Belonging Is Not Just About Me

Not many people know this, but HORNE was the first firm to take a chance on me. I wasn’t the smartest student in the class. I wasn’t the most social. But I believe God gave me favor to connect with HORNE and convince them to give me a shot.

I remember the internship interview on that fall morning at Ole Miss. I interviewed with two partners, back-to-back. After the first interview, I just knew I wasn’t getting the job. The second interview was much lighter, probably because it was with our Executive Partner Joey Havens. He told me I had a bright future and many opportunities ahead. I was glad one of those opportunities would lead to a career with HORNE.

When I look back to where it began in 2014, I am vastly grateful to be connected to a firm that, like me, values God, our families, our team members, our clients, and our communities. I appreciate that HORNE’s culture, what we call the Wise Firm, is built on biblical principles. And part of our culture is to create a sense of belonging for each and every team member, where we embrace our differences and work in cohesion... living life together, one team, one direction.

HORNE wants every team member to have a sense of belonging. But I know it is challenging for all 500+ of us to feel and help others feel like they belong every day. For example, I’m often the only black person in a meeting. I literally cannot contribute to any conversations about football. And I struggle with speaking up most times. Does this mean I don’t belong? I don’t think so. When I feel out of place, I remember belonging means embracing our differences and accentuating each other’s strengths. I see my team doing this, and we all have fun working together. I know I’m different, but we all are different in some way. Making the effort to meet each other where we are is the goal.

You see, the beauty of our Wise Firm culture is that it gives us the opportunity to define what belonging at HORNE means to us individually. My sense of belonging lies in the fact that I’m even here and that God keeps giving me opportunities to lead and grow within the firm. The one I’m most excited about is serving on the Personnel Committee. This position gives me a chance to be more involved with the firm and evoke change. It’s challenging me to think of every team member’s experience and how to make it better.

My advice on belonging: make it personal. Every day you go to work, ask yourself: what can I do to create a sense of belonging for myself and others? It will change your perspective as you become intentional about breathing life into this part of our culture. Believe that, as different as we all are, each one of us is at HORNE for a reason. And while we’re here, we must work together to build the Wise Firm. When we do that, more of us will truly believe the statement, “I belong at HORNE.”