Follow your passion: PwC director Sophie Langshaw - Women's Agenda

Follow your passion: PwC director Sophie Langshaw

sophie_langshaw_pwc

sophie_langshaw_pwc

Although Sophie Langshaw has been with PwC for 15 years, her career has been anything but monotonous.

Joining the firm straight from school as an undergraduate, the past 15 years has seen Langshaw travel the world, spending over two years in PwC’s London office, a couple of months in Papua New Guinea as well as a stint in India.

“While I’ve been here for 15 years, I feel like I’ve had multiple careers in my time here. I’ve worked across four different countries on a variety of different projects, with a bunch of awesome and inspiring people,” says Langshaw, reflecting on her career and the numerous opportunities that have come her way so far. “I’m still really passionate about what I do, thankfully.”

Yet becoming an accountant wasn’t something Langshaw originally planned, initially setting her sights on a career as a lawyer, studying commerce at the University of New South Wales with the hope of later transferring to law.

“I had no intention of being an accountant … I would have laughed at you if you had said to me 15 years ago that I’d be here,” she says. “I didn’t expect to stay [at PwC] for more than two years as I was planning to transfer to law. I thought this would be a stepping-stone to get where I wanted to be.”

But joining PwC proved to be a stepping-stone to exactly where she wants to be, having forged a long and successful career in the accounting world – one that Langshaw says she instantly loved – and now the director has her eye on becoming a partner.

Having worked her way up the ranks since she started as an undergraduate, Langshaw says her success to date is the result of motivation, a positive mindset and pure hard work, but also the mentoring relationships she’s developed along the way.

“The power of mentors, both male and female [has helped me along the way],” she explains. “I’ve got mentors and I mentor others – I love my mentoring relationships.”

Along with the guidance of her mentors, Langshaw credits doing what she’s passionate about as the root of her success and her ability to balance the demands of being a director at PwC, with the demands of being a board director of Multiple Sclerosis Limited – a charity close to Langshaw’s heart, whose brother suffers from the disease.

As a board director, Langshaw spends much of her spare time attending board meetings, supporting the CEO, fundraising as well as deciphering through the recent disability scheme changes.

“It’s completely unpaid, so you definitely want to be doing something you’re really passionate about,” she says.

“In saying that, my boss [at PwC] is really flexible. We have [Multiple Sclerosis Ltd] board meetings during the day and my boss lets me go to board meetings every second month.”

Although children aren’t on the scene just yet for Langshaw, her and her husband have already experienced the challenges of juggling a demanding career with family life, looking after a seven-year-old foster boy one or two weekends each month through the Aunties and Uncles program.

“We’ve had him since he was three years old, which was initially a tough gig for two people that don’t have kids of their own yet, suddenly having a foster boy,” she says. “We absolutely love it though and hopefully we are making some sort of difference in his life.”

Langshaw concedes it’s not easy juggling the demands of her charity commitments, her responsibilities as a foster parent and her role at PwC but credits her supportive husband and family as well as the ability she has developed over the years to say no.

“Don’t be afraid to say no sometimes. You can’t be a ‘yes’ person all the time,” she says, adding that she has also learnt to block out ‘me time’ in her calendar, to make room for exercise and to ensure she maintains a work/life balance. “I’m now more strategic in what I say yes to.”

Once told that she’ll never feel 100% ready for an opportunity and to “just do it”, Langshaw hopes the next chapter will bring the new challenges of having children or making partner – “whichever comes first”.

Sophie Langshaw’s top tips for career success:

• Follow your passion: “Make sure your work is something you’re passionate about. Life is too short to be in a career that you don’t enjoy!”
• Find a mentor: “Find a mentor and make it a two way relationship.”
• Back yourself: “Back yourself and stop sweating the small stuff.”
• Say no: “Don’t be afraid to say no sometimes. You can’t be a yes person all the time.” 

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