Culture Matters: Building the Wise Firm

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?

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.