The 2023 Women Leaders in Consulting: Megan Mascarenhas

Megan Mascarenhas is a Director of Organizational Change Management within Cognizant Consulting's Transformation Management Practice. She has more than 13 years of experience in transformation management, cross- functional process improvement, training and leadership development. Megan is most accomplished in shaping organizational structures, transitioning teams, implementing new technical systems, and optimizing system/tool utilization across multiple functions and industries. Her consulting experience spans across health care, Life Sciences (Pharmaceuticals), Market Research, Consumer Product Goods and Private Equity.

A graduate of the Villanova School of Business, Megan currently lives in New Jersey with her two loving dogs, Charlie and Sulley. Megan has a passion for travel and experiencing new cultures; she has a personal goal of visiting at least one new country a year. Among her adventures over the past 10 years, she has been fortunate enough to see the gorillas in Rwanda, climb Machu Picchu in Peru, swim with whale sharks in the Philippines, and attend Oktoberfest in Germany. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends, painting, and trying out new recipes in the kitchen.

What do you consider your greatest personal or professional achievement?

2015 was a difficult year – in the span of two months, I experienced three major adverse life events. It was a great deal to process mentally, emotionally and physically. Throughout my life until that point, my work had been my priority. Suddenly, the universe forced me to reevaluate my priorities. Faced with what felt like insurmountable anxiety and profound sadness, I took a few months off to recuperate, reevaluate my priorities and reset my goals (professionally and personally). During this time, I decided to pursue a career in consulting. Having worked for several years in industry, it was difficult to break into the field without previous traditional consulting experience. Looking back on that time, I would not have emerged with direction and newfound passions without strong personal and professional mentors pushing me. I saw firsthand the power and impact that mentorship can have. As I found my footing, I focused on "paying it forward" by coaching others.

Since joining Cognizant in 2019, I have focused on growth for our associates, my peers, my clients and myself. I have been able to build strong relationships and develop our associates to take on increasingly complex roles. During this time, I had the opportunity to enhance my skills as a consulting business leader, explore new industries, and take on increased leadership roles through multiple promotions while focusing on cultivating talent. I view this recovery and reinvestment in people who will drive our future as one of my greatest personal and professional achievements.

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

I heard of a 2020 survey that reported more than half of women self-identify as ambitious, but just 31% were proud to publicly identify as ambitious. The survey uncovered that when women do reach leadership positions, they are more likely to be disliked or disrespected by their peers; confident and ambitious women are more likely seen to be unlikable. As I began to rise in ranks, I became acutely aware of how others, predominantly male teammates, now viewed me or interacted with me. In a traditionally male-dominated industry, I have been fortunate to have exceptional mentors at various seniority levels and from diverse backgrounds. The best advice I ever received was from my direct manager and mentor. Compounded by another female mentor, his advice to me as I stepped into this role was "don't be afraid to take up space." Both coached me to be unafraid to speak up, have a presence, and lean into my role as a mentor and leader.

As I have overcome obstacles over the past few years, I have found myself in situations where it was important to speak up for myself or for others. While some of these were difficult conversations, I see that our associates have responded by bringing their increasingly authentic selves to work and speaking up themselves. This discourages poor, uncollaborative behavior and propels our team forward; it has helped me to bring my best to our practice and support our people in every aspect of their work and personal lives.

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

I see many high-potential, strong women who face similar challenges. I understand now how the advice I've received will help them accelerate their careers and growth. Because they are earlier in their careers, many do not yet have the confidence, experience, social or political capital to be comfortable "taking up space" in the same ways that I do. I have tailored this guidance to apply for our more junior female associates by pivoting to learning as much as they can as quickly as they can. Building your knowledge is critical to credibly engaging with peers and clients. With informed credibility, it becomes easier to speak up more and more. It becomes less uncomfortable to take up space.

Working with a particular junior associate over the past few months, I have noticed that she has begun to ask questions and formulate her ideas. While she previously would share her ideas 1:1 or in very small groups, she is now more comfortable presenting her ideas and making recommendations in larger groups and with senior leaders. She confidently backs her ideas with logic and facts that are established by her knowledge and experience. As a result, our leadership has now flagged her as "high potential" and is beginning to invest further in her growth!

In short, my advice to female consultants just beginning their careers is to be curious, ask as many questions as possible, learn and be unafraid to share your knowledge!

What does this recognition mean to you?

Generations of women in my family have exemplified service as they poured their souls into sharing their talents, time and resources to support others. In a time where privileged women in India did not work, my grandmother pursued a career, cared for four children, and still found time to serve the community through church bazaars and fundraisers, homes for differently abled and destitute seniors. Her work with these groups empowered residents – she gave them a sense of purpose and personal accomplishment.

My great-aunt also devoted her entire life to social service while raising nine children. She launched the Cheshire Home, cared for people suffering from leprosy, helped families displaced by drought or floods, and lobbied the Indian government to subsidize orphanages and improve conditions in prisons.

Another aunt chose to work for UNICEF, where she encourages governments to invest in early childhood development (food, health care and education) with the goal of giving developing countries a better chance in a globalized world. She knew that this would mean living apart from her family for most of the year, but to her it was a small sacrifice to make in the service of others.

Inspired by these great and important women in my life, I strive to continue in the footsteps of their commitment to serving others. I seek to support others through active mentorship to achieve their personal dreams and professional goals. Earning this recognition is my tribute to the legacy that these strong women have built.