Lesley Smillie: Finding Confidence and Finding Her Voice

Lesley initially trained and practised as a lawyer before making the decision early in her career to move into the wider professional services world. What began as a move away from law ultimately led to more than 20 years at Deloitte, where she now leads the firm’s Government and Public Services business across Scotland alongside her role as Senior Partner of Deloitte’s Edinburgh office.

Having spent years training as a lawyer, moving into a different profession in her early twenties was a significant decision. But taking that opportunity opened the door to a career that has continued to evolve, bringing new responsibilities, challenges and opportunities along the way.

Finding Her Voice

When Lesley first entered consulting, she was one of relatively few women in the Edinburgh consulting environment. Her teams and the leadership around her were predominantly male, creating an environment in which she had to learn to find her confidence and make herself heard.

One moment in particular stood out as she progressed towards senior management. Lesley travelled to London for a promotion panel and found herself facing five senior male partners from Deloitte’s financial services business. She knew she had to find the confidence to hold her own and demonstrate what she knew.

She chose to step forward.

That experience became one of many moments throughout her career that encouraged Lesley to speak up and trust her own perspective.

“I’m a massive fan of they’ve usually got better things to say than I do. So, speak out, be vocal, you’ve got a place at the table.”

For Lesley, leadership is not about having the loudest voice in the room. It is about creating the conditions for others to contribute and recognising that different perspectives can make a team stronger.

Lesley actively encourages younger colleagues to join meetings with her, even when they may initially be reluctant to speak. She makes a point of asking for their views, recognising that they can bring something different to the conversation.

Navigating Change

Lesley’s career has also involved navigating significant personal and professional change. Following two periods of maternity leave, returning to work presented a different set of challenges.

When Lesley returned from her first period of maternity leave in 2015, she was already a senior leader but found that the organisation did not yet have the structures or support she needed to make that transition.

“If I’m really honest, I felt very, very lost and a real, real lack of confidence coming back into the business.”

Returning to work with a different mindset and new priorities forced Lesley to navigate a period of significant change. The experience reinforced for her how important it is to create environments where people are properly supported through periods of transition. It also reinforced the importance of having people around you who provide encouragement and support.

Today, Lesley is part of a predominantly female leadership team at Deloitte. Although the team came together through circumstance rather than design, she describes the relationships as hugely valuable.

“We have each other’s backs 100%.”

That sense of mutual support has become an important part of Lesley’s leadership experience. She also credits her mentor, Angela Mitchell, with being a significant supporter throughout her progression within Deloitte.

For Lesley, having people who believe in you and are willing to support you through the less straightforward moments of a career can make a significant difference.

The Impact of EWIL

Lesley joined the Executive Women in Leadership (EWIL) programme as part of its first cohort, almost a decade ago.

Looking back, she is clear about the impact it had on her career.

“I genuinely mean this, that it’s had a major impact on my career.”

For Lesley, the impact came through the learning, the relationships she built and, perhaps most significantly, the confidence it gave her as a leader.

At the time, she felt she lacked confidence in understanding who she was as a leader. Hearing from other women and learning alongside senior leaders gave her the opportunity to reflect on her own leadership style and develop greater belief in herself.

“It definitely encouraged me to speak out and to believe in myself a lot more.”

The relationships she built through the programme have continued long after it ended. Almost a decade later, Lesley continues to count a number of her fellow participants as friends, while others have become part of her wider professional network.

For Lesley, those relationships have become part of the support network she has carried with her throughout her career.

Creating Space for Others

That experience has also influenced the way Lesley supports others.

She believes strongly in giving younger colleagues the opportunity to build their confidence and have their voices heard. Rather than expecting junior colleagues simply to observe, she actively encourages them to contribute and to recognise that they have something valuable to offer.

Lesley’s approach is grounded in a simple belief: you do not need to wait until you reach a certain level of seniority before your voice matters.

That philosophy extends to her thoughts on the future of the EWIL network. Lesley believes there is an opportunity to create stronger connections between different cohorts and, importantly, to make those networks available to people earlier in their careers. She believes younger professionals can benefit from having access to relationships and conversations that might otherwise take years to develop.

For Lesley, creating those connections is about more than networking. It is about giving people the confidence to start having those conversations earlier and building a support network they can carry with them throughout their careers.

Looking Ahead

Looking back over more than two decades at Deloitte, Lesley’s journey demonstrates how much can change when you are willing to step outside the path you originally imagined.

From moving away from law in her early twenties to taking on senior leadership responsibilities across Deloitte, her career has been shaped by change, challenge and a growing belief in her own ability.

EWIL played an important part in that journey, helping Lesley build confidence, find her voice and develop relationships that have continued long after the programme itself.

Lesley’s advice to her younger self is perhaps the simplest reflection of that journey:

“Believe in yourself. You know, you’re as good as everybody else, if not better. But it took me a long time to realise that.”

And that is something Lesley now hopes to help others realise earlier in their own careers.

Executive Women in Leadership Alumni Spotlight Series

This article forms part of our Executive Women in Leadership Alumni Spotlight Series, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the EWLP programme in September 2026, and has been developed collaboratively with the support of Judy Wagner, Director of FWB Ltd and Prof Susan Murphy of The University of Edinburgh Business School, (who co-founded the EWLP), the EWIL Advisory Board, programme contributors, and interview participants.

The EWLP has since evolved into the Executive Leadership Programme (ELP), delivered in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Business School and open to leaders of all genders across the private, public and third sectors.

For more information about joining the 2026 cohort, please contact elp@fwbltd.com.