Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

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.

When I was in college working to obtain my bachelor’s in business management, if someone told me that one day I would grow up to become an acrobat, I would have told them they’d lost their mind. Pigs had a better chance of sprouting wings and taking to the sky than I had of navigating a trapeze. Yet here I sit ten years later, constantly walking a tightrope as I try to balance work and home life.

Every day at HORNE is an opportunity to advance the firm along its journey to build the Wise Firm. We have 13 building blocks that define the Wise Firm and arguably nine of them are not technical or task focused. Those building blocks We & Service (the foundation of the Wise Firm), Collaboration, External Focus, Sense of Belonging, Relationships, Hard Decisions, Honor Values, Empowered People, and Positive Energy — speak to our team members and the leadership they deserve.

Fear is a deep-seated and natural human emotion. Indeed rational fear helps us make sound decisions and even helps keep us alive. But less primal/survival fears are learned as we grow and experience life. It’s these less rational fears that can stall or even derail our professional growth and career trajectory. Fear of failure, of being wrong, of not being good enough, of being taken advantage of and even fear of success can all diminish our capacity for growth, success and happiness.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the 2018 Domino’s World Rally in Las Vegas. The amount of team unity and energy radiated by the participants and franchisees from across the globe was staggering. This year’s conference theme was “Drive.” HORNE was one of the exhibitors.

When I started my journey with HORNE four years ago, my emotional intelligence needed improvement, particularly in the areas of self-awareness and positive outlook. I knew this needed to change; not just for my professional growth, but so I could be a happier and more well-balanced person in all aspects of my life.

Did you know that you can go get the feedback you need to grow and develop? Most people don’t realize how empowered we are to ask for what we need—including the specific type of feedback at any given point of the day or in our careers. Whether it’s appreciation, coaching or evaluation feedback you are seeking, here are some questions to help you go out and get the feedback you want.

There is an important growth, engagement and learning opportunity that the best teams will make a priority: the after action review (AAR). In addition to regular check-ins and course corrections throughout a project or client engagement, the AAR is a discipline that will help us all to #beEVENbetter. Here’s the great news, it doesn’t have to be a long, taxing process. Here are four questions, with a few best practices, that our team uses to make sure we are learning and growing continuously while engaging every member of the team.

It was a Monday afternoon in October when I received the text, “mama I miss you.” I wasn’t surprised by it and had even come to recognize the polarized feelings that followed. The knife in the stomach knowing my daughter, a freshman at Southeast Missouri State, was lonely and sad, contrasted with the feeling of relief that she still needed me at the age of 19. As I managed this emotional dichotomy, I quickly picked up my phone to fire off a response before my next meeting. Despite the fact I thought I knew what was driving my daughter’s dilemma I didn’t want to make any assumptions. “I miss you too, sugar…what’s going on?” Claire’s response, “I’m lonely.” Followed by mine, “I know it’s hard right now. How about if we brainstorm some ideas tonight after school and work?” She agreed.