Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

I’ve always been inspired by people who have successful careers, are at the top of their game and then throw caution to the wind by selling everything they have, cutting ties to their old life and pursuing a long-standing dream in their new-found freedom. Doesn’t simply reading those stories fill you with a sense of amazement and inspire you, even if for a brief moment? Seeing their faces when they tell their stories, with an infectious grin from ear to ear, that's the passion and all-in attitude we need in the workplace today. 

A few weeks ago I attended the AICPA Women’s Global Leadership Summit. This summit was attended by nearly 500 female professionals and about 10 male professionals. In case you are wondering, yes, I was asked multiple times why I was in attendance. You see, simply stated, public accounting and HORNE do not have enough females in leadership roles. At HORNE, we are very much focused on how to improve retention of our female professionals and help them advance to leadership roles at our firm. 

I am part of that change. The question for me becomes, “How?”

I’m a female in a profession that is traditionally dominated by men at the highest levels of the organization. My entire career has been marked by the word “only”—the only woman on the board, the only woman at the table, etc.

Or, so I thought.

When we first began to work on HORNE’s formal sponsorship program, I began to look back over my 30-year career and realize that I had mistakenly placed that “only” label on my own path. In fact, in hindsight, I realize that there were many other people who played very important and intentional roles in my “only” positions. I did not get to be the only woman by myself.