Akın Deniz Heper
Yale-NUS College
Singapore (1.3° N, 103.8° E)

featuring Marc Sabbagh, Chief of Staff, Safety and Citizen Services, Accenture Federal Services, Washington D.C. (38.9° N, 77.0° W)

Marc Sabbagh is a chief of staff for the Safety and Citizen Services portfolio at Accenture Federal Services. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Rice University and a master’s degree in international affairs and economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

Marc Sabbagh’s experience as both a management consultant and a chief of staff—a role relatively new to the private sector—is a lesson on how to understand and capitalize on the different opportunities available through a career in consulting. Listening to Sabbagh’s journey through research positions and internships to his early and current roles at Accenture is instructive on how to best pursue a career in consulting over other paths, such as NGOs, government employment, or think tanks.

“There’s always been this thread in my life of how new emerging tech could be used in a way to advance government missions and collaborations,” he says.

The impact of technology on government missions makes consulting with federal agencies and departments a highly appealing career choice for students seeking to make a difference and effect real, positive change, according to Sabbagh. “I get to deliver technology and see how that impacts and enables government missions,” he says.

Sabbagh is currently working on the EPIC Disruption Learning Series, a program that aims to familiarize Accenture employees with new technology from private sector companies and further equip people with the technological skills to hone and shape client solutions using the latest innovations, such as artificial intelligence technology and automation. The EPIC Disruption Learning Series highlights the importance of familiarity with the latest technology in all fields of consulting.

His current role as chief of staff centers on managing key Accenture internal operations and includes ensuring key initiatives get off the ground quickly and meet their purpose. Sabbagh’s position also involves connecting the right people to create efficient and successful teams and increase the efficiency of internal processes—modernizing outdated technology or techniques and better allocating available resources to facilitate delivery and implementation of viable strategies to clients.

For consultants, a deep understanding of the subject of focus is important, but a breadth of knowledge is also a key resource. Problem-solving abilities and soft skills that promote cooperation, communication, and teamwork are essential. Sabbagh believes these are what make an especially valuable consultant and are a product of the superior liberal arts education that he received at Rice.

Curiosity and always questioning preconceived notions are vital qualities, since they inevitably lead to up-to-date and innovative engagement with projects and clients. Sabbagh is a successful example of being open to risk-taking and adaptability to change, partly through his interest and evolving work in abstract art.

“Abstract art is about risk. You’re dealing with a blank canvas, when you start, you don’t exactly know where you’re going, and that can be a little bit uncomfortable. Then you start contemplating your work, and you resolve it…being fearless in taking that risk…can be pivotal,” Sabbagh notes. “I’ve been really applying that mindset at work by saying, ‘If I do this, it’s not the end of the world because I pivot.’”

Aside from developing the requisite skills on which a consultant depends, Sabbagh recommends that those interested in consulting try to think like a consultant in their current places of work or academic setting. Staying current with world events, changes in the field, and professional innovations can improve the efficiency in service of an organization or a client.

“People interested in consulting should start recognizing ways they can be a consultant or an external advisor—to the company they already work for, or the internship they’re taking,” he says. “By asking themselves questions such as, ‘If I wasn’t at my organization, how would I solve this? What recommendations would I make?’”

Highlights from the interview:

Were there any direct expectations that you either followed or had to fight against to follow your career? What were the general stances of your family and community behind your choices?

Growing up in Houston, I was always interested in government. My family background is Lebanese American, so I’ve always viewed life through an international lens. I wanted to do something that involved government and international perspectives. Accenture is that avenue for me. I work in consulting for Accenture Federal Services, and we work with organizations that have international missions, and assist in implementing technology for government agencies and offices. It’s a cool intersection of private sector and government work.

One of the biggest sparks in my interest in technology and international affairs was the Arab uprisings of 2011 and how social media was used at that time. All through college and grad school, I worked with the State Department as a virtual intern, helping them do online programs using things like Google Hangouts and Adobe Connect to get people—just ordinary citizens from different countries—talking and learning about each other. That was another way I saw technology impacting diplomacy and government.

There’s always been this thread in my life of how new emerging tech could be used in a way to advance government missions and collaborations. With Accenture Federal Services, I get to deliver technology and see how it impacts and enables government missions. I don’t know if my interest in technology came from family expectations or my background, but that has always been my interest. I think my parents and family helped me think about what’s next and to be creative, as did Rice and my grad program.

I know that you’re working on the EPIC Disruption learning series right now. Is that your main focus right now, or what does your position entail otherwise?

Starting out, I was mostly working with our government clients. During my first few weeks at Accenture Federal Services, I met one of our account leads, who became my mentor. This year, he began leading accounts across homeland security, diplomacy, justice, education, commerce—we call it Safety and Citizen Services, or S&CS. He asked me to join as his chief of staff.

The EPIC Disruption learning series is one of many initiatives our group has launched. We’re partnering with several high-level corporate partners so that we can understand their technology and then build something that resonates with clients. We think it can bring a new sense of understanding and help government agencies resolve problems through technology innovation. At the same time, it gives our own people new skills in an emerging tech market that we think are going to be important in the next few years.

With breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence, chat bots within contact centers, or robotic process automation, there are so many opportunities. We’re finding with this series that people are coming in with little understanding of new technology. But they understand their clients and the issues they are trying to solve in government. Once they understand what a technology can achieve, they are immediately able to tie that to a client challenge and build something impactful.

What skills do you find very useful day to day, both in your current position and when you are working more externally with clients?

Academically, I took courses that allowed me to present, write, and communicate. There’s a lot of personal engagement in the fields of political science and history, so I was really exposed through my academics on how to create an argument, write a paper, present the argument, and communicate the salient points. I also learned how to understand the audience and communicate with people from a different culture or a different background. It’s extremely useful in my work with Accenture Federal Services and dealing with people from different backgrounds.

I interned at the Baker Institute during my time at Rice. Baker didn’t have a Twitter or Facebook account, and they were struggling to communicate with students on campus. My experience in applying digital tools and providing messaging recommendations to Baker helped them improve their communications. Later, as a communications associate at the Arab American Institute, I developed messages to motivate people and engage different communities at the state level and on Capitol Hill.

These experiences inform my work today with clients. A lot of it is using the soft skills. Accenture Federal Services teaches me hard, technical skills in delivering projects, using agile methodology or human-centered design. My academic studies and previous experiences lent themselves to soft skill development, engaging people, writing and presenting ideas in a meaningful and creative way.

Could you give more examples of the kind of work that you’ve done?

If I were to break down my role into three focus areas, let us describe it this way. One is “people wrangler”—someone who finds ways to make our team successful and convene different people from our marketing, sales, delivery, or intelligence teams to reach a desired solution. Second, I’m an “initiative accelerator,” helping to get projects off the ground and delivered in a timely manner. My third primary role is “friction busting,” taking outdated or slow-moving processes and making them more efficient through innovative thinking and productive collaboration.

How do you think technology will change the way consulting will work?

For technology at Accenture Federal Services, I see increasing collaboration, a broader sharing of knowledge between the private sector and government globally. This opens up opportunities and avenues to new tools and technologies. Accenture is already a remarkably agile organization, and we are continuing to develop new and industry-specific collaborative skills, through expanding telework and other resources. My personal view is that it’s really valuable to have people face-to-face with technology as an essential enhancement to keeping a strong dialogue going.

From the government and technology, it’s a push/pull relationship. Government is assessing these technologies and how they’re going to impact society. So, we think about AI and what automation is going to do for the workforce, how advanced analytics will help us predict new things or make jobs and processes more efficient in government. Our clients are dealing with those questions, thinking about blockchain and cryptocurrency issues, among other things.

Those are emerging technologies that I think government is wrestling with now. In the past government would lead the way in those technologies; I think we’re now seeing a decentralization, and I’m interested to see if we, as consultants, are able to bridge that gap and help navigate those transformations.

What advice do you have for students or people who are generally interested in consulting as a career?

People interested in consulting should start recognizing ways that they can be a consultant or an external advisor—to the company they already work for, or maybe internship they’re involved in. By asking themselves questions such as, “If I wasn’t at my organization, how would I solve this? What recommendations would I make?” I think it involves a level of understanding of what’s happening outside of our organization or your university or wherever you’re solving problems, which means reading a lot and staying up to date with new ideas.

Working to become a well-rounded individual is important in consulting. I think we tend to specialize a lot, but we also need that breadth of knowledge as consultants. Problem-solving skills are always important. Going outside of your comfort zone is important. And soft skills matter, with the ability to communicate and engage with people is really important for consulting.

We need to move to a mindset of continuous learning and embracing an ability to change, by asking a lot of questions and being curious. That’s especially important for consultants because sometimes the first answer isn’t the right one. It’s asking why, and really understanding the client challenges without going in with preconceived notions.

While doing research for this interview, I realized you also work in abstract art. Do you find that it’s a good way to de-stress or a mode of self-expression? What role do you think that plays?

I’ve always been creative—writing, reading, creating new ideas. A few years ago, I tried painting because I felt abstract art was the lowest risk form for me. My first paintings were really terrible, I’m pretty sure, looking back. But I like challenges, so I kept at it. I would say that initially it was an outlet. As I’ve advanced in my career, I’ve channeled my creativity into the presentations, slides, and deliverables that I help create. Where you put things on the slide and measure how the eye moves around a presentation, or a deliverable, is a creative process. 

One of the biggest and most interesting things my teachers talked about that’s impacted my work is around risk-taking. Abstract art is about risk. You’re dealing with a blank canvas, when you start, you don’t exactly know where you’re going, and that can be a little bit uncomfortable. Then you start contemplating your work, and you resolve it. I’ve taken that back to work. When you’re making a consulting decision, sometimes there’s risk involved, but being fearless in taking that risk, as in art, can be pivotal.

I’ve been really applying that mindset at work by saying, “If I do this, it’s not the end of the world because I can pivot.” We don’t know all of the work that was in progress to get to that final product. That happens at work too, I think. You see the video, the EPIC Disruption series, but you don’t see all of the work that went into creating a series like that, and the risks involved, and the decisions that were made.

Interview excerpts have been lightly edited for clarity and readability and approved by the interviewee.