Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

Building powerful relationships and partnerships is the very essence of the popular business term NETWORKING. But, too often, young (and sometimes old) professionals think of networking as transactional. “I need to meet you so you can help me be successful.” This folks, is a losing strategy.

Two skinny vanilla lattes. Both sugar-free.

One hot chocolate.

One flavor of the day.

One Café Mocha.

One medium roast.

One London Fog—sugar-free and skinny.

An iced coffee, room for milk.

And one dark roast with an extra shot.

That’s my team’s coffee order. 

The first job of a leader is to inspire trust. But why…and how?

The why behind the significance of building trust is that the essence of leadership is the ability to persuade teams to act boldly in alignment with a big vision. The reality is that none of us are likely to be inspired or influenced by leaders we do not trust. Where there is low trust in a relationship or on a team, there is the very real perception of high risk. Conversely, where there is high trust, the feeling is one of low risk. This is where we are not afraid to step out of our comfort zone or our defensive/cautious posture and try something new and bold. But then, how do we establish trust?

At HORNE, we don’t have “bosses,” we have Performance Advisors (PA). The PA role is designed to help accelerate our development through ongoing conversations that are timely, honest, constructive and transparent. We also have 2nd PAs, if we so desire, who serve as an additional perspective in the same capacity. Having a 2nd PA willing to invest in my development has always been valuable to me.

In my three years at HORNE, I have been encouraged and empowered by my relationships with my PAs. I use my voice to help shape my career, and we work together to set goals that are measurable and practical. My PAs assess my performance and progress along these goals, and so do I. We discuss and align our perspectives as needed, and I gain a solid view of where I am in my career, where I’d like to be, and where I can improve.

My PAs recently helped me uncover one major area for improvement – that is my need to be more willing to share the workload and delegate effectively.

Knowing that I had a desire to grow in the area of business development, we started by assessing new responsibilities I had assumed in that area. We quickly identified a concern of sustainability – could I keep managing my original responsibilities and the new without becoming overloaded? I admitted my reluctance to ask for help because I don’t like being a burden on others, but we explored the cost of me not choosing to grow in this area. Costs like seeing decreased performance, burning out, denying others a chance to use their talents and strengths or to learn new skills, and the increased frustration they may feel as a result.

My PAs challenged me with candor and compassion to replace my concerns of being a burden with more productive thoughts, to resist the urge to do something myself rather than delegate or teach someone how to do it. They challenged me to keep the bigger picture in mind, continue having conversations, and practice. I have a long way to grow in this area, but I will keep at it.

To all PAs, my challenge to you is to continue renewing your enthusiasm and commitment to bringing HORNE’s Continuous Growth Philosophy to life with your team members. Know them – help identify their strengths and area of passion. Focus them – be clear about performance and expected results. Engage them – build relationships, connect to the Wise Firm culture, help them understand the “how” not just the “what.”

Team members working with a PA, remember both of you are accountable for ensuring development-focused conversations about you take place and take place in the manner they are designed. I challenge you to be honest, transparent and willing to receive feedback. And remember, it’s what YOU do with that feedback that will make the difference in your career.

People say I’m a very engaged team member, I take my work seriously and I go above and beyond. I can’t say I disagree with them. In fact, I can’t tell you how much it means to have the people I work with acknowledge these things about me and take time to give me that feedback. It creates a great deal of value, and I view it as a not-so-common gift in the workplace.

How does one develop a healthy relationship? I was recently pondering this with a friend just the other day. I explained how I believe the most important thing in strong relationships is communication. Regardless of the relationship—coworkers, siblings, friends, spouses, parents—communication is key!

Have you ever had an emergency come up, want to take a vacation, or just an afternoon off? 

Have you ever been so busy that you can’t handle a project alone or need a fresh perspective? Sure, we all have. Life happens. But when you have others who you can depend on, it sure does make life go a little more smoothly. 

Ring…ring…ring…it’s a sound we all hear throughout the day but to some it can be the thing you dread most. Whether it’s your wife calling, knowing you forgot to take out the garbage, or your supervisor asking for that report you knew was due the day before—it’s not a good feeling. But good news, there is a way to get out of those situations, and yes it works on spouses too! It’s having a strong relationship.