The CEO of Edward Jones said one risky decision made her career take off

Penny Pennington's decision to leave investment banking over two decades ago clearly paid off.

"I wasn't sure that it mattered that it was me who showed up every day in the first 14 years of my career," Pennington told Business Insider.

Since starting at Edward Jones in 2000, one of the nation's largest investment advisory firms, Pennington said being herself has "really mattered." When advising clients and their families on major financial decisions, she said authenticity builds trust.

"Who I am as a person can be attractive to some people, in a non-superficial way," Pennington said. "In a way where people can say, 'Wow, I think I can trust her. She's credible. She's reliable. She's getting to know us.'"

Over time, she realized the same principle from earlier in her career applied. Pennington said that her job was still to tell the story of Edward Jones and its clients, and she didn't need to subdue her personality to do it.

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Once she stopped trying to fit someone else's mold, she said, her career took off. She credits her advancement at Edward Jones to being herself.