Elizabeth Morrissette’s L.E.K. Consulting Journey: Navigating Analytics, Mentorship, and Personal Growth

After graduating with a degree in economics from Harvard, Elizabeth Morrissette was searching for a company that would support her to be her authentic self at work, while staying inspired as her role progressed. Elizabeth, now a Senior Associate Consultant, found that role at L.E.K. Consulting. Read more about Elizabeth as she highlights the importance of constantly evolving sources of inspiration and learning while staying true to the reasons why she chose her career path, leading her to L.E.K. Consulting.

 

Why did you choose to work for your company?

I was excited to work in a fast-paced environment where I could quickly learn about a variety of industries through client projects and where I could combine analytics with qualitative research to solve client problems. Equally as important as to why I chose L.E.K. is why I’ve stayed at L.E.K. While I have found all of the reasons I chose L.E.K. to be true, the level of personal and professional development I’ve experienced here has led me to stay for 3.5 years. At L.E.K., there’s always something new to learn, whether that’s a skill, an industry, or a project topic, and I find the challenge of constant learning exciting. You’re not learning on your own – the mentorship I’ve received, both formal and informal, has been instrumental in my success at the firm and in my career thus far. Now that I’ve been here for a few years, I have really enjoyed mentoring younger Associates at the firm and passing my knowledge along to the next generation.

 

What does a typical day look like for you in your role at your company?

While my days vary from project to project, there are some common themes throughout. I start my day between 8:30-9am. When I log on, I usually check my email to see what’s come in overnight and get started on my work for the day. Early in the day, my team will have a formal touchpoint where we talk about goals, next steps, and work through any roadblocks. My role is a bridge role between the analytical Associate Consultant role and the team leader Consultant role, so I am usually responsible for the analytical storylines within our project, including market sizing models, consumer surveys, and any other analyses that pop up. I am responsible for sourcing the data, analyzing it, and pulling the findings into a clear, concise summary of what they represent for our client. In my role, I also mentor less tenured team members, helping them with any questions or roadblocks. In the evenings, my team will either formally or informally align on end of day goals. These usually include finishing slide loops, sending slide decks to our MDs for review, standing up pieces of analyses, or, before client presentations, sending the materials to the client. The team will then work together to complete that goal before logging off for the night!

 

How does your employer support you showing up to work as your authentic self? Are you involved in community groups like ERGs?

A large part of my ability to be authentic at work lies in the strength of my relationships with my colleagues. Fortunately, I have found that L.E.K. has a culture of friendliness that promotes friendship and mentorship development among colleagues. Some of my closest friends in adulthood are people with whom I started as Associates. These peers are not only my friends, but I also am able to learn from them daily. My second year at the firm, I decided to take a more formal role in promoting this culture by taking on a leadership role within my office’s social committee. This has been a great way for me to connect with my colleagues across roles, and I have been able to pick up helpful skills along the way, such as event planning and contract negotiation.

Being a woman is also central to my identity in the workplace. I am involved in L.E.K.’s ERG for women, Women @ L.E.K. and have sought out female mentors who I can turn to in order to learn more about their experiences and to get advice.

What was your major and how did you get to the role you’re in today? How did your major help prepare you for your career journey even if it is not connected to your current industry?

Coming into college, I was fairly certain that I wanted to have a career in business. Attending a liberal arts university, we didn’t have a business major, so I chose to study economics with the hope that I would be able to apply that knowledge to the business world. What I underestimated, however, was the applicability of the analytical ways of thinking I learned in my classes to my current role. In college, I took econometrics and wrote a thesis using regression analyses. While I do very few regression analyses in my current role, the process of sourcing data, evaluating its usefulness, and then analyzing that data to come to a conclusion is a skill that I use on a weekly basis.

 

How do you stay inspired?

Upon speaking with a mentor several weeks ago, he gave me a fantastic piece of advice that resonated with me. When I asked him how he stayed inspired throughout his career, he said to seek inspiration in the reasons why you chose to work somewhere in the first place. I found that to be true for me generally over my career – with what inspires me most changing as I get deeper into my career. At first, I was inspired by the constant knowledge I was gaining as I explored different industries and different topics on client projects. As I have narrowed in on my industries and topics of interest, what has continued to inspire me is the opportunity to collaborate with my extremely intelligent colleagues and to mentor the next generation of people in my role(s). I’m sure that as I continue to progress in my company and throughout my career, my source of inspiration will change, but it’s centering to have a framework to go back to when looking for inspiration and fascinating to track that inspiration over time.