Caring leadership in action

Prior to the program, we were asked to complete the DiSC personality test, which assesses individuals based on a series of questions and provides a wealth of information about their management priorities and preferences using four personality types. This became the foundation for the conference as we worked to understand our individual management styles and how we work best within our teams and with our clients.

The first night at the Disney Yacht and Beach Club Resort, we sat at tables according to our primary industry focus with people of all personality types from all areas of the firm. It was a great experience meeting and networking with everyone—especially those colleagues who I’d only had the chance to exchange emails. We kicked off the conference with a little team competition to see who could correctly answer the most questions about RSM. Even from this simple activity, we saw the differences in our personality types outlined in the DiSC assessment and how the different types work together.

Throughout our three days together, we dived deep into the management profiles and learned our directional and delegating styles and how to motivate and develop our teams using the profile assessments.  Outside of the classroom, I learned a lot about the different lines of business at RSM thanks to the mix of people in attendance and about our global presence during a global networking happy hour where we were able to “eat and drink around the world.”  FLM was the perfect combination of learning about myself, RSM and my colleagues.

On the final day, we completed a capstone simulation on being a trusted manager and first-choice advisor to our people and clients. We learned how to be more caring, curious courageous and collaborative and how to think critically when working on engagements and managing teams.  In order to be a first choice advisor, I have to reconcile my strengths and weaknesses with those of my team members. The FLM prgram helped me harness this skill.

Even after I arrived home, I was still thinking about what I learned from the DiSC assessment. My family became interested in it, too, and we had a fun time discovering the personality types of my siblings and parents. It reminded me of the family-like culture at RSM and how everyone is dedicated to supporting and encouraging one another. My experience at RSM has been unlike any other firm I’ve worked for, and the friendly, caring culture shone through at the FLM program.