The 2022 Women Leaders In Consulting: Jessica Skon

Jessica Skon is President and CEO of BTS Group. Before her global role, Jessica was President and CEO of BTS North America, BTS's largest global region by revenue and billable consultant population. Jessica got her leadership start as head of BTS's largest North American region and Leadership Center of Excellence. Throughout her career, Jessica has been a business titan and phenomenal people leader. After taking over as CEO,

Jessica led BTS North America to rapid growth in just one year after a long period of stagnancy; she shepherded the North American region through the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining profitability despite challenging circumstances. During her tenure, she has created a succession pipeline of high-performing. leaders who have followed in her footsteps, leading BTS West, BTS North America, and filling several other EVP and C-level roles across the organization. Jessica's work has transformed BTS's approach to business and leadership succession planning. She is a true ambassador for BTS's big hearted and high-performing culture and continues to innovate and inspire next level growth. Outside of work, Jessica is a mom and considers her two children to be her greatest personal accomplishment.

What do you consider your greatest personal or professional achievement?

My greatest professional achievement is leading the turnaround of BTS North America. Before 2016, BTS North America, which is 50% of BTS globally, had grown 5% or less each year for the previous five years. This modest growth was not enough to ensure long-term talent growth for our people. I was appointed President and CEO in July 2016. After three quarters, the business achieved double digit growth. Under my leadership, the organization has maintained this growth every consecutive quarter since then. 2020 was an exception, but when measured against 2019, which was our biggest year-to-date, 2021 still had double digit growth. I helped facilitate this growth by expanding BTS's portfolio of services from talent and leadership services and simulations to broader change consulting services. I also shifted our female to male ratio from 18% female to 45%-55% at every level in every role in BTS North America. Now, we are shifting our culture and demographics to attract and retain broader under-represented groups.

The BTS North American leadership team and I set out to protect our long-standing culture of being both big-hearted and high-performing, and we achieved both. My greatest personal achievement is that I have two kind, curious, fun teenagers who are the lights of my life. I went through a divorce and the merging of two families in a child-first, loving, patient way where our communities saw that a different kind of divorce was possible.

What's the best advice—consulting or otherwise—you've ever received

While mentorship doesn't come from just one person and I have found pockets of brilliance, love, and inspiration from many people in my life, some of the best advice I've received is from Henrik Ekelund, Founder and former CEO of BTS Group. Through his actions and words, he taught me how to set expectations and be an effective leader during difficult moments. In terms of setting expectations, I learned to be clear about what each leader owns and what they should proactively share with me.

For example, at BTS, a leader of an office, region, or practice is responsible for the financial performance, culture and retention of their team. I learned to tell them, "if I don't hear from you, I assume you will hit your numbers, there is no critical quality risk, nor will our best people leave." He also taught me to lead during challenging times (e.g., sharing poor financial updates; unexpected quality, customer or team issues). In these difficult conversations, he role modeled his approach.

He never used shame or anger, but approached with openness and the willingness to say, "how can we learn from this and move forward?" Leaving you with a feeling of, "I'm with you, we will figure this out together," and that you are supported, encouraged, and cared for rather than fearful of retribution. As a leader, this is critical because you want your team to feel safe enough to flag problems with you early on, which requires high levels of trust.

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

The advice I would share with a female consultant is to learn from the best and be yourself. If there's an environment where you don't feel comfortable, speak up. Everyone deserves to work for a person and company that makes you feel cared for and stretches you to learn and grow. Build a strong command of the company financials and what drives shareholder value for your business and your client's business. Be able to talk to the CFO strategically.

Lastly, be creative and innovative. Clients are always seeking partners who have the best fresh ideas that help them solve their unique problems. If you invent a new solution or a new service, it immediately puts you in a leadership position. Others in the company will want to learn from you and bring that service to market. I would also advise junior consultants to focus on quickly building their own client relationships.

Once you understand your client and their priorities, you can be a true partner to them by selling and developing solutions that meet their specific needs. This will in turn allow you to have more autonomy over your career, and the freedom to shape how you spend your time.

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

This recognition is one more validation of the unique culture at BTS, which is both high-performing in that it generates superior shareholder returns and big-hearted.