The 2022 Women Leaders In Technology: Lisa Jasper

Lisa has a 25-year career as a technology consultant, then management consultant, working at big and small firms including Accenture, The Boston Consulting Group, Tactica, and Pariveda. Most recently, she co-founded Thought Ensemble, a business transformation consulting firm that she grew for 13 years before merging it in with Pariveda. She now leads Thought Ensemble, a Pariveda company, and is helping Pariveda develop its people to their full potential across business, product and technology capabilities. Lisa is married with two boys, 8 and 10 years old, and lives in Denver, Colorado. She serves on several nonprofit boards and committees with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Women's Leadership Foundation, and Trinity University's Board of Visitors.

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

We all have peaks and valleys in our careers. For me, the biggest factor in my success is how I've moved forward from my low points. After each loss or failure, I let myself spend a little time wallowing or grieving, but I then looked at the current situation and took the next best step forward. I didn't know this song the first couple of times I went through a major career disappointment, but "The Next Right Thing" from Frozen 2 sums this approach up for me. We all go through hard times, but at some point, you need to take just one step. Then one more. My latest valley was when the pandemic hit a couple of years ago. It was scary, it was disappointing, it was overwhelming. We had to adjust to a new reality and figure out the best next thing. I was lucky to be a part of a supportive team, both at work and on the homefront. We supported each other in doing the hard work of letting go of the past and moving forward.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

I get the opportunity to work with a lot of different executive teams on solving hard problems, the big, hairy, complex ones that are so important but can't get to a resolution. Oftentimes, executives have very different opinions on how to solve the problems. We often find that the root of the conflict is less of intellectual analysis and more about the relationships. Trust has been broken. Communication has stopped. People feel misunderstood. I find it so rewarding to help a team align on the solution to a problem, or the grand vision for what's next. Even more rewarding is helping executives understand each other a little better so that they have a stronger working relationship going forward. There's a bit of therapy in the work we do. We love to leave a place better than how we found it, and a big part of that is helping leaders work better together.

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

"You can be committed without being attached." Since I grasped this distinction, I have been able to fully dedicate myself to whatever personal and professional endeavors I have underway without getting caught up in exactly how it will all turn out. Letting go of attachment to a specific outcome has allowed me to be even more present in everything I do, able to see more options of future paths. It has also allowed me to be loyal to people while allowing them to grow in the ways they want to grow that aren't always what I expected of them, and adjust to where they want to take their lives. What does being honored as a Women Leader in Technology mean to you? This recognition is, in a way, my gift to the next generation of women, mothers and leaders. A way to show them that you can be true to yourself, your needs, the needs of your family, and to design the life that makes sense for you.