The 2022 Women Leaders in Consulting: Sucheta Misra

As Associate Vice President Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Social Impact Leader at North Highland, Sucheta Misra is a leader with a track record of executing in diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility strategies in high-stakes situations. Applying her legal expertise, she drives business results while minimizing risk and creating organizational impact by integrating strategies collaboratively across stakeholder levels. Misra drives business value by designing unique programs and developing strong relationships with both business and community partners to advance initiatives.

Over the last 10+ years she has supported corporations, nonprofits, foundations and educational institutions with their DEI and social responsibility goals. And she has a demonstrated passion for developing and improving strategies that align with the mission and strengths of organizations. She is well-versed in partnering with business partners and community organizations to create a beneficial exchange of ideas and resources. In order to create more organizational transparency both internally and externally, she emphasizes the need to measure strategic impact from various angles and encourages and facilitates individual engagement within organizations through inspiring and impactful programs.

What do you enjoy most about your consulting career?

What I love most about my career in DEI is that, by its nature, I have the ability to work with a broad diversity of individuals and learn from each one of them. This is what drew me to the field many years ago initially and I never tire of listening to people talk about their unique backgrounds and stories.

What do you consider your greatest personal or professional achievement?

My proudest achievement is always the one to come. I try not to settle for what I've already achieved when it comes to DEI as there's so much work left to be done. Most recently, I'm proud of establishing DEI cohorts for the entire North Highland executive team to allow leaders to discuss DEI concepts in-depth and to inspire accountability for their DEI objectives throughout the year. This initiative is significant because executive commitment to operationalizing DEI within the business is essential to our success as a diverse and inclusive workforce. Since the program launched, executive engagement has been tremendous. There's a proverb that comes to my mind frequently: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." When it comes to DEI, I believe that doing the work together and encouraging others to join in is how real change is made. We can all be drivers of change and advocate for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion as it benefits us all.

What advice would you give to a female consultant just beginning her career?  

My advice to a female consultant would be to stay focused and to stay resilient. Often when we are early in our careers, we are grateful for the opportunity but it's important to also create goals for where we want to be 1, 5, 10 years from that time and focus our actions and opportunities toward those goals as much as possible. Staying resilient is also important because sometimes setbacks happen that are out of our control. Rather than being a time to doubt ourselves, I believe setbacks are our greatest teachers showing us to dust ourselves off and get back to working toward our dreams.

What's the best advice—personal or professional—you've ever received?  

The best advice I've received is every challenge, no matter if it's big or small, can ultimately be solved. This advice has been proven time and time again throughout my career. There does seem to be a solution for every problem – the answer may come in the moment or a year or a decade from now, or it may require the help of key individuals to join in, or it may require reframing and examining in a different way. If you keep chiseling away, it's achievable. This advice gives me hope that the DEI work I'm doing with others is making a difference, at times today, at times tomorrow and always for the future.

What does being honored as a Woman Leader In Consulting mean to you?

I'm truly honored by this recognition. I love the work I do and how immensely powerful it is because of its potential to change people's lives. This work is also deeply personal to me. I strive to bring excellence to my DEI work every single day at North Highland because I know people are counting on me. This recognition also means that I have the privilege to set the bar higher and higher for myself to be a change maker, and hopefully inspire others to be change makers in their workplaces and communities as well.