Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 28, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 19 10) Field work. Sometimes, my days are literally spent in a field. Getting out of the office for site visits and hearing directly from stakeholders often leads to the most impactful solutions. 9) Find ways to get to yes. While the initial response may be no, explore with your colleagues how you can get to a yes solution. Find new ways of addressing problems. 8) Internships. The opportunity to gain experience is invaluable. You may learn a certain career is not the best fit for you. 7) Service mentality. Everyone should work in the service industry to better understand the human dynamic of being in a leadership position and how leading an organization should be similar to run- ning a business. Customer feedback and engagement drive decision making and ultimately satisfaction of your organization. 6) Mentors. Whether a family member, friend, colleague, or individual you highly respect, look for strong, passionate, and dynamic individuals to serve as mentors and helped pave the way for other promis- ing females to lead. 5) Embrace diversity. Working with peo- ple who share different viewpoints and life experiences leads us to approach tasks and problems in more impactful ways. 4) Empower others. Be an advocate for all members of the organization and show them you trust them to make meaningful contributions by providing them with the tools and support needed. 3) Remember your roots. Being raised on a fourth-generation dairy farm, I was aptly characterized as the farm kid in school. I embraced that title and have continued to carry the values instilled with me from the farm throughout my career. Be authentic and recognize where you started. 2) Foster community. Growing up in the Mass. 4-H Foundation program, the power of community was instilled in me at an early age. Whether you volunteer, join a club, or serve in government, find ways to connect with your local community. 1) Leadership is a privilege. You can im- pact colleagues, customers, and individu- als' lives on a daily basis. Be conscious of the power your decisions hold. K N O W H O W Company culture – Does it really matter? M anagers and executives make dozens, if not hundreds, of decisions on any given day. But what happens when it comes time to make a monumental choice to change the course of how your company oper- ates for years to come? Gather a variety of viewpoints. e best decision is an informed one, and the best way to make an informed decision is to gather viewpoints from people you know will have good insight. at doesn't mean you take a poll of the entire office, but the people who have relevant experience should definitely be consult- ed. "Seeking valuable input is the pri- mary source of healthy, robust debate," Martin Moore, founder of Your CEO Mentor, wrote in the Harvard Business Review. "It will help you gain a greater understanding of the problem you are trying to solve and come up with smart, effective solutions." Recognize the debate environment you currently have. Inside of business meetings, executives tend to only discuss the area they work in on a day-to-day basis. For example, a McKinsey & Co. study mentions a global agricultural company looking to expand to Europe. e leaders from the U.S. business divi- sion stayed silent, even though they had experience marketing and cross-selling similar products. ere are ways to avoid this. "Consider starting the decision meeting by reminding participants of the overall organizational goals the meeting supports, in order to reframe the subsequent discussions," McKinsey wrote on its website. "en assign some- one to argue the case for, and against, a potential decision or the various options under consideration." Remember who your customer is. At the end of the day, you're there for your customers. What are their wants, needs, concerns, and values? If you are unsure, learn. If you know what they are, then your decision should be in line with that. "Grounding your beliefs, mission, and purpose to align with your customer is the core of what creates a successful business," William Merchan, former CFO of Pathmatics, Inc., told Forbes. "is is not a task to be outsourced or assigned to the team. You need to own it." 1 0 T H I NG S I know about... ... Being a female leader in agriculture and the public sector BY DAVID S. MCLAREN Special to WBJ Y ou hear the word culture, and maybe there is an eye roll. Does it really matter? You bet it does. Let me tell you what we do differently at McLaren & Associates CPAs. Yes, we have benefits like a matching retirement plan, paid time off, health insurance, and other employee benefits. We also offer flex time. is allows our team to take care of things like doctor's appointments and little league games and make up the time later. e team can work from home if that makes it easier, but most enjoy being in the office as they enjoy collaborating and working together. To allow team members to work from anywhere, anytime, we moved our system into the cloud, which enhanced security for our clients' protection. How about outings and events? We have one at least every quarter. We work hard to make them fun and interesting. In fact, every team member has attended the optional events this past year. is includes bowling, cookouts, bumper cars and bumper boats, video games, pump- kin painting, whiskey tasting, dinners, and lunches. e team truly likes each other and enjoys spending time together outside of work. In addition, our team has a vote in the policies and procedures of the firm. As the owner, I only have a one in 19 vote. While most owners would not com- mit to that, the positive effect it has had on our team is remarkable. More importantly, we do not hire un- less the entire team meets and approves new team members. ey make the decision on who they want to work with. Naturally, when you like the people you work with, jokes, humor, and lots of out-loud laughs fill the office hallways. Tax season hours? While I sometimes worked more than 90 weekly hours for other firms, our team only works what they can, with most well under 60 hours a week in the busiest of times. We have no yelling or berating of anyone. We learn from mistakes. We do not blame. We all have the utmost re- spect for each other. It is a requirement for working at McLaren & Associates. Disrespect is not tolerated. As a certified B-Corp., we keep all of our jobs in the United States. My dream was to create a culture where our team would want to be at work, together with each other, not dread coming to work. I love coming into the office and seeing the joy within everyone. If someone is down, we discuss what is happening, how we can help, and how we can pull together to upli our team. Our mentoring program helps those who want to excel as well. What is the benefit from all of this besides a happier environment and a happier team? Increased retention and a greater ability to hire and compete for talent. We are always looking for talent, and while it is hard to compete when you are small, having a place where peo- ple want to be makes a huge difference. In the end, we are dedicated to not only making a difference in our client's lives, but in the lives of our team. David S. McLaren is the managing partner of McLaren & Associates CPAs, LLC in Shrewsbury. Reach him at Dave@ dmclarencpa.com. BY LAURA FINALDI Special to WBJ By Ashley Sears Randle Ashley Sears Randle is the deputy commissioner/ legislative & policy director for the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources. 10 1: H O W T O M A K E A T O U G H D E C I S I O N W W W

• Cover