From 'Wallflower' to Confident Leader: Kimberly Hardy, CPA/CFF, Who Launched a Mentoring Program at Her Firm, Shares Best Practices for Pairing Veterans with Newcomers

The seeds of a mentoring program at Matthews, Cutrer & Lindsay were planted with Kimberly Hardy, CPA/CFF, a promising young professional who described herself as a "wallflower," someone who perhaps wouldn't have naturally felt comfortable in a leadership role. Hardy, a Mississippi native who earned her Master of Accountancy degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., joined MC&L in 2007 as an intern. The firm has 10 shareholders on a staff of 30 (including 17 CPAs) and offers an array of services including audit, tax, consulting, and valuation. Soon after Hardy became an intern, the partners realized she was a potential future leader. Charles Lindsay, CPA, partner and secretary and Hardy's unofficial mentor at the firm based in Ridgeland, Miss., said Hardy possesses qualities that set her apart. She generates and crafts in-house proposals and then thinks through the details about how these projects can better serve the firm and its clients. "We have known ever since Kim's internship that she had a tremendous amount of potential, and we have worked hard to find ways to tap her energy and her ideas, and help her advance," he noted. Lindsay's mentoring of Hardy played a significant role in her development. Lindsay took her to networking events to help her emerge from her shell. "That wallflower she described turned into a vibrant voice" in front of the firm's clients, Lindsay said. The experience gained through mentoring and networking quickly set Hardy in motion on her fast track to the top. At 31, Hardy made partner at MC&L and took on the role of firm human resources director while continuing to work with clients. Over the past few years, she also helped launch several culture-changing programs, including a flexible mentoring plan that is changing the professional lives of not only the proteges but also the mentors. In 2014, Hardy designed the "Anytime, Anywhere Work Environment" program, which enables professionals to set their own hours, have Saturdays off during busy season, and create their own work/life balance as long as they achieve the firm's desired outcome. One year later, she created a plan, still going strong, that allows employees to take every other Friday off May through September. These proposals required partner approval, and Hardy was instrumental in gaining the shareholders' blessing. "She's pioneered programs to bring us into the 21st century," MC&L partner and President Matthew Freeland, CPA, said. PUTTING PASSION INTO A PROGRAM Perhaps Hardy's greatest passion surfaced when she initiated and helped frame the firm's mentoring program. About six years ago, she and several colleagues created "Performance by Objectives," a structured and mandatory mentoring endeavor that matched proteges and mentors and asked proteges to present their goals in three categories: revenue/profit, performance, and personal. For instance, proteges could focus on bringing in new business, enhancing their skills in a particular area, and passing the CPA Exam. That formula came with challenges, though, as some professionals did not feel the need to participate, not all pairs were a good match, not everyone followed through to enhance the experience, and, in some cases, too much documentation was involved. "Overall, everyone felt that the program needed a change," Hardy said. In 2015, she and her team revamped the program to be less structured and, in most cases, optional. Professional staff with more than one year on board can opt out, and proteges can choose their mentors and vice versa. Meetings between the two are not required, though they are encouraged. Under the revamped program, goals are more personal in nature instead of being based on job requirements, which several employees thought they already were working on outside the mentor program. The new mentoring program goals are more in line with proteges' personal interests, such as networking and practice development, for example. …