How to Lead with Clear Expectations with Melissa Preisler & Kristen Humphreys of Vita Finance

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This is Lead with Culture. I am Kate Volman, and on this episode we're talking all about leading with clear expectations. I was joined by Melissa Price and Kristin Humphrey's, co-founders and partners at Vita Finance Services.

Since moving to Nashville in: 2011

Please enjoy my conversation with Melissa and Kristen.

You know, I love my, my one word answers from you two. So I wanted to start with, if you had to sum up in one word, your entrepreneurial journey so far, what would you say?

Oh my gosh. The one word thing. You love it. . I mean, it is amazing. It's amazing.

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And you

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And both of those platforms really just give you kind of a best practice foundation for, especially in the professional services field of accounting, but really what, what was the most eye opening at Disney was again, just being surrounded. A billion creative people that were just super excited to be around. So if you're gonna do what we do, being around people like that just makes the marriage so much better. And so, leaving that structure, really the heart and Kristen was just born with it, is to help other people, experience that kind of a partnership with kind of the more structured professional services, version of life with that passionate, kind of unstructured creative, visionary life.

So, once I saw that at Disney, I just knew that I didn't wanna work in an environment where that didn't. I love that you said that you were in, you've been inspired by so many great leaders, so you are motivated to pay it forward. I really feel that every time we talk and you share just what's going on with your team, I can really feel that passion inside of you.

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It's all about being grateful for what you have and, and sharing that with others who may or may not have that opportunity to tap into it. That's really what it's about. I do feel super blessed to have the background and that training. Comes so easily then in the world that we live in. But it's so overwhelming that people who have never seen it before can't even envision what that feels like to be in a, an environment where you can lean in on having a structure or what have you.

So, again, that's our mission statement. You know, provide peace and financial predictability to business owners. Really to take that anxiety and that stress. All of them is really just, it gives you a purpose for what you do Other. We're just crunching numbers, , and we have

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So just the learning aspect on that. And you know, one industry that's doing a completely different business from another, you still are able to take those different pieces. And learn and grow together, which

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My background, I was able to tap into all the different levels of, of our accounting world and have a lot of exposure where a lot of times in corporate you're isolated into smaller buckets. So that exposure allowed me to be able to do what I do today and that's be able to take a problem or, a client that may not be set up a hundred percent and be able to.

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Yeah. Oh my gosh. Isn't that the truth? ? Yeah. At least we have information at our

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What do you feel like, uh, helps you kind of remain consistent and focused because you are, you guys are definitely focused in the business that you're creating, which I think a lot of entrepreneurs kind of get that shiny object syndrome and it's so easy to to lose sight of what it is that you're really building.

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Google obviously, start there just so that we can be articulate in the topic. and then go reach out to our professional network and then come back to a conclusion. But it's pretty rapid fire. I mean, we don't overthink things. We just talk about the issue. We go, again, pick, pick the brains of those people that we trust and then compare responses.

Hopefully there's a theme there. And then we move

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Make sure that gut check, are we making the right decision? Um, that can also push one another. it's really the game changer of, of being able to continually drive your business and also empower the company as a whole. our stuff, I believe see us as a unit, Melissa and I, as a unit.

And so that's really important because leadership is everything in the. Yeah, I mean,

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And they don't have an outlet just to feel exhausted or fried or, frustrated. And so we are oftentimes those. For those individuals. and we have each other, of course, everyone has days where they're like, are you kidding me? But we can say that to each other knowing that it doesn't mean we're quitting.

It doesn't mean that we're giving up. It just means that we're having a tough day. And it's just nice to talk to somebody who understands where that's coming from. And I think that's huge when you're going through, and you're starting a business because there's so many trials and tribulations that you walk through.

You need that. So obviously we have the pleasure of working together, which is so fun, and I get to kinda see the growth that you've had over the past year. most leaders, when they're dealing with a challenge, it's many times it's a people, it's a people issue, right?

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Talk a little bit about, when we first started working together, what were some of the challenges that you were having with your team and what are some of the things that you put in place to, to kind of get everyone back on the same page and working together effectively?

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So we, we came to a point, which is really when we met you, Kate, is when we, we needed to really look inward and focus on these culture aspects. And the biggest one, like you said, was clear expectations and, and we implemented a scorecard. This year, that we meet with the staff quarterly and we have four quadrants that really help them understand where they sit and what winning looks like.

What does winning look like in your job and where are you in that? We have so many things, day to day fire drills that you can, you have gotten a lot done, but you look up and you're exhausted and you don't feel any sense of. So the scorecard is really for them to step back and say, am I meeting expectations in my role?

And where are my growth opportunities? and meeting quarterly on that helps them focus back on what's important because we can get lost in the weeds. So we are, we're training staff, we're serving clients. Were, trying to be a good employee, a good. and really being able to help them refocus on what's important and how they can grow in each role is and where are they going?

Do they wanna grow in the company? Do they wanna just be really great at this role? It's been really, really powerful and it's really helped the dialogue. just in the last few quarters it's been super powerful. We've had tears, we've had excitement, we've had all the emotions, but the emotions are out there and we're talking about them and it's,

I, I think from both sides, employees and from us, we feel that we're really, progressing because we're clearly identifying what we need to work on and what we're doing really well. you know, when we first started and it was Kristen and I and maybe one or two, they walked alongside us.

it was a very fluid dialogue. It was a very fluid conversation. She and I were involved in every step of the way, so there was no real ambiguity as to what needed to get done and what the priorities were. We were really involved with these individuals along the way, and yeah, the growth, it just doesn't, isn't physically possible to do that.

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It's so funny because we included the team in all of this, in, in bringing the team together to make sure that the mission statement clearly reflected what we did, and then also in the creation of scorecards, but like typical accountants and us too, we were also victims of it. We were throwing in everything in the kitchen sink.

Into our mission statement because there was so much that we do and so much that we want to do to help to support these people. But it, it kind of reflected where I think people felt they were, just all this stuff going on. And so the whole process was super, super impactful in my mind to get everybody to rise back up to the big picture as to.

The services themselves and the value in those services, not the tasks that, not the 800 tasks that feed into those. it was a game changer for sure, I think in just getting people to really think about why they come

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as leaders, it's our job to, to overcommunicate, right? Like just continue to tell people what it is that we need them to hear because we sometimes can forget that they're not, they're not in our mind, right? They're not the business owner. They're not looking at the business in the same way that you are.

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There's a lot of, uh, trust that needs to be built. to have those kinds of conversations with your team, they have to feel really open that you're willing to hear them if they have challenges or if things aren't going the way that they think it should go. and so it's been really cool to see how your team has.

Bonded and reacted to it. when you talk about the scorecard, so if somebody's listening, thinking, I don't even really know what that means, like you put together a scorecard, what did that look like? What did that entail? Can you give kind of some, an example of what that looked like for your team?

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Look back, you've forgotten the progress. You only really know what's relevant that's in your mind today. So it's a very, very simple tool. And really the first page is has like, as Kristen said, four quadrants. One has to do with their technical competency. Another quadrant has to do with client.

Another quadrant has to do with staff management and development. And if you don't manage and develop somebody, it's your own accountability for developing yourself. And then the final quadrant is really more the administrative, things that we need to do just to keep the infrastructure intact and, the workflow rolling.

it's one page. And. The individuals, evaluate themselves with a checkbox. So it doesn't take a whole lot of time, but you do need to read the criteria and really take a look at where do you sit, below, at or above average. And those aren't the words that we use. It's, achieving, developing an opportunity for development really is our grading system.

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and then they turn that in, and then we also do the same assessment on them. And then as the document rolls, you put your prior quarters results in there so that you have a comparison as to how you were doing last quarter versus your self assessment this quarter and your new supervisor assessment.

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But I thought like what was very fascinating in this last. Is that we did have a couple staff that came in and completely owned that. They said they were going to do X and they feel like they regressed and they knew Y and which was great. So to me, the big win was like this self-awareness and this understanding as to the cause and effect of what happens with this work hard.

And again, we were super grateful that they. Transparent and humble and honestly, we came up with a plan for the next quarter and there was peace at the end of it. Okay. Self-awareness is huge, right? Like when your team can start becoming self-aware to how they are and.

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And so in any organization, there's two reasons why things don't get done. And it's. They don't have clearly written very defined expectations. And then two is no one's holding them accountable to those expectations. So having a scorecard, you're blatantly saying, Hey, this is your role. These are the things that you need to get done.

This is what we expect of you. And then those quarterly reviews are literally, Hey, we're holding you accountable to the work that you need to do. Right? And so for someone to come and say, Hey, I know that I'm kind of missing the mark. this is what I plan to do so that over the next quarter I don't come back saying the same thing.

that's what's so huge. That is growth. That is so well,

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What do you hope to work on in the next quarter? And we sometimes change that in our discussions. They're feeling a certain way and we have some insight as to what might help them feel better, and so we'll redirect that. But then the first thing that you know, they have to look at is what they said they were gonna focus on when you go into the next quarter.

And if there's been no focus on it, I mean, we can't own that. There's no one else that can own that it's just realization about what people can and cannot control.

And I do think it's also psychology that people do what they're most comfortable doing. What comes naturally to them. And our jobs do not, they require you to fire on multiple cylinders. It's not just one. And some people are really strong in the technical and great in the people and the, and the outward speaking and others are the opposite, which is why the team is really important to understand those strengths and weaknesses.

But we have to come together and serve it, serve it entirely. But people focus on and they gravitate to what comes naturally. But this scorecard reminds them of what's I. and we

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You have only had exposure of this. The job is this, so we need to make sure you understand what you haven't gotten to yet. So you may be doing really well. Initial tasks, but there's a whole lot more to learn. So that conversation was very eye opening to me cuz it happened multiple times that they just didn't realize that there was a thousand more things for them to learn and grow on.

So that conversation was also very helpful.

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It's really about facts and performance and, and so it's not, it's not overwhelming. I find it actually quite, quite easy to do and I am constantly thinking about it. We are too. We just talked about it actually today about. for the next one, what is the messaging gonna be with some of these folks and keeping it at the

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Yeah, you're taking the personal out of it a little bit in the sense that it's, Hey, this is the role. Like this is what we both looked at and you said, yep, this is what I'm on board for and this is what I know that I can do. So it's not, like you said, it's, you're not criticizing, you're like, Hey, this is what we're looking.

This is what we together have come up with and kind of made that agreement that this is what you're gonna do and this is what, how you're being evaluated. And so you are really, again, giving them the opportunity to take ownership. And people are either going to take ownership or they're not.

And this is where teams, uh, it's become so interesting. You might have people when it does cause a little bit of friction when you start putting different things like this in place with teens. Some people decide to. Because they don't really want to be held, their feet held to the fire.

They like that they're not being held accountable. And so that shows up too. was there any. Moment in, as you were rolling this out. Cause it is new, right? It's new for the team. It can be a little bit uncomfortable.

You, you, you do have a, a younger team. many that are kind of, it's their first role. What were some of the challenges that you faced as far as just kind of rolling it out and letting people know, Hey, this is what we're doing, and just inviting them to know more about the process and why it's good for them, not just something that you're doing to do, but it's, Hey, we're here to help you grow.

We're trying to do this together. I think the

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I think in doing that, people really find their space that they're really comfortable with in the company. And we may find that some don't wanna progress to where they're killing it in every aspect. Maybe there's somewhere in the middle, there may be some that are really ready to step up to the next level.

you know, we went from doing one type of review to another, so I think the first one, everyone was really nervous.

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So I think having that environment, even though people were nervous, it still helped. People have that dialogue with whatever they came with tears the first time, or, you know, struggles or, or excitement because they have a new opportunity that we allow them to be able to speak into that and have a safe environment

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And the new hires, which again are mostly about outta school, I think knowing they didn't have a a ton to contribute in the development of it. But I think knowing that they're all. Looked at to perform in the same way, kind of built their own camaraderie. Like they organically really have created their own little, they go out to lunch and they'll ask each other questions about how it created.

In my public accounting world, like your entry class, like it created their own little check each other out and make sure they're understanding things correctly, which is fantastic. and the same thing with the supervisors. they've created their own Okay, well, I'm struggling with if it's, if it's a staff development thing, how do you handle this?

So it, it created. Harmony because they all, clearly, they're, they're seeing the same thing. The scorecards are the same thing for each role, so they can have their own conversations amongst themselves without having to come up to Kristen and I for everything, which is truly how it used to be. It was so one on one because there wasn't this.

The structure that they could reference to have those conversations, it had to be individual conversations, which is just impossible at the speed with which we grew. And so, I feel we have tremendous relief in making sure that the communication is consistent and it's timely and it's out there and it's accessible to where it came from, which again, was pretty much verbal and shadowing in

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Yeah, and I love that. With the new hires, before you even hire you, you need a role description and a scorecard, right? Like for every single role, so that even before they take the role, even in the interview process, you can show them the scorecard. Hey, this is what you're gonna be evaluated on. Now you're getting rid of people that are, maybe saying they have some experience that they don't have because they know that they're going to obviously be held accountable to doing certain things.

Hey, they have to know how to do. one of the things that you had said I love, and we talked about it earlier, was just kind of being able to roll with it. And I think that's something really important to highlight even in this role description conversation, because I think a lot of times we.

Mike kind of put on our perfectionist hat and we think, oh, it has to be perfect. I'm rolling this new thing out. What is the scorecard? Or what does it look like? And I have to identify everything. And yes, of course we want it to be as good as it possibly can be. But to your point, you've been doing this for a few months now, and you're.

Still looking at it, you're making some tweaks and changes and being okay and comfortable with, Hey, this is kind of the mvp, right? Like minimum viable product of this new way of doing these quarterly reviews. And once you get into it and you start having these conversations, you start listening to your staff and your team.

You can absolutely mold it to, to fit your own. Like how are you utilizing this? Because the last thing that we would want is for somebody to put something into place just because they should put it into place, you actually have to use the data. And that's what I think is so great about what you've been doing, is you're really looking at, every time you're doing something with your team, you're taking a lot of feedback from them and then incorporating whatever it is that you feel is gonna be helpful in their growth process.

it's really interesting, the first scorecard review, we really went through almost every line and made sure they understood where, where we were different, if they had scored themselves differently than we did the second time, we really just honed on, in, on the topics we wanted to talk about.

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It shifted and it, we really utilized it, I would think more efficiently, I mean, the end game of the whole process, any review process is to ensure your staff are continuing to grow and develop. it's really about the dialogue, the framework, making sure everyone understands the expectations and then the conversations around.

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Cuz they all are different, right? Everybody comes at a review with a difference. Some are overly ambitious killing it. We actually hear that all the time and we love it. We love enthusiasm. And then there are others that, you know, are more insecure or shy. And so our biggest job is to be clear on the framework, which I love, again, that we included the staff. They bought off on it. This is not a surprise.

they help to create it, but then it's about the, using that framework and then tailoring that conversation to the psychology of the individual that you're dealing with. So that. are moving them along, that path. And that's to me the fun part because I just think people are fascinating

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It's like a one sheet. A couple things they're working on to grow and a couple things that we can help facilitate them to grow. and that's at the forefront of our mind the next quarter, cuz maybe they need a staff member, maybe we need to go start recruiting, or maybe they needed some development in a certain area that we can help train them.

So we, we also have a list that we can help them develop them as they're helping develop themselves. So it's definitely. You walk away with a tactical, piece that each party can work on for the next quarter, and hopefully we're all working towards that so we can come back and feel really accomplished the next time.

Well, and

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So you can't be overly ambitious or the next quarter you're gonna flop on your face. That's right. Oh my gosh. That is so true.

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So if you are not tough, but fair, then it creates the complete opposite and you just shove things under and you don't bring things up when you should. So that's what I keep going back to. I

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um, I truly kind of come from the place that people, I do think people want to be good at what they do. nobody that we hire wants to be failing at anything, and so I always come from it. That's why communication, direct communication is not that hard for me.

Obviously you wanna say it from a place of, of kindness and empathy and with, again, the person in mind. people wanna be successful, so they need the information to be successful. So if they need to do something differently to tell them. But I will say my tip has always been, Sprinkle it with a little bit of humor and sarcasm.

I inherit sarcasm from my very loud and boisterous family, but I do feel like it lightens the mood a little bit. Like not everything has to be so serious. I, people hear me say it all the time. We are not saving lives . we're not surgeons. So let's just kind of lighten the mood. Let's figure out what the situation is and if we need to redirect or correct it is what it is.

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So thank you for sharing your experience and journey with us. Uh,

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well.

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Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope you got something out of it. I absolutely loved this conversation because it all comes down to expectations. This is what it's about. When. Everyone on the team knows exactly what's expected of them, and they're being held accountable. This is what helps us grow.

People get to grow individually. We get to grow as an organization. It works so well. And I know that some leaders, they really don't love hearing that. They would go from an annual review to a quarterly performance review, but if you don't look at. as a review, right? as this big thing, like that annual review thatso many people typically use.

And we instead look at it as that opportunity like Melissa was talking about. It's this opportunity to just open up dialogue, to have conversations with your team members to give them space to let you know. How their work is go going, what do they need? What challenges might they be facing? Maybe you can uncover, what Matthew Kelly calls in the culture solution an expectation.

Maybe there's a gap in where you need someone to be and where they are right now, there's some type of gap. And only by having these conversations can we decide how we're gonna fill that gap. What are we gonna do? How are we gonna make sure that our team has what they need to be successful to grow? So that everyone in the organization continues to grow.

So I loved this conversation. obviously Kristen and Melissa are great leaders. They're doing incredible work with their business. They're growing. It's so fun to, to watch what they're doing. And, I hope that you got something out of it. And hey, This is your opportunity to try something new.

If you've never done, a scorecard, now is your time. Put together your scorecard and if you wanna learn a little bit more about role description, scorecards and expectations and leading with clear expectations, I definitely recommend checking out Matthew Kelly's book, the Culture Solution. And we, at Floyd, we have a free.

So if you are interested in, not only making some changes in your organization, but really focusing on the culture of your organization, right? if you wanna have a really incredible culture in your organization and make a huge impact on your business and on your team over the next six months, 12 months.

Three years, five years, then making culture priority is gonna help you do that. And so we have a free resource, it's our culture assessment. So you can basically assess where you are today, how would your team rate the culture of your organization today?

So if you would like to take that free assessment, you can go to floyd consulting.com/culture. You can take it individually, you can ask your teams to take it, and it'll give you a nice score on where you are. Thank you again for listening. We so appreciate you and until next time, lead with culture.