Jocelyn Hill of Williams Adley: “Diversity creates more engagement and more energy; The more energy the team has, the more creative and effective it will be”

A diverse executive team can lead to more fun at work! Having leaders and teammates with the same personality or behavioral characteristics would become boring after a while. Diversity creates more engagement and more energy. The more energy the team has, the more creative and effective it will be. Having a more interesting and relatable executive team is likely to inspire a greater appreciation for learning from people different from you. It’s a win-win situation that creates more fun, more energy and more learning.

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jocelyn Hill.

As partner at Williams Adley with a tenure of over 25 years, Jocelyn has devoted her career to enhancing the culture of the firm so that employees can more easily focus on performance. Her leadership style is to engage her team, provide necessary direction, and lead by example. For her federal clients, Jocelyn supports the achievement of their financial management goals whether focused on cost reduction, regulatory compliance, or process improvement. Her primary industry focus is housing and mortgage services where she has developed an expertise in claims review and has advised clients on effective tools to automate the claims process from receipt to reporting.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I didn’t know what accounting was until my senior year in high school. Having satisfied all my required courses and able to take an elective, I spoke to my counselor about what my options were. I was reviewing the list of offerings when I came across “Accounting”. My counselor did her best to explain what Accounting was. I thought, what the heck, I’ll take it. Clearly the other electives hadn’t piqued my interest! As it turned out, I loved my Accounting class. It was interesting and fresh. I knew I was learning something most people didn’t know a whole lot about. And it had a level of precision and attention to detail that I was good at and drawn to. Needless to say, I got an “A” in my high school Accounting class under my teacher good old Mr. Furst.

My positive experience with Accounting in high school coupled with my parents’ successful business careers would make accounting the most logical choice for my major at Howard University.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I worked for a small advisory firm early in my career. One of the vice presidents invited me to attend a meeting saying, “While it’s up to you, I think you can contribute something.” I panicked, thinking I won’t know what to say. I declined without asking what the meeting agenda was and why he thought I could contribute. I have regretted my casual dismissal of his invitation ever since. What on earth was I thinking? Who even gets those types of opportunities? Well, guess what, he never invited me to another meeting. In hindsight, I missed an opportunity at a young age to observe first-hand what goes on in an executive meeting. Clearly, he saw something in me, but I’ll never know what. I still find it interesting that I would quickly turn down a great opportunity out of fear or ignorance. The lesson here is, don’t do that! Seek out and accept opportunities to position yourself for success. If not, someone else will get them.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was an Assistant Accountant at my first full-time job at a firm where newbies like me were tasked to take notes during meetings. At one meeting, I came armed with pen and paper but jotted very minimal, if any, notes. It just so happened to be the one time my supervisor asked me to summarize and share my notes with her. That experience taught me every team member has a role to play no matter how junior. I’ve never forgotten that lesson, and my level of attention in meetings has changed as a result.

Can you share three reasons with our readers about why it’s really important for a business to have a diverse executive team?

First, an executive team needs to reflect the firm’s belief in the importance of diversity. It’s imperative that non-executive staff feel represented, and the most genuine way to achieve this is to build diverse teams from top to bottom. This is how you walk the walk, not just talk the talk!

Diversity must be more than an initiative statement issued during a staff meeting or posted on the firm’s website. The majority of the younger workforce, the future of businesses, views diversity as a top factor to consider when choosing an employer or deciding to stay with one. Without tangible evidence that executive leadership promotes it, diversity remains nothing more than lip service, a motto without deeds to back it up.

Second, businesses can’t evolve without diversity of thought. An executive team of women and men from different cultures, experiences, genders, ages, and walks of life will have more success than a homogeneous team in representing the best interests of all employees. In so doing they’re more likely to embrace change and make sound decisions that will impact the entire business.

Third, a diverse executive team can lead to more fun at work! Having leaders and teammates with the same personality or behavioral characteristics would become boring after a while. Diversity creates more engagement and more energy. The more energy the team has, the more creative and effective it will be. Having a more interesting and relatable executive team is likely to inspire a greater appreciation for learning from people different from you. It’s a win-win situation that creates more fun, more energy and more learning.

More broadly can you describe how this can have an effect on our culture?

Well, our country is very diverse with people from hundreds of cultures and backgrounds. It’s critical that our businesses reflect the diverse society we live in. We should not send the message that certain opportunities are only available to certain groups of people.

Can you recommend three things the community/society/the industry can do to help address the root of the diversity issues in executive leadership?

First, change the perception of who belongs in executive leadership, and why. People who are in positions where they can initiate such change must first understand the importance of diversity. If business leaders fail to grasp the importance, benefit, and necessity of diversity to the business, they won’t be true allies.

Second, provide access to education and training about diversity and inclusion, even to society’s youth. This training would require participants to look internally and identify the factors preventing diversity in executive leadership. This type of self-reflection can highlight the areas that need improvement and form the basis for an action plan to address the issues.

Finally, create mentorship and modeling programs where firms with a diverse culture can advise others on how it’s done.

Diversity issues can’t be solved overnight. It may even be unrealistic to expect change within a few years. Leaders should work to address diversity issues, guided by the virtue of patience, knowing even if changes don’t happen during their tenure, the fruits of their labor will benefit the future workforce.

How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?

Leadership is the act of creating an inspiring vision that motivates a team to achieve its goals. It includes communicating the vision and providing the direction and resources for success — even in your absence.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

First, know your worth. I recall an incident at a client site years ago when I was a junior accountant. An executive board member asked me to get him a cup of coffee. Now, mind you, my teammates and I had just arrived on site that morning and were being introduced as the new audit team, so this gentleman knew I neither worked for the client nor was employed at the site. Ordinarily I’d have no problem getting someone a cup of coffee, but my gut instinct and the circumstances of this moment told me this gentleman’s request was not innocent; he had an ulterior motive. I felt his request of me was based on prejudice due to my race or sex. He didn’t value my worth. Instead, he singled me out — the only African American woman on the team — and asked me to get him some coffee. Well, fortunately I knew my worth. I promptly smiled and told him the kitchen was down the hall and he could find the coffee there.

Second, develop and nurture relationships. As a CPA firm partner responsible for building a successful team and bringing in new business, I know just how important relationships are. People need other people. That’s a fact. I wish someone had told me to build strong business relationships wherever I went and keeping touch with people no matter where they were. Don’t get me wrong, I have wonderful relationships with some people that I wouldn’t change for the world, but I wish I had participated in more local industry organizations and become close to professionals from other firms earlier in my career. Also, I wish I had surrounded myself with a variety of people, including people who don’t think like me and whose cultures and experiences are different from mine. I’ve learned and expanded my thinking the most when venturing outside of my comfort zone.

Third, don’t make assumptions. If you’ve ever been overlooked, excluded, or discriminated against for whatever reason, it may be tempting to develop a hard shell and view everyone’s intentions and decisions as suspect. Putting up a wall can end up working against you, so beware. I wish someone had told me not to waste my time making assumptions or trying to figure out the why behind something. Guessing what others are thinking, or why they’ve made certain choices can trigger negative thoughts that in turn raise stress levels, even if those thoughts turn out untrue. Rather than rush to judgement and assume the worst, ask questions to better understand. I’m a people-person so I talk to everyone, no matter what their position. This was helpful in learning what was going on at the firm, who was doing what, and why.

Fourth, find a mentor or coach. I wish someone told me to find a mentor or coach early on to help me stay focused on my career and improve my skills. A strong mentor is also great at highlighting the benefits of networks, building self-confidence, and helping you attain your true success. There’s nothing like having someone in your corner celebrating your successes and pointing out when you may need to change your approach. For many, having a mentor or coach can be a game changer. I hired a coach right after I made partner. Eventually, however, I realized she and I had different personalities and styles, so I moved on. Finding the right mentor can take time, and you might decide you don’t need one throughout the year. Just find what works for you and obtain guidance when it counts.

Fifth, ask for feedback. I wish someone had told me to ask for constructive feedback more often. I learned over time that even though most organizations have formal evaluation programs, most supervisors are so busy they often don’t put in real effort to give regular feedback, making the process more administrative than constructive. If you ask for feedback you’ll likely get it. When you do, listen closely and don’t make excuses or try to explain away your performance. Ask for suggestions on how to improve. Early in my career I remember asking for feedback from a manager whom I didn’t have a strong relationship with. Honestly, I was intimidated by her. She was super smart and known to favor people she had hand-selected for her team. I was not one of these people but had been assigned to one of her audits. When I requested and received her feedback, I didn’t love everything she told me. I thought some of it was biased, but I took the nuggets and learned from them.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could, I’d inspire a movement to end racism around the world. That’s a tall order, isn’t it? Racism angers and saddens me. It’s one of the things we as people should be most ashamed of. My fantasy movement would include creating an exchange program of sorts where people who hate one another based on race are made to temporarily walk in each other’s shoes.

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

Maya Angelou, activist and literary icon, crafted some of the most inspiring life lessons of all time. My favorite is, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” These powerful words have great meaning to me because I make a point of connecting with people. A polite hello, a compliment, or an “are you okay?” can go a long way to making people feel good, or relevant. It’s showing an interest in someone or helping them when they need it that makes all the difference in the world. Small connections can lead to big feelings.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I’d love to have breakfast or lunch with Michelle Obama because she is a role model for me in so many ways. She’s a businesswoman, a wife, a daughter, and a mother — for starters — and her ability to shine bright as the first African American first lady is remarkable to me. I’d love to hear first-hand how she did it, what she’d do differently if she could, and what gave her the most pride.

This was very meaningful, thank you so much!