Joanna Foulk of Beacon Hill Financial: Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

…Flexibility and inclusivity. A company is made up of a variety of individuals from many different backgrounds. Listening to the ideas of these various perspectives can really help shape a company. People will feel heard and supported and will therefore create more loyalty. It also will bring new ideas to the table that a leader might not have thought of on their own.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Joanna Foulk.

Ms. Foulk is managing director and EVP of Beacon Hill Financial, the specialty finance and accounting staffing division of Beacon Hill Staffing Group. Ms. Foulk and her team provide customized financial recruitment solutions to clients across all industries, specializing in Corporate Accounting and Finance, Public Accounting, Investments, Financial Services, Banking, and Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management. Under Ms. Foulk’s leadership, Beacon Hill Financial’s geographic footprint has grown to 15 offices and to over $100M in annual revenue. Ms. Foulk was carefully selected by Beacon Hill’s Executive Committee to join the company to lead the national expansion of Beacon Hill Financial, based on her demonstrated success in assembling world-class delivery teams.

With more than 20 years of experience in the accounting, finance, and staffing industries, Ms. Foulk is well known for her deep understanding of our customers’ needs. Ms. Foulk spent the decade prior to joining Beacon Hill in Regional Vice President and President roles within two of the country’s largest finance and accounting search and placement firms. Ms. Foulk gained first-hand experience with the practices and regulatory protections that shape the financial industry during her time in the audit division at one of the top public accounting firms.

A key leader in Beacon Hill’s Chicago office, Ms. Foulk has had a direct hand in the company’s recent recognition as a “Best Place to Work for Women” and a “Best Place to Work” by Chicago Crain’s Business. She is a member of Beacon Hill’s Executive Committee and holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Georgetown University.

Thank you so much for your time Joanna! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

After I graduated from college, I stayed in DC to wait tables and bartend until I figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up. A few months later I moved to Chicago sight unseen, got an apartment and started trolling the newspapers for a job. Unbeknownst to me, I applied to a temp agency that ended up sending me on a few temp assignments. At the end of day one of answering phones for a law firm in the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), they offered me the job as a receptionist. I politely declined and told them I wanted to go into business. Arthur Andersen was the accounting firm the law firm used, so they made the introduction to me, and I was hired. After several years of working in accounting/audit, I moved into operations. When AA closed their doors, I ended up at a large international staffing firm, where a lot of my former audit partners went to start a new venture. From there, the rest is history. I have spent the last 20 years in financial staffing. It’s ironic how my first job was through a temp agency and now I am running one.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

I remember going out to my first lunch meeting and food dropped on my shirt. I had no extra shirts so I had to walk around all day with a spot on my shirt. I was mortified. From that day going forward, I always had a spare shirt in my office in case it ever happened again (and it never happened again). I learned to always be prepared in all situations.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I don’t have one particular person who helped me along the way, it was more of a combination of people at various stages of my career who all gave me various advice; some of which I still use and practice today.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?

In the 20 years I have been in staffing, I have been through several challenging times and recessions. Most recently and most relevant was 2020 and the global pandemic we all just experienced and are still experiencing. I vividly recall March 12th when we made the decision as a company to send all of our employees home for what we thought would be a few days. Here we are almost 21 months later and we are still facing several challenges that we have never had to deal with. From that day in March 2020, we led from the front lines. We were upfront with our employees on where we stood as a company and that we stood behind them. We communicated our message that very first day, we maintained our position the entire time and we still do. I learned a long time ago that if we were up front, honest and transparent about our position as a company, your team will trust you and know you have them in your best interest.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

No, not really. I am a pretty competitive person and I was raised and taught to never give up or to quit, even when the thought might have crossed my mind at times. I was always taught to push through and know that once you reached the other side it will get better.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

Decisiveness, honesty and transparency. I believe people want to know the truth, what the reality of a situation is and that we, as leaders, owe it to our employees to be transparent in the face of challenging times. I think that leaders need to be visible and out in front of their teams during challenging times. Remain positive and optimistic as messages are being communicated, so panic or chaos isn’t created. Use the Golden Rule, which is the principle of treating others as one wants to be treated.

When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?

Keep the culture in tact and focused on the people who make up the organization. The leader sets the tone of the organization and the employee culture. But without our people, we have no company.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

I personally believe the best way to deliver difficult news is by being direct, upfront, and straight forward. I have always felt it is best to be honest. You can never get in trouble for telling the truth and being honest — a lesson one learned very early in life.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

Consistency. Plain and simple.

Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?

When faced with difficult times, I think many businesses make the mistake of panicking. I think they make rash decisions because they don’t know what to do or what the future will hold. They want to stop the bleeding immediately, so they don’t necessarily think of the long term effect. Sometimes just holding steading and letting the storm pass through is the best decision.

Generating new business, increasing your profits, or at least maintaining your financial stability can be challenging during good times, even more so during turbulent times. Can you share some of the strategies you use to keep forging ahead and not lose growth traction during a difficult economy?

Our number one strategy is business as usual during a difficult time. We didn’t stray from our normal processes and operations that got us to be the company we were going into the difficult time. We acted as if we weren’t in a difficult time. We kept hiring, opening up offices, promoting people. We didn’t lay anyone off; we didn’t do salary cuts; we didn’t do furloughs; we didn’t close offices. We did what no other company did. And, it worked. We came out ahead and grew during 2020 and catapulted ahead in 2021. We kept our people together and we kept our teams in place. Our people are our most important commodity and we needed to protect them. We did and we do.

Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Be honest and transparent. I think often times people tend to think that delivering messages in a roundabout way or in part truths is better for the employee, when in reality it’s a lot worse. I was once told- you can’t get in trouble for telling the truth.
2. Remain positive and optimistic -Leaders must focus on strengths rather than weaknesses.
3. Communicate consistently — talk and listen; listen more. Listening is a skill and definitely takes practice. People tend to talk more instead of listening and by doing that you can miss crucial pieces of information. Practice listening and you will be amazed what you can learn.
4. Don’t be reactive, be proactive. Take a moment to let the situation soak in before making decisions.
5. Flexibility and inclusivity. A company is made up of a variety of individuals from many different backgrounds. Listening to the ideas of these various perspectives can really help shape a company. People will feel heard and supported and will therefore create more loyalty. It also will bring new ideas to the table that a leader might not have thought of on their own.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I am a firm believer in addressing everything in your life straight on and directly. I’ve learned through years of managing people and practices that what you don’t address will come back to haunt you. Don’t ignore the red flags. Run towards them.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!