Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Leah Yousif

Leah serves as Chief of Staff for Deloitte's Service Transformation Market Offering and helps define our go-to-market strategy, eminence priorities and investment strategies.

She was a primary author of Deloitte's published '2021 Global Contact Center Survey' which is one of our most popular and effective eminence pieces helping to position us in the market as thought leaders and driving sales activity north of $30M annually. Leah is an active leader in one of Deloitte's most important DE&I initiatives called the 'Tigress Team'.

She is responsible for interviewing female candidates and mentoring female new hires to ensure a smooth transition into the Consulting world. She recently served as a guest speaker at 'Customer Service in the Chemical Industry' where she educated executives in the chemical space about next-generation contact center technologies such as Conversational AI and AI-driven knowledge management.

She hosts a bi-weekly "Future of Service" internal webinar similar to "TED Talks" to educate our practice on new trends in Service and Contact Center. Lastly, Leah is one of our most sought-after consultants to lead programs and has a very strong followership in our practice.

What does Leah enjoy most about her career? She tells us, "Week 3 on the job, I showed up at my first client bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (even after getting up at 5:00 am for my flight that morning). About an hour after arriving on-site, I was asked to join a Steering Committee meeting where some of my colleagues were reading out to the CEO. I sat there quietly taking notes, trying to absorb as much as possible. The CEO turned to me and said 'You are being quiet over there, what do you think?' At that moment, three weeks in, it hit me. I was in the right place. I was in a role that gave me the opportunity to brainstorm with executives of the top companies in the world each and every day on how to profoundly change the customer service industry for the better. 8 years later, this is still my favorite part of being a Consultant. I am continually challenged and challenge others to push the envelope in the realm of possible."

Leah values the recognition of being selected as a Rising Star and tells us, "As a small, reserved, and inexperienced woman entering the Consulting world, I lacked confidence. Over the years, I have been keenly focused on putting myself in uncomfortable situations to break away from who people told me I was to show them who I really am – a strong, valuable asset who can create substantial change. Over the years, my mentors have continued to recognize me for my achievements which have meant the world to me. Honestly, the simple fact that I was nominated for this award is truly an honor. If I were lucky enough to be selected for the award itself, it would validate the hard work that I have put in over the years and reaffirm my motivation to continue down the path I am currently on, making a difference for my clients, my firm and my teams."

When asked, Leah notes that her proudest achievement to date was, "Being able to apply the skills that I have learned throughout my career to make a difference in the current pandemic we are experiencing. One of my current engagements is partnering with a scientific instrument company that plays a key role in processing a significant amount of COVID-19 tests. With the recent approval of additional funding to bring testing into schools, I worked with this company to set up a contact center that supports school administrators, teachers, parents and students with the testing process enabling thousands of children to return to in-person learning."

"Growing up, my grandfather always said 'Do what you love, the money will follow later.' I have taken that advice to heart in navigating my career to date. In the consulting space, you are presented with choices frequently. Each time I make a decision, I follow my heart rather than chasing after opportunities that at the surface may position me to 'get ahead'. However, each decision has led to my continued self-development and success. Investing a few more hours to elevate my work product to make a more substantial impact for my clients is an easy decision because I love what I do."

What would you say has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

"To me, success is multifaceted and interdependent – I am successful when I 1) enable someone on my team to be successful, 2) create value for my clients and 3) generate revenue for Deloitte. First, I strategically build and staff diverse teams. I lead and challenge them to think outside the box, enabling us to bring the most creative, innovative solutions to the table. Our highly functioning team is able to unlock additional value for our clients by offering solutions that generate revenue, reduce expense and drive leading-class customer experiences that far outweigh the investment they made in Deloitte."

"In turn, my clients are propelled in their industries and continually call me for help as new business issues or problems arise, creating a steady stream of opportunities for me to bring revenue and value back to Deloitte. For example, I supported a strategic executive at a large automotive company in a Chief of Staff role through a contact center transformation that drove $40M in benefit. That executive was recently promoted and took on a new role as head of a different division within the company. He called me during his first week to partner with him again, generating $1M of additional revenue for Deloitte."