'Don’t say...': Accenture CEO Julie Sweet shares the golden advice that helped her rise to the top of the corporate ladder

Julie Sweet, now global CEO of Accenture, has recalled the moment her career path shifted. In late 2014, just a month before she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Sweet’s then-boss and Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme surprised her with a comment during a routine meeting.

“At the end of the meeting, he closes his notebook and he pushes it aside, and he says to me, completely out of the blue… ‘I think you could run this place someday,” Sweet said on Fortune’s Titans and Disruptors of Industry podcast with Alyson Shontell.

At the time, Sweet was serving as general counsel. She did not have a business background, had not spent her entire career at Accenture, and was a woman in a company traditionally led by men. Nanterme himself noted that she would need operational experience before such a leap could happen.

Taking advice and moving forward

Instead of expressing doubt, Sweet drew on the advice she once received from Dina Dublon, former CFO of JPMorgan Chase and Accenture board member.

“When someone gives you a stretch role… chances are that the person offering you a stretch role is as nervous or more nervous than you are. So, don’t say anything, like: Are you sure?” Dublon had advised.

Sweet remembered that guidance when she replied, “I looked at him and I said—with Dina in my head—’why, yes, I’d be interested. What did you have in mind?’”

Following that conversation, Sweet went on to lead Accenture’s North American practice in 2015 and was appointed global CEO in 2019.

Confidence as a leadership tool

Sweet said confidence, along with humility and excellence, remains key to building strong teams at Accenture.

“We are constantly challenging each other and our assumptions,” she explained. “When you build a team that thinks that the status quo is challenging assumptions, embracing change, it means you’re constantly questioning. You don’t need to stop and have a big strategy… because you’re always working on the strategy.”

Sweet also said that asking questions and seeking help continues to be part of her leadership style.

“I think the idea of being a deep learner at the top is really critical, and that is not usual in a lot of companies,” she said. “Because many times, the senior leaders, whether it’s the CEO or one level down, they’re the ones with all the wisdom. They’ve gotten these big jobs, and so the idea of training for leaders is often really odd to think about.”

Learning beyond expertise

Sweet shared that her early years in the legal department made her realise she needed to better understand the business.

“I figured out pretty quickly that if I wanted to be the business leader with legal experience, I had to deeply understand the business,” she said.

That approach, she noted, positioned her for leadership opportunities. “Transparency builds trust,” Sweet added. “Because the more value you can contribute [to] your company, the more likely you’re going to get that best next job.”