Jenn Pettit, Julie Martin, and Bailey Fischer

AGCP celebrates the unique perspectives that each of our employees brings to their role.

In honor of National Women’s Month, we sat down with three of our female Principal Leads, Jenn Pettit, Julie Martin, and Bailey Fischer, to get their perspective on what it means to be a leader and hear what advice they have for women who are new to consulting.

What does leadership mean to you?

“For me, leadership is about helping and guiding those around you. Focusing on how you can help with their decision-making processes and sharing new options to consider. It’s important as a leader to keep the team motivated, working towards the larger goals and not getting lost in the details of our day-to-day work or small setbacks.” – Jenn Pettit

How do you develop your leadership skills?

“I listen to podcasts and read about leadership, but I think a lot of learning comes from mentorship. I learn well from others, and I work closely with my manager as he is a wealth of knowledge.” – Julie Martin

“I learn a lot from the people around me and just seeing how they handle situations. My leadership skills were shaped by examples of both what to be and what not to be as a leader.” – Bailey Fischer

“I take classes and trainings, even just to refresh my skills and remind me of best practices. I also reflect on previous situations to grow from my own experiences and learn from my mistakes. However, a lot of my learning comes from seeing how other leaders do it. I will sit down with other leaders or people I work with to ask questions and work with them to understand how I can become a better leader. For me, it’s all about not being afraid to ask questions and take feedback.” – Jenn Pettit

Who inspired you to be a leader?

“Earlier in my career I was working for a small tech start up and we went away to a trade show. I got up in the morning and our boss was making breakfast for everyone. I was so impressed, but this was very much his style of leadership. The caring quality, building relationships, and empowerment is such a huge part of leadership that I really admire.” – Julie Martin

“There’s a gentleman who was one of the most incredible people I ever worked for. He genuinely saw and heard people, was always helping others without recognition or personal gain for himself and made sure anyone that crossed his path knew their value, worth, and potential. Seeing someone of his caliber always being so humble, selfless and encouraging of others made me realize what leadership meant to me.” – Bailey Fischer

How does AGCP help foster and support female leaders?

“My role happened very organically. I’ve never felt that I was treated a certain way because of my gender. AGCP enables us to be leaders. I think for Julie, Bailey, and myself, our progression just happened very naturally and AGCP gave us the opportunity to become Principal Leads.” – Jenn Pettit

“One of the things that is unique about AGCP is that there are a lot of female leaders, and we are a majority female organization. It’s really nice to be a part of an organization where there are a lot of women at the top. That isn’t something that you see often. This was very new to me when I joined AGCP.” – Bailey Fischer

Do you have any advice for women entering consulting?

“Speak up for yourself and always ask questions. If you aren’t sure about something, just ask and get more information. It’s important to stand up for yourself.” – Jenn Pettit

“Trust your instincts. It’s easy to question yourself and not trust your expertise, but don’t fall into that trap. Be confident in your knowledge.” – Julie Martin

We are grateful to have exceptional female leaders at AGCP, and we make it our goal to foster opportunities for our people to continue to grow and learn. We are always looking for more people like Jenn, Julie, and Bailey. If you’re interested in joining our team of amazing consultants, we’d love to chat! To learn more about our openings at the firm right now, click here. We look forward to hearing from you soon!