is the outcome we are looking for?
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with maternity leave -- we love the reason but hate the professional risk. Many fear for their jobs when they have to leave for a significant amount of time. It’s been a huge decision point for women, and now many men who have the same choice to make with shared parental leave. It is a key step for many people to reevaluate our personal and professional purpose.
Avignon had discovered her definition of success and made it a visible measure of her worth within her firm. She was high achieving and didn’t let pregnancy put her off from developing her business case for the next promotion – which she got immediately prior to her second maternity leave.
“One of the senior partners said to me a piece of advice that stuck with me forever which was, “Emma, don’t measure your success on how far you get. Measure it on how far the people that you helped have gone to.”
Shortly thereafter, Avignon was introduced to Mentore Consulting, an organization with a goal to accelerate top talent within companies and to help companies achieve more diverse leadership teams. With solutions fit for both genders, Mentore Consulting has a really important component that is driven by the need to advance women within organizations. It’s about helping accelerate the progression of women and helping them then achieve the development goals that they each need for forward progression, enabling them to access the same opportunities as men.
“I’d always done mentoring and career development work within the firm because these opportunities are so readily available within these big accounting firms. I also did some pro-bono work and I ended up doing mentoring work to the EY people who were going on secondment to The Social Business Trust.”
This experience would change Avignon’s path. She began working with the woman who would introduce her to Mentore Consulting. Over the course of six months, the women corresponded and worked together periodically, and Avignon was finally offered a position at the company.
Once again, Avignon had a new understanding of what her own “real” success looked like. “I had a view on Mentore, on what it was doing and thinking was the coolest business on the planet at that point. And I thought, “Wow!” It’s helping people achieve their potential. It’s got a focus on women, as well as focus on diversity. It has got a clear big purpose attached to it.”
4. What does great look like to you?
Having a clear view of the best possible outcome in any situation is key to heading down the right path. Avignon is now client facing again, enjoying a balance of work and time with her children. She is getting huge satisfaction from her client work and enabling others to achieve success.
Avignon’s specialized set of questions she asks anytime she works on a new project to make sure value can be demonstrated are:
- What does success look like?
- What is the vision and the big picture?
- What is the expected outcome?
- And ultimately, what does great look like?
These questions have helped her to realize success and are the very definition of owning our purpose in the workplace. Success is a fluid and ever-changing idea that only you can truly define for yourself. Avignon allowed her success to be shaped by her journey towards her true purpose. By embracing change in your life and your career, you embrace endless possibility.
