#10. Nancie Calder is a Senior Vice President and Global Consulting Practice Lead at Avanade, based in Toronto, Canada. From her start as a freelance consultant to leading a global team of 3,000 people, Nancie brings three decades of experience driving innovation at scale.Nancie shares her hard-won insights about what it really takes to nurture innovation and continuous learning across a 3,000+ person global practice—especially in the fast-changing Microsoft ecosystem. Her emphasis on combining practical experience with scalable programs really hit home.KEY LESSONSInnovation is for everyone. True innovation goes beyond technology. Nancie instills an innovative mindset throughout her team by hiring for passion and curiosity - not just technical skills. Encouraging everyone to leverage AI and new Microsoft tools is at the heart of their success.Continuous learning is non-negotiable: Avanade dedicates specific learning hours, gamified certification paths, and peer mentoring to ensure their team is always up to speed. A growth mindset isn’t just a buzzword - it’s a requirement for staying relevant.Global knowledge sharing matters: With biweekly cross-regional meetings, dynamic communities of practice, and creative use of Copilot to gather project learnings, Nancie demonstrates the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing for scaling leadership across borders.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Helping teams deliver AI assessments and using AI in practice00:35 Introduction to Practice Leading and the focus on innovation at Avanade02:42 Nancie Calder introduces herself and her journey in the Microsoft partner ecosystem05:02 Scaling a global practice and building capability across regions06:40 Defining innovation at a global systems integrator: product development and service improvement08:26 Balancing billable work and professional development in consultancy10:48 Instilling a culture of innovation and continuous learning at scale13:17 Capturing and sharing project lessons learned across the organization16:07 Incentivizing knowledge sharing and using AI to identify expertise internally19:34 Formal innovation initiatives like hackathons, Innovation Days, and global knowledge sharing21:11 Practice overlaps and navigating resource contention between business units23:48 Supporting team members with different growth mindsets and learning from client attitudes toward innovation29:36 Choosing which Microsoft innovations to invest in and building specialized practicesRESOURCESNancie Calder on LinkedInAvanade on LinkedInAvanade websiteRECOMMENDED EPISODES#7 From Four to Forty: Building CRMK’s Team and Culture with CEO, Kathrine Hogseth👋 LET'S CONNECT🌐 Subscribe to Practice Leading newsletter for key lesson takeaways and special event invitations🟥 Subscribe on YouTube🟦 Follow on LinkedIn🟦

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