Full interview with Leon Pieters

As Global Consumer Product Sector leader and partner at Deloitte, you can say that Leon Pieters is what you could call a ‘global citizen’. He’s an active board member of the Workplace Pride and inspires his co-workers to be their authentic selves. We asked him about his career steps, diversity at the office and why self-acceptance is the first step to happiness.

What did you want to become when you were young?

When I was a kid I wanted to become a teacher at an elementary school; both of my parents, my two older sisters and my grandfather are teachers. This changed at the end of high school. I was more attracted to technology than anything else so I decided to go to a technology university.

So far, did you make conscious choices when it comes to your career?

Within Deloitte I have made very conscious decisions about my career. Knowing where I get energy from, and using that as the direction of my career. Following my passion: to work with many people with very different backgrounds, in an international environment, solving complex problems. And that’s what I do.

You have been working in different countries. Do you think it’s important for students who have strong career ambitions to experience working abroad?

I think for everyone who wants to have a career in business it’s essential to have international experience. Whether it is in the Netherlands working in an international environment, or working abroad. That is what the reality of the world is today.

During my times abroad, I did learn about the country I was working in, but also about the Netherlands. You look at your own country from another perspective, have an external view on it. What I like about the Netherlands is that we have an informal society where your background doesn’t matter. It matters what you say and what you do. Hierarchy is not that important. In the Netherlands you don’t get anything done by saying “I’m the boss”.

What will be your next career step?

What really gives me energy is to solve complex problems for our clients in an international environment, with people from different cultural backgrounds. I work in such a diverse team, where we face clients’ problems from different perspectives. At Deloitte, there is a strong corporate culture, but that doesn’t replace the local culture that people bring from their home countries. That mix is what makes Deloitte an interesting international environment to work in and what I like in my job.

You are a board member at Workplace Pride and were a member of the Diversity Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce. Why is it important to have a diversity committee or programme at an organisation like Deloitte?

I think that at too many companies people at the top consist of white Christian heterosexual males; that’s not a reflection of society. We need to work from within the organisation to change this for the next generations. This is also important at universities. Students are the leaders of tomorrow, they should be more aware of the power of diversity. I came from a generation where we didn’t even know how to spell diversity. I can now openly say that I’m a gay man, but I wasn’t open and out when I was at university. If there was a diversity committee back then, it would have definitely helped me to find my true self much earlier in my life. In retrospect I can say that I missed this at my university.

Do you think there’s enough awareness on diversity nowadays?

I think there’s still unawareness within a lot of people. People quite often do not understand what the impact is of their words, their behaviour, or the way they interact with people. I believe that confronting people with their behaviour and educating them is the only solution. We are in an interesting era in world history. You see many leaders and many countries only focusing on themselves and there’s a lack of diversity and, even more important, inclusiveness. I believe that’s a dead-end road. In the end we are all citizens of spaceship Earth and we need to do it all together to make this world a better place for us and the next generations to come.

You say that it’s important that people bring their authentic self to the workplace. What are the preconditions to make this happen?

You should be at ease with yourself. I believe that bringing your authentic self to your workplace is critical for your future success. It doesn’t matter how other people look at you, it’s about how you see yourself. If you try to be someone else, too much of your energy is going into pretending who you are. Dare to accept yourself for who you are.

The Financial Times publishes an OUTstanding list each year, with what they call pink leaders. Who do you think should be on this list?

I think Tim Cook should definitely be on this list. He was the first CEO of a Fortune-500 firm that came out. And he said he regretted that he was selfish for not bringing his entire identity to the firm, because he could have helped a lot of his young colleagues to come out and be themselves.

What’s the best career advice you received?

“Follow your passion. Only focus on the things that you’re really good at and become an expert in those areas. Don’t waste your energy on areas where you have no interest in or where you’re not good at. Focus on the good”. A female leader at Deloitte gave me that advice.

What would be your career advice to current students?

Accept who you truly are. Don’t fight against your enemies inside, embrace everything you are, whether you have a different sexuality, you believe in a certain God, maybe you look different. I feel that a lot of young people, students, do not accept themselves. I would say to them: be yourself and embrace yourself. This will give you much more energy that you can give back to others and put into your career. It’s all within yourself.