Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Sam Shelby

As a Senior Director within Slalom's Client Service team, Sam grew her account support by 150% in the past year, leading a team of 100+ consultants to support her clients with innovative solutions within the Retail and Retail Pharmacy industries. Sam leads her teams and clients beyond what's expected and pushes them to consider and work towards what's possible. She does not hesitate to get in the trenches with her clients and work through difficult challenges.

This willingness to solve alongside her clients, and not just for them, has resulted in a national impact on her clients' business through developing new business lines and customer channels in the retail and retail pharmacy space. No matter the client, level, or type of work, Sam retains her people-focused approach. She not only challenges herself to show up in this way, but also focuses on growing others around her as well, building and bringing up the next generation of truly transformative, yet empathetic, client service leaders.

What would you say has been the biggest factor in your success so far? Sam attributes her success to date to "Authentic curiosity." She expands on that, "It is easy to forget that at the end of the day, our clients are people too. They have lives and goals outside of their day jobs and know when people are engaging with them with an ulterior agenda. I choose to engage clients as people and I approach conversations with genuine care and curiosity. It helps build trust and a shared understanding of their "why." It also helps them get to know me and my purpose. It's less about making a sale or deal tomorrow and more about understanding whether we have shared values and are people we want to work alongside."

When asked what she enjoys most about her career, she responds, "The constant learning. I have grown so much from my exposure to different industries, clients, business units, and technologies. We see into so many different companies' business priorities and consulting forces you to pause and think about the big picture. What is the business strategy? Is there an enterprise-wide vision? How is this initiative enabling that? Is this what the end consumer needs/wants? Are the stakeholders aligned? As a consultant, our job is to think outside of our day-to-day and ask ourselves big questions that are often overlooked. We help our clients be accountable to bigger ideals that ultimately create more efficiency and alignment. This can result in improve collaboration across an enterprise or can incorporate learning from other industries."

"This recognition reinforces that doing what is right is just as important as doing big things," says Sam. "So often, successes are celebrated because of their sale size, client feedback, or complexity. Doing what is right for our people and our clients can be overlooked because they often happen in smaller, more intimate ways. I see myself as someone who invests in moments and this recognition would help reaffirm that those moments matter. Doing right by people and staying true to your values and your word is what I want people to take away from any interaction with me. This recognition would reaffirm that doing the right thing and having success can happen hand in hand. Don't let ambition overtake your commitment to your values."

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

"One of my first managers said, "When the going gets tough, the tough take PTO." I remember thinking at 22 years old that this was just witty advice and nothing more. At the beginning of my career, I thought I had to prove myself and my ability to always do more. I prioritized resiliency over personal fulfillment and balance. As I advanced in my responsibilities, I blindly was creating an expectation for others around me to do the same. That is not sustainable or always healthy. Hard work doesn't mean you don't have boundaries or limits. As a leader, you have a responsibility to set a pace and expectations that are achievable and realistic. You need to support your people in the same way you would support a project—identifying risks before they become issues. It's important it is to check in with yourself and identify when you need time away before you hit a wall. Self-support is a sign of strength, not weakness."