Interviw with Irine Gaasbeek is the former Dutch country managing director of global professional services and consulting company Accenture.
She is currently the senior managing director of technology France & Benelux at Accenture. Irine has generously shared her knowledge and wisdom with Rise and Lead members, speaking at the last Rise and Lead Summit. Recently, she sat down with Rise and Lead founder Ebere Akadiri to share her thoughts on leadership, how raising her hand led to her current position, and more in our Inspiring Women Leaders series.
Check out the highlights of her interview below:
Ebere: I read somewhere in one of your interviews that you said that if you hadn’t raised your finger, you wouldn’t have gotten this position. Tell me about it.
Irine: That’s right. Well, it happened sometimes. I often hear that people, specifically women, do not dare to raise their finger or stand up and say, “Hey, I am interested in this role”. I think we miss a lot of opportunities because of that, and if I looked around my company and saw my colleagues, I would never have made a distinction between men or women. For me, everyone’s the same, no matter what your background is. So I never made it an issue myself, and it was more like “Hey, I can do that as well”, and I raised my finger. If you do that authentically, people will know that you’re interested, and they will keep you in mind. If I hadn’t done that, they can’t have said that I was interested in those roles, and they wouldn’t have asked me. I always tell the people in my team, “If you don’t share your interests and ambitions with me, it’s difficult for me to think how you think and just ask you. If I know what you want, it is easier for me to think of you when I have those positions”.
Ebere: I also read about one of your interviews in which you talked about leadership style. When we look at a role model, you say that we shouldn’t copy their style; otherwise, we miss that part of us that makes us who we are. Tell me about that.
Irine: I like to look at other role models and people to pick up bits and pieces and learn from them, but I use that to find my style and improve myself. I will never be able to become the best version of you. I can look at you and pick up ideas from you about how you handle situations, but the only way to do that is to become the best version of myself. Sometimes, I see people copying the style of others, but then you’re not your authentic self. And if you want to gain the trust of your team, then you have to be honest about yourself and who you are; then you get what you give is what I say. So if you are honest and transparent in yourself, people will do that as well, and everybody will be able to become the best version of themselves.
Ebere: Beyond raising our hands, you need other skills as a leader – for Accenture to even trust you and hand over the entire organisation to you. What are those skills and how did you acquire them?
Irine: I think to start, what is important (to know) is you can’t do this alone. I can’t make this business in the Netherlands successful; the team is doing that. A good leader’s skill is building a good team and listening to the people – (be able to) develop and look at their strengths and give people the room and freedom to operate in that strength. And provide them with responsibility where they can work on their strength and help them develop that. Because the team is the one making success, I am not. I am supporting the team by giving them the podium to make this company successful, and that means being clear in leading them but also knowing to take a step back, giving them the podium to shine to grow and to learn. Don’t be afraid that others might surpass you or surpass you; that is perfectly fine. That means I did a good job if there are people in my team who outgrow me.
In her full interview, Irine and Ebere discuss leadership styles, decision-making, and the importance of learning to say no in more depth. You can find Irine Gaasbeek’s full Inspiring Women Leaders episode here.
