Weaver Celebrates Its Female Leaders on International Women’s Day

One of the missions of International Women’s Day, celebrated March 8, 2022, is to forge inclusive work cultures where women’s careers thrive and their achievements are celebrated. Weaver’s Empower Impact team caught up with women in leadership roles at the firm to learn more about how they have built successful careers and overcome challenges. These inspiring women had great insights and advice for professionals at every stage in their career.

Alyssa G. Martin, CPA, National Strategy Leader, Large Market and Public Entities, Partner, Risk Advisory Services Alyssa leads strategic, multi-disciplinary solutions for Weaver’s public company and large clients nationwide.

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?

Make an intentional effort to stay in contact with people you enjoy. I regret having lost contact with people I knew early in my career who were interesting then and have gone on to lead fascinating lives. It is easy to get absorbed in what you need to do now and forget why you had a connection in the first place. Maintaining contact with people who have shared your interests and life experiences from early on begins to matter more as the years go on.

What life lesson would you share with aspiring professionals?

You have to prioritize. When you start a week, you always have things to do, and as you accumulate responsibilities, you often find that you do not control the timing of most things. I take a FIFO (first in first out) approach: as things come to me, I work to execute and move them out. In order to do that I have to prioritize the people who are waiting on me.

What are some ways you take care of your health and wellbeing?

Sleep is very important for rejuvenation and mental health. I have a hard time shutting off, but I have developed techniques that help. I know that if I have left things lingering it is hard to shut off. At the beginning of every week, I make a list of what I need to accomplish that week. I also keep a list of what needs to be finished every day before I go to bed. Once I have done the things on that list, it is easier for me to shut off and get the sleep I need.

What empowers you?

Growing up, I was a figure skater and a dancer performing live to large groups starting at age eight, both activities that require a lot of self-confidence. This also required a great deal of discipline and self-awareness. It takes confidence in your own ability to drive performance in others. It takes discipline to stay focused on the goal. I research, I build a team, and I accomplish goals by working through others.

Laura Roman, CPA, Partner-in-Charge, South Region Tax Services Laura has 25 years of experience serving clients in the oil and gas industry. She currently leads tax services for the South Region of Texas, as well as learning and development for tax professionals firm-wide.

Why did you choose this profession? 

As an undergraduate at Baylor, I started out as a math major. I had to take a business math elective so I chose accounting. I loved it and got an A even though everyone said it was hard. It made sense to me. When I got out of school and went into public accounting I found my path. For me, the blend of relationship skills and analytic abilities was the perfect fit. The first partner I worked with was very relationship-driven, and that was very appealing to me.

What do you find challenging in your role? 

In all honesty, the challenge for me is staying present. I really try to stay focused on who I’m with and what I’m doing. But when we all have so many things going on, I am one that can easily get distracted and lose focus on what’s happening right in front of me. During the pandemic, I’ve noticed that it’s gotten even easier to be hidden or distracted. That’s not the kind of person I want to be. If I am in a situation where I need to be attentive, I try to schedule it so that I can give it all of my focus during that time.

How do you face your fears? 

If I internalize my fears, they are ten times worse than when I talk to people about them. I have trusted people in my life to whom I can express my fears, challenges, and struggles. Rather than letting thoughts fester, I think it’s important to be able to communicate about them with the people you trust.

What one habit would you attribute to your success? 

I learned early on not to avoid conflict. Getting used to conflict and being comfortable having civil conversations with people, even when it is uncomfortable or there is disagreement, is a habit everyone should get used to as early in their careers as possible.

Neha S. Patel, CPA, CISA, CDPSE, Partner-in-Charge, IT Advisory Services Neha has more than 18 years of experience in public accounting and internal audit, with an emphasis on governance, risk and compliance engagements. She also serves as Chair of Weaver’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, Inspire.

What are some ways you take care of your health and wellbeing? 

My sleep tells me my state of being. It is the tell-all of how I am doing from a wellness standpoint. If I am sleep deprived, working out is one of the first antidotes, so that I burn the energy in a different way to get into a healthier pattern. The second is eating well and at the right time. Sometimes, our brains just need to stop running. We’re inundated with so many things, it takes practice to sit idle and be focused. I’m deliberate with planning my time off and using that time to practice being present and enjoying the moment.

What has been one of your biggest joys as a leader? 

It is so fun to collaborate and see the talent that other people bring to projects and to help them reach their potential. In many ways, the feeling is similar to the pride you feel as a parent when your child does something well. There is no jealousy or animosity…you’re genuinely proud to see others succeed.

What do you find challenging in your role? 

Keeping up with changes in technology is a continuing challenge, particularly in information technology. We are constantly having to become experts in new products, services and industries. Fortunately, our leaders enjoy learning. They like picking up new information. It never goes stale, but it’s never 100 percent done. Our topics are always changing and the impact is immediate. We have to be experts in a quick timeframe. It’s amazing to see our team roll with it. The magic we make is in the attitude. We’re in it for the passion, and that’s what makes it great.

What one habit would you attribute to your success? 

Time management is number one. It’s discipline and setting out rules to get through the day. Between my calendar and my inbox, I keep up with the volume of information coming my way. Managing my calendar is instrumental to my balance, and my balance is instrumental to my success.

I share that transparency with my managers. It helps them with time and project management. By showing my calendar in this way, it helps others understand what it means to be thoughtful about planning. In this phase of my career, I’ve started pulling things off of my calendar because I want to be available to my team.

Sindhu Rajesh, CPA, CFE, Partner-in-Charge, Alternative Investment Funds Sindhu has over 20 years of audit, review and compilation experience, focused primarily on the alternative investment services industry.

How do you balance career, personal life and passions? 

I don’t see it as striking a balance, exactly. Depending on the time of year, one aspect of my life takes precedence over the other. During busy season in March and April, my work takes precedence over other parts of my life. At other times, I’m more focused on other activities, like reading and spending time with friends. However, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t read for pleasure. When I’m busy, I can’t compromise on reading, so workouts get cut back. And sleep may get cut back.

What life lesson would you share with aspiring professionals? 

I encourage young professionals, particularly women, to become comfortable with asserting themselves. Too often, I see rising stars who are very bright and have excellent ideas who don’t participate in group discussions because they are afraid they will be wrong. I encourage them to speak up and share their ideas. I never had a problem speaking up and making sure my voice was heard, so it’s difficult to see others not speaking up.

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self? 

Don’t wait to start building your network. I didn’t do that until after I had kids, and at that point I had to start from zero. Your network doesn’t have to be made up of only current work relationships. It might include ex-colleagues, friends or other relationships. As your career develops, it’s helpful to have longstanding relationships that have grown and developed over many years.

How do you face your fears? 

I like to face my fears head on. The longer you wait, the more the fear factor kicks in. I’m afraid of heights so when I’m hiking I push myself to get to greater heights so that I can try to overcome that fear.

I find that it helps to break down things I’m afraid of into bite-sized, manageable chunks. Every busy season I ask myself: How am I going to do it? I figure out what I can manage, where I can get help, and what I can push out to a later date. That helps me face the fear that I won’t be able to accomplish work that seems overwhelming.

Demetrice Branch, Director, Human Resources Demetrice works with Weaver’s leadership teams to translate strategic and tactical business goals into HR operational plans. She oversees​ HR operations, talent acquisition, employee engagement and professional learning and development.

How do you balance career, personal life and passions? 

It can be challenging at times, but I often remind myself to be present in that moment. Focus on what’s at hand that could be working with my team members, spending time with my family, or just having a moment to myself reading a book.

What do you find challenging in your role? 

Meeting the needs of every individual employee and ensuring they are having the experience they want to have at Weaver. The landscape and the needs of people are changing at a rapid pace and trying to stay abreast of the trends can be a daunting task at times. But we work with a great group of people that continually share their thoughts to help us be the firm we are today and the firm we want to be tomorrow.

What advice would you give your 25-year-old self? 

Don’t be so serious, live life a little, it will all come with time!

What empowers you?  

Being around motivated individuals.

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