The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2023 Pinnacle Awards were announced Sept. 25, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person Nov. 16.
Next is Mike Pullen, a vice president at CGI Federal, who’s a Business Development Executive of the Year, Public Company, finalist. Here, he talks about what has made him successful in his current role and taking professional risks.
What has made you successful in your current role?
A large part of it is the freedom I have at CGI. I have been fortunate to work at an organization that provided me with the latitude to make the decisions that are required to make progress and ultimately succeed.
I needed some leeway to do what was necessary, and CGI has given me that through an environment that encourages members, which is what we call our employees, to contribute to building a company we can be proud of. Our primary mission is to help clients succeed through outstanding quality, competence, and objectivity.
To do that, we need to feel respected and trusted. CGI enables members to support and foster an environment that creates respect, trust, integrity and competence to produce high-quality work fueled by consultative partnerships.
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken?
The willingness to take on a leadership role and be accountable for the success of an area where I didn’t have previous experience and needed to learn on the job. For me, this was when I was asked to manage an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract after coming off of a contract managing technical program testing.
Before taking that risk, I had been a consultant leading technology projects. When I originally took on this responsibility two decades ago, I didn’t even know what an IDIQ contract vehicle was. I learned the people, processes and terminology over time. I went from a technical consultant background into a management executive type of role where my experience didn’t align to the day-to-day activities and expectations.
No one starts out as an executive. You work your way up to that. Learning the jargon and processes from the ground up is what helped me get where I am today. I developed a new perspective that enabled me to be able to talk about the technologies along with the contracting, mergers and acquisitions and strategy nuances that come up at large industry consulting firms.
The biggest risk can be the unknown. You don’t know what you don’t know, but you can learn it by overcoming the fear of not knowing, being open to new experiences, and saying yes to opportunities that could lead to professional growth.