Dan Helfrich on Building Culture while Pursuing Passions

Dan Helfrich is the Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting. As CEO, he leads a $10 billion business comprised of more than 50,000 professionals who help clients solve their most complex business issues and shape their futures with confidence. Prior to this role, Dan led the Government of Public Services and advised government leaders in transforming into their most efficient and effective organizations, across areas of technology, modernization and innovation, human capital, strategy and analytics, customer experience, and enterprise operations, In addition to that, Dan serves as the play-by-play for Georgetown Men’s Soccer, which is where he went to college and played soccer.

In this conversation, Dan will talk about leadership, why he takes time to pursue things he’s passionate about, and what he believes the tenets of leadership and good human development are.

In this episode, we discuss what it was like for Dan growing up in a household as the oldest of 7 kids (5:35), why his family decided to adopt 3 kids after already having 4 (7:25), what his parents did for work and how that influenced him (8:30), how going to a Montessori school impacted him (10:20), how he views nature and nurture as it relates to his household growing up (11:00), what he was like as a teenager and how he’s changed since then (13:12), the role of sports in his life growing up (13:35), some benefits and drawbacks to being “a 30 year-old in a 15-year-old body” as he was growing up (15:10), if he had a life vision at the age of 15 (15:50), why he decided to play college soccer at Georgetown (16:40) and what the experience was like (18:25), if sitting on the bench at Georgetown was the biggest piece of adversity he had faced in his life at the time (19:46), what he learned about “leading from the bench” (20:38), where his confidence comes from (23:33), how he thinks about curiosity and conviction (25:22), what it’s like being the play-by-play commentator for Georgetown Men’s Soccer and how that aspect of his career came about (27:10), if he’s inspired others by taking on that role in addition to being a CEO (37:30), his career and journey to where he is now professionally (39:00), how important loyalty is to him (41:38) and the benefits and drawbacks of being loyal (42:40), how much time he spends on business/consulting strategy vs how much time he spends on creating a strong culture and developing people (44:25), everyday equations that he and his team have created (46:37), how he makes time and connects with the 55,000 other people in his organization (51:20), his relationship with sleep (53:20), some things he believes he still has room to grow on (54:55), if exercise and health are important to him (56:45), and his advice to today’s leaders (58:15).

Thank you so much to Dan for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

-Brian