What are your professional values?

1. WWGT - what would grandma think? I try to think about this mantra every time I'm about to get angry, say something I know to be true but will hurt someone's feelings, when I'm feeling too proud/entitled, and in all of my writing. I imagine my emails will be read later by my grandma, and that she's looking over my shoulder in team settings (I can be VERY type A and impatient, when I'm pressed for time this is a dangerous combo). to date, I've never raised my voice at a team member, and I hope and pray I keep that going forever

2. selfless leadership - maybe this is past psychedelic use talking, but my ego has eroded away a lot over the years. this is by no means something I'm perfect at, but it's a focus of mine. I try to always delegate responsibility unless it's something I absolutely need to do, and I always try to deflect credit onto others. I would not be where I am without my team, and I will not become the person I want to be without them. I only care about winning. I'm happy to lead from the front, and when we've won, sink into the crowd and let others hoist the trophy. maybe this is imposter's syndrome, some PTSD from having to work with bad leaders in the past that scarred me, I don't know. but being a selfless leader helps everything. no one wants to work for a tyrant, and from a pragmatists point of view it's much more effective to be compassionate, talk less, take all the knocks but none of the praise, it helps your team win more, and that's what it's all about.

3. kindness/compassion/forgiveness - this is more recent, but I've been on a bit of a religious/spiritual journey the past couple of years and it's improved my life so much. one of the things that "true" christians believe in is forgiveness. the simple shift in mindset of judging someone for being a piece of shit to forgiving them for their shortcomings is immense. not only will it cause you to be less of an asshole to people, but it will improve your own life and your blood pressure. I've made mistakes, I have sinned, who am I to want forgiveness of my own shortcomings yet judge others for theirs? this does not mean you have to love everyone or even like everyone, but it does mean that your life, both personally and professionally, will improve if you adopt a mindset of leading with kindness, forgiveness, and compassion, even if you don't approach it from a judeo-christian point of view.

I'd say #1 was always in my mind, and at first it was about things that needed polish or extra attention early in my career, like time management, punctuality, dependability, hard work. now it's more about trying to live a life I never have to apologize for, keep and expand upon my reputation, and be a role model for others. basically, try to make grandma proud.

leadership wasn't on my radar until a few years ago, aside from me trying to lead by example, but with every power vacuum comes an opportunity, I'm trying to seize mine. the most challenging part of this is the idea of extreme ownership/falling on the sword/taking flak.the shift in mindset from blaming others for mistakes that may not have entirely been your fault to saying "yup, my bad, I need to do better, here's how we move forward was VERY difficult. in a business as cutthroat as finance, it's easy to find types that endlessly complain and put the blame on others. this happens on the very rare occasions mistakes are made on my team. often times, I'm away from the situation because I've delegated authority, but if a mistake happens, the buck stops with me. saying this is one thing, saying it to a client who's upset about a mistake is another thing, but the funny thing is this. like most things, it gets easier with time and people appreciate you not covering up your tracks. sure they're upset, but I've noticed it's disarming, someone blames you for something and you own up to it. it allows you to be noncombative and work towards a solution. to date, I have NEVER lost a client due to a mistake or due to deflecting responsibility.

3 is also relatively new, and I'm ashamed for not discovering it earlier. I cannot remember when I came upon this, maybe psychedelics, maybe it was going to church regularly for the first time (last line of the Lord's prayer, you say it enough it sinks in), I don't know. but even though I don't believe most of the stuff in the Bible, the values have made a meaningfully positive impact on my life. this value has been challenged more than the others. every day people will give you a reason to not be kind, not be compassionate, and not forgive. but through every struggle comes personal growth.