Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

What do you do when you realize you aren’t happy with the job you have? At first glance, you might think, duh…find a new job. BUT, what if you love the firm you work for and the people you work with even more, you just don’t love the actual work? That makes the situation a little more difficult.

In a recent brainstorming exercise, a team I was working with explored the concept of rewards. None of the ideas replaced fair wages, performance bonuses, appreciation or on-the-spot praise, but they added into the ways you already reward results. They were ideas that could accelerate your team’s performance.

When I started at HORNE, I didn’t realize how much I could actually love the firm I worked for. I haven’t been at HORNE long, but I have learned so much about myself, my profession and my firm. I even vividly remember my first new hire orientation, HORNE FastStart. They told us that HORNE was big on flexibility. But that it wasn’t a policy, it was a philosophy and it even had a name—Fearless Unrivaled Flexibility. At the time, I didn’t really understand what that meant. I assumed it meant that I would occasionally be able to leave work early on Fridays or that I could even leave work in the middle of the day to handle a personal errand if needed.

I rushed into the breakroom between meetings to grab a quick cup of coffee, but much to my disappointment the carafe was totally empty. I took a quick glance at the Keurig sitting on the counter and contemplated making a single cup, but the thought was fleeting. I knew that in a matter of minutes someone else would do the same thing I was doing—stop by the breakroom in between commitments to refuel their tank and refresh their cup. No, I’d pass on the quick fix, and I’d wait the five minutes it would take to make a fresh pot. In the process, I’d help someone else avoid this small pause in their day.

As 2018 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on a year of amazing discussions and inspiration to see how culture mattered in 2018.

What did we find? Our readers really enjoy blogs where our team members didn't shy away from hard topics and felt empowered to share their personal stories.

Here’s a look back at the most read blogs from 2018.

Leading others well requires constant learning and growing. To best develop our teams, we have to first be willing to develop ourselves! One of the best ways to learn is by sharing with and hearing from peers.

At HORNE, we believe that our people are our greatest asset and the best way to grow all of our team members is by first, growing our leaders. One of the ways we develop our leaders is by hosting regular group coaching sessions, focused on the strategic needs facing our leaders. The purpose of these sessions is to provide a confidential space where transparency, collaboration, strategizing and peer learning can best take place. Our most recent session was focused around understanding and unpacking specific feedback as it relates to our roles as leaders and determining ways to improve on them.

Research tells us that engagement is a byproduct of four sequential factors, built on a solid foundation of clear expectations. Team members must know what is expected of them at work and have the resources to perform their jobs before they can even think about engagement.

Certainty. It’s something many of us crave, but time and time again, life proves to be uncertain. Every area of our lives produces some unknown elements. As much as we plan and prepare, the truth is uncertainty can also mean feeling insecure, unsettled, unmotivated, and at times, very disconnected from one’s purpose.