This is a conversation with Lauren Bronson Petrous, a former senior consultant at Accenture who now heads the consulting firm Boundless & Co. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Conflicts are inevitable. We’ll get it all. Why is it that everyone is so afraid of that?
That was the question that kept coming up during my time as a senior consultant at Accenture.
Throughout my career I have worked with executives and senior leaders from various industries, from media companies to international consultancies. One pattern has become clear: Regardless of their title, many leaders struggle to navigate difficult conversations and receive feedback – both essential to building a successful company where people want to work
At Accenture, I saw people leading teams with $10 million contracts who couldn’t handle difficult customers or colleagues. Sometimes I sat in meetings with senior leaders where no one really accomplished anything because no one was willing to address the elephant in the room. Then there were those who were not afraid to say direct things, but did so without grace, timing or care.
I started at Accenture after obtaining a master’s degree in organizational change from Northwest. One of my professors had pitched me to the company without my knowledge. I went through the interview process and got an offer, but I initially said no because I wanted to start my own gig. The company told me they thought I could do a phenomenal job, so I started working as a senior consultant.
Accenture is a machine. After onboarding and training, the company identifies people based on their skills and determines which projects they should work on. It’s partly about capacity – who is available – but also about who is most capable for a given customer. You met a client and if you liked it and it worked well, you started the project.
I often led teams. Much of my work involved organizational change, team development and leadership development.
Throughout my career, I have noticed that talented people do not necessarily have leadership qualities. Many companies hire people for talent and good performance, and then place people in managerial or managerial positions leadership roles without giving them the skills to lead. They are expected to deal with conflict, develop their team and be a boss that people actually respect.
I left Accenture in December 2023 to join Boundless & Co. to set up a coaching and consultancy agency. I decided to leave because I wanted to help clients in a more tailored, bespoke way and address deeper issues such as dealing with conflict, unresolved tensions and avoidance, which often hinder company culture and momentum.
Now about half of my work is that leadership development coachingand about half help companies resolve conflicts. I often work with co-founders or senior leaders who are considering spinning off a $10 million or $50 million company because they can’t agree on how to run it.
A decision doesn’t mean we all hold hands and become best friends. It means that both people can walk away with clarity about how to move forward.
