The 2018 Women Leaders in Consulting: Ashley Hartley

But one could argue that Hartley has played much more than a little part in building and sustaining that culture. 

Ashley Hartley is a Senior Director with Protiviti and leader of its Knowledge Services function, which enables employees to share information and collaborate seamlessly with the firm's clients around the world. 

"I love working with the demanding, intelligent, creative people at Protiviti," Hartley says. "Working with and for consultants keeps me on my toes! It's constantly challenging and interesting."

Her achievements include the creation of Protiviti's KnowledgeLeader website, which has a nearly 90 percent renewal rate by its thousands of subscribers, and the founding and oversight of the firm's India-based Knowledge and Innovation Center that houses an extensive creative team of researchers, designers and knowledge managers. 

Hartley also champions Protiviti's knowledge-sharing and collaboration tools across its internal systems and works with Protiviti leaders to envision and develop the firm's digitally-advantaged future workplace.

"Being in the knowledge services part of the consulting world, I would advise new consultants—women or men—to take advantage of relevant opportunities to learn new things and expand your horizons," she says. 

"Increasing your knowledge makes you a more valuable consultant to your clients and your firm and will benefit you throughout your career."

During one performance checkpoint, Hartley's boss told her this story about himself. He was working at his father's plant and was given the task of fitting some machinery together. It was an extremely difficult, dirty, frustrating job, and he was young, inexperienced, and believed the other guys were probably laughing quietly at his struggles. Then he found out that, in fact, they actually respected him for it and were "glad that was you" and not them, assigned to do the hard job. "He told me this to say: Yes, your job is hard, and you may not always feel successful, and we're glad it's you," she says. "Reflecting back on that gives me energy to keep hammering away and never give up."

Q&A: What does winning the Women Leaders in Consulting award mean to you?

Hartley: "It's hard to put into words! To be nominated by Protiviti was extremely gratifying and also motivating. I am truly honored and delighted, not least because the women from our company who have received this award in the past are my idols."