Latest / The Diary of a CFO / The Unlikely Journey of a $3 Billion CFO, William Washington III

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The Unlikely Journey of a $3 Billion CFO, William Washington III · The Diary of a CFO

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Welcome back to the Diary of a CFO podcast. I'm
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your host, Wassia Kamon, a sitting CFO with a
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background in accounting and FTNA. And I started
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this show because I believe the way companies
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build and lead their finance function determines
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whether they scale or fall apart. Each week,
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I sit down with CFOs, CEOs, and strategic business
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partners to talk about what that actually looks
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like in reality. Building the right teams, getting
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systems and controls in place, partnering with
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the business, and doing all without burning out.
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Today, I'm super excited to have with me William
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Washington III. He's a global CFO at Baker McKenzie,
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one of the world's largest global law firms working
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with major companies around the world. Think
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Baker McKenzie as a big four -scale firm, but
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on the legal side. William oversees $3 billion
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in annual revenue across 76 offices in 45 countries
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and brings a rare combination of financial acumen
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and operational expertise shaped by senior roles
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he held at Hogan Lovells, Accenture, and Fannie
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Mae. He's a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black
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Belt and a Bloomberg New Voice on the Future
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of Finance. Welcome to the show, William. Thank
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you, and thank you for having me. What a great
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introduction. Oh, thank you. It's only a partial
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intro. I didn't mention how you were on the board
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of the EFP and all that good stuff. Yes, yes.
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We have busy lives these days. Awesome. Well,
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that's the right busy life. And, you know, when
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people hear the term global CFO, it sounds impressive,
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but sometimes it's unclear in simple terms. What
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would you say the job actually looks like day
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to day? And where do you spend most of your time
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and attention? Yeah. Well, first of all, thank
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you for having me here. I'm always excited to
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give back and to share my experiences. When I
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think about the role of global CFO, I think about
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a role that's mostly about leadership. You know,
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I've spent most of my career doing spreadsheets,
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doing analysis of spreadsheets and, you know,
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at some point starting to lead teams. But really,
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when you move into the role of global CFO. It's
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about the ability to lead a team, to be able
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to develop people and to make sure that you have
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a seat at the table and that your voice is heard
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so that you can take the numbers and align them
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with the strategy. Wow. And so when you became
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global CFO at an organization that's in more
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than 40 countries, how did you first evaluate
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the finance organization? Like what were the
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first thing you looked at? at, for example, or
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people you spoke to, to understand what was working
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well and what needed to improve? Well, that's
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the first thing is you have to go around and
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speak to people. But more importantly, you have
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to go around and listen. You know, you have to
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ask questions and then just sit back. And the
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experiences that I've had, people are very forthcoming,
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especially when you're new, you know, and it
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gives you a great opportunity to get in there
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and find out what's working and what's not working.
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And for me, it starts with my leadership team.
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Most importantly, my number two and number three
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direct reports. You know, they really help to
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drive the strategy and drive the execution. And
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if you don't have the right people sitting in
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those seats, you know, you're almost set up for
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failure. And a lot of times those are the same
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people who also apply for your role prior to
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you getting there. So you really want to let
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them know that that you want their success. You
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want the team success to align with their success
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and the overall success of the organization.
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Because as global CFO, I'll only go as far as
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my team can take me. Very true. And you brought
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up such a good point, right? You're number two
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and you're number three. So I'm assuming you're
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probably mentioning your controller in your head
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or FPNA? Yeah, you know, when you have an organization
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the size of mine, it's a lot of... different
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direct reports and I don't like to separate who's
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actually the number two and number three. But
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also I've found it also helpful to have someone
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who may have a unique title. For me, it's my
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director of global finance administration who
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really steps in a gap when I'm unavailable, when
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I sit in all day meetings or all day conferences
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or otherwise not available. Someone who can think
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like I think and execute like I execute is a
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really key member of the team. And so when you
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start, when you step into a leadership role like
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that, like you mentioned, especially when you
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had people who probably applied for your role
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and you get there, how do you start building
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trust and alignment, especially with those that
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were there long before you got there? Yeah, well,
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that trust goes both ways, right? You know, I'm
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coming in new. I know I'm new. One of the things
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I say to teams as soon as I start is, you know,
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don't try to compare me to the prior CFOs because
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we weren't raised by the same parents. We didn't
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work at the same jobs. We don't have the same
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innate personalities and we may be completely
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100 % different. And so I really try to come
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in early on and share with people who I am as
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a person and how I lead and build trust in them
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by showing trust, allowing them to do what they
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do best and figuring out what those things are.
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One of the first things that I learned when I
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went into a leadership position was. I'm going
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to have five, six, seven different direct reports
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and their communication styles are going to be
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different. How they want to work is going to
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be different. What their home lives are going
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to be different. And to allow for that and for
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me to be able to adapt to them as much as they're
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adapting to me really allows your team to be
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to operate at its full capacity. And so I really
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I've really worked hard. at changing my communication
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style, depending on which one of my direct reports
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I'm working with or speaking with. Wow. And would
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you say you also apply the same thing with people,
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with your peers, right? Also on the executive
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leadership team, like when you get there, how
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do you typically build that trust and alignment,
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whether it's the CEO or with your other peers?
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Oh, absolutely. I mean, it's probably even more
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important with them because we don't tend to
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work together every single day. And they have
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their strategic priorities and finance has theirs.
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And a lot of times finance overlaps with every
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other function, right? Because we build the budgets
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and they operate and they have to operate in
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line with those budgets. So when I'm working
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with the CEO or the head of HR or the head of
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marketing or the head of IT who's executing a
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lot of my technology projects, you know, it's
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really important to understand. not just how
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they communicate, but also their stress points
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and how to make time to be available for them
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and have them be available to me. And really
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to also make sure you take time to get to know
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them as people, you know, because I think once
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you have a relationship, it makes the work go
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a lot smoother. At Baker McKenzie, I inherited
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or came in with a great team of leaders. And
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over time, we've been able to both work hard
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together and also find ways to, you know, share
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a good meal or go on a great run or a walk or
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do other things to get to know them personally.
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Wow. That's very enlightening because sometimes
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we don't, at least when I became a CFO, I didn't
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realize how much time I would spend outside of
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finance versus. in finance i don't know if you
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feel the same sometimes yeah i mean you probably
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areas you know i think when i was like a manager
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of finance you know i just got emails from the
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HR to like do my annual reviews and comp increases
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and things like that it was very uh functional
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and tactical in a way that we operated now we
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almost have to operate like like brothers and
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sisters or you know colleagues we have to move
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together in a in a way that helps the organization
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to be successful. And I think that's also where
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my Lean Six Sigma, my operational background
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come into play. I really do think every day I
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wake up with a focus on how the pieces all fit
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together, right? How marketing may be helping
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to drive demand for our business and how people
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may be supporting a talent that's going to deliver
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on that business and how IT underpins everything.
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You know, when you really start to look at the
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organization as a whole and as everyone's a piece
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of that whole organization, then you really get
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a feel for why teamwork and working together
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is so critical and important. Wow. And I'm also
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I was always curious, like what led you to go
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for the Lean Six Sigma all the way to master
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Black Belt, especially with a finance background?
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First of all, I'm a geek. So, you know, like.
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Someone says something to me like Lean Six Sigma
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and I immediately think, oh, my gosh, you know,
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I need to learn about that. To be honest, it
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was a pivot moment in my career. I was working
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at Fannie Mae. I was doing finance the way I've
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been doing it for 15 years. And someone told
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me that we were forming a new Lean Six Sigma
9:19
department and they needed a finance person to
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come in and almost be like the CFO of the Lean
9:24
Six Sigma department. and calculate how much
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the firm was saving through this new initiative.
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And when I joined, it was the early days of their
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Lean Six Sigma program. So there was nothing
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to calculate. There wasn't a single member who
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had been trained. There wasn't any ongoing projects.
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And it was just me and the leader of the Lean
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Six Sigma department. And so as we started training
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employees at Fannie Mae, I started sitting in
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on a training. And that training gets you to
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the first stage. And once I was through the first
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stage, I then started helping people execute
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their projects because we still hadn't saved
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any money. And that almost takes you to the second
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stage where you're helping develop projects.
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And then it was just this evolution where even
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the team members that we had hired needed to
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get the Black Belt certification. So I volunteered
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to go take black belt training at the university.
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Then I would come back and teach the team what
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I was learning in the classroom. And then from
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there, I just I can never stop. If there's another
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level to attain, which was the master black belt
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certification that required me to take a lot
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of statistics classes. I was not a statistics
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fan, but I was determined to get that master
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black belt. And I just kept working at it. And
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so I did both jobs. I worked on the finance portion,
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but I also worked on the implementation programs
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at Fannie Mae. That's amazing. And you mentioned
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it was a pivotal moment in your career. So what
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would you say that perspective, that background
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have helped you since as a finance executive?
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Oh, my gosh, that was everything for me to make
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it to the level of being a CFO, because it gave
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me. an understanding of the operations of the
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business. Up until then, I was a finance manager
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level person who received the numbers, who made
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sure that they ticked and they tied and sent
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out reports and analysis. And I had never really
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sat in the business. And when I did the Lean
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Six Sigma role, it required me to really get
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a strong understanding of the business. I had
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to read policies and procedures. I had to learn
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how to process map the business. I had to be
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able to identify opportunities and risks on a
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process map. And that operational experience
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tied to my background in numbers really gave
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me a holistic view of the business that I think
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everyone would benefit from. And I often teach
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my team to think about the business and put yourself
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in the boat and in the seat of the business owners.
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When you start sharing with them the numbers,
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because that's when they start being responsive
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to what you're trying to communicate to them.
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Yeah. And I think, you know, now the mandate
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is for everybody to be a strategic business partner.
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Right. So it's like everybody, accounting, finance,
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tax, whoever is there, you are going to be a
12:28
strategic business partner. So I'm curious for
12:31
you leading an organization that spends thousands
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of countries and hundreds of people. It's impossible
12:37
to work directly with everyone. So how do you
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ensure your team is performing at the level you
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expect? That's a great question. I mean, I think,
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you know, when I think about leaders, the first
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thing I think about is being someone people want
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to follow. You know, you really have to be. someone
12:57
who cares enough about the team. And when I say
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the team, it's not just my direct reports. It's
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my direct reports, reports, or as I often say
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to people, I'm often thinking about that young
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person who's in their first day on the job because
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when you're in your first day of your first job
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out of college, you often look to the CFOs for
13:19
the culture and the tone. and the inspiration
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to go further in your career. And so I think
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that's what it takes to be a leader. And for
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me to be able to get my message out to people
13:32
in 47 different countries who have language differences,
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right? Like one of the things I do is I produce
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a monthly video and I also do town halls, but
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I can sometimes tell by people's reactions that
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My jokes aren't landing or the nuance that I'm
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saying isn't landing. So it's really important
13:51
to be able to figure out how to touch every member
13:55
of your organization, which requires constant
13:57
communication, the ability to reach out in different
14:01
ways, whether it's visiting an office or visiting
14:04
a country or sending out a message or making
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sure I say things to my team like, get me. Help
14:15
me to recognize members of your team by sharing
14:17
with me the successes and failures. And then
14:20
let's make sure we get that out to the whole
14:22
team so we can set the culture around a high
14:25
performance team that recognizes our top employees
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and also builds a dynamic where there's a back
14:33
and forth communication between them and me.
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And I learned that early in my career where I
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was a member of like a special committee that
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advised the CEO at Fannie Mae. He would bring
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us in once a month. I was a low level manager.
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And just having access to leadership gives you
14:50
a feel for the pulse of the organization or gives
14:54
them a feel for the pulse of the organization.
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Oh, yeah. And it's also a great way to to learn.
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Right. Because I feel like the more time you
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spend with the executive, especially if you're
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on that executive journey, the better off you
15:06
are. Right. Iron sharpens iron. Yeah. And we
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get excited by the young people. You know, I've
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been doing finance now for 30 years. The numbers
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are the numbers. The business is the business.
15:19
It's really all about the people, you know, and
15:22
the legal industry. It's a people business to
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begin with. But also, I think when you're the
15:27
leader of a finance organization, if you can
15:29
make it about the people, then you can have a
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much stronger team based organization and the
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numbers will take care of themselves. Yes, that's
15:39
such a great way to see that. And I'm curious
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to hear how was your transition from being in
15:43
the financial industry to being in the legal
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industry? What was that transition like and what
15:48
did you learn in the process? What maybe you
15:50
had to shift maybe in your thinking or some of
15:53
the things that applied? Well, transitions have
15:55
been part of my journey. You know, I started
15:57
my career at a cottonseed company. From there,
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I went to a real estate investment trust. From
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there, I went to Accenture and professional services,
16:06
Panty May, and now into the legal industry. So
16:10
multiple transitions throughout my career. And
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each of those transitions required a different
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kind of... adaptation or learning of the business.
16:23
And there's a good book out there called The
16:25
First 90 Days that most people know about and
16:28
they still don't read it. But like I told you
16:31
earlier, I'm a geek. Tell me that the most important
16:34
thing is to understand an organization. When
16:36
I go in, I'm going to read a book that's going
16:38
to help me to understand an organization and
16:41
reading about the first 90 days, really doing
16:44
your research and being prepared. And one of
16:47
those mentors I had. When I was in Lean Six Sigma,
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Lean Six Sigma required you to go into every
16:54
part of the business and learn about that part
16:56
of business and be as smart as the people who
16:59
may be in that part of business for 30 years.
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And that just takes preparation and work. So
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when I was in the Lean Six Sigma area, I would
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read all those policies and procedures. I would
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try to learn as much about the business. that
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i was helping and those skills helped me as i
17:17
transitioned to industries so when i came into
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the legal industry i knew i had to learn it i
17:23
knew i wasn't going to be a lawyer and so um
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one of the things i did was i took a class at
17:28
george washington university uh it was a master's
17:32
in law firm management and in that program they
17:35
walked you through every part of the legal industry
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it was a two -year program i had already gotten
17:41
my undergrad and mba It was an additional master's.
17:44
But like I said, I'm a geek. And I want to be
17:48
successful. And to be successful, you have to
17:51
be able to transition when the business changes
17:55
or your industry changes. Wow. And I like that
17:58
you are literally that living testimony of lifelong
18:02
learning, like from being a black belt and now
18:06
going to a master in law management to learn
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the business. Because I saw a study that was
18:12
saying that one of the skills that will still
18:14
be there, despite AI, is lifelong learning. And
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that we have to continuously learn. Yeah, absolutely.
18:21
And when I say I'm a geek, it's only because
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that's what my... resume or life skills says.
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When I was a teenager, I was like any young man.
18:31
I wanted to play football and basketball and
18:34
be outside. And if a teacher gave me a book to
18:37
read, the thicker it was, the more I was like,
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oh, no. But as I got older, I realized it's a
18:45
necessary habit to build. Just like practicing
18:48
my jump shot or practicing my golf swing, I have
18:51
to practice my mental acumen. Practice being
18:55
a professional finance person. And if that takes
18:58
reading a big, thick book, I may not read the
19:01
whole thing, but I have to go after my career
19:04
and my profession the same way I go after anything
19:07
else I pursue in life. getting mentally prepared,
19:11
preparing my mind. I can tell you about a hundred
19:14
different things I've done over my career in
19:17
order to make sure I was ready for that next
19:19
opportunity. And I encourage everyone, every
19:23
young person I ever meet. Read three books, you
19:26
know, read a book that helps with your mental
19:29
health or your spiritual development. Read a
19:32
book that helps with your profession and the
19:35
thing that you care about the most in terms of
19:38
your career. And then read a book just for enjoyment,
19:41
just so you can practice the muscle of reading.
19:43
in an environment where you enjoy the topic you're
19:47
reading about. So I may be reading a book about
19:49
Seth Curry, and then I may be reading a book
19:52
about the financial markets. Then I may be reading
19:55
my Bible or a book about being a good husband
19:58
on a spiritual side. And all three of those things
20:02
combine to make me a more well -rounded person
20:06
and be better at my job. Wow. I'm definitely
20:10
stealing that. Because it's true to have that
20:14
balance, right? It doesn't have to be all boring,
20:16
quote unquote, all about learning. But yeah,
20:19
the Steph Curry book, yes, for sure. Thank you
20:22
so much for sharing that. I appreciate it. And
20:24
thinking about you being a well -rounded executive,
20:27
you are also sitting on different boards. So
20:29
I'm curious, how does these board roles... really
20:35
probably improved you as a CFO or a finance executive?
20:39
Because I'm always curious to see, because I
20:41
feel like all these experiences we accumulate
20:43
outside of work tend to make us better at work.
20:47
So curious to hear how that the board experience
20:49
may have helped you. Yeah, I think sometimes
20:52
when people look at board roles, they look at
20:55
it for prestige or or some ulterior motive. But
21:00
for me, board service is really about the opportunity
21:03
to give back. It also gives me a chance to sharpen
21:06
my skill sets in ways that my day -to -day job
21:10
may not. So by sitting on different boards, I
21:13
have a seat at the table with insights to the
21:17
challenges that other businesses may face. And
21:20
as a board member, I get all those challenges
21:23
that you talked about earlier. I'll hear about
21:26
their IT challenges. I'll hear about their marketing
21:29
challenges. I'll hear about the CEO and what
21:33
challenges he or she is facing. And by sitting
21:37
at the board seat and being asked to make decisions
21:40
quickly, I sharpen another skill set in terms
21:44
of leadership and executive presence and things
21:47
I need to know in order to be a leader. And quite
21:50
frankly, the organization that's giving to me
21:54
is also getting me, in some sense for free, getting
21:59
my 30 years plus experience in finance in order
22:03
to help them to make better decisions as well.
22:06
So I see it as a two -way street. It allows me
22:10
to give back. It also gives something to me in
22:12
the process. And they generally tend to be with
22:15
organizations. that inspire me or that I respect
22:20
what they're doing. And I feel like I'm blessed
22:22
to have the opportunity to even have a seat at
22:25
that table. And I continue to look and seek new
22:28
ways to get back through that medium. Wow. Again,
22:34
on that flow of being well -rounded, thank you
22:37
so much for sharing that because all these experiences
22:39
end at the end of the day. And when you think
22:43
about how we are trained from a finance background,
22:46
right, we think about precision, control, risk
22:49
management. Do you think that that training by
22:52
itself sometimes holds finance leaders back from
22:55
being effective leaders? Well, I definitely think
22:57
that. There are different facets to finance and
23:01
most people see it as just numbers and they get
23:05
that numbers training. And especially on the
23:07
accounting side, I don't have an accounting background.
23:10
I have an FP &A background and I intentionally
23:13
steered away from accounting because it was too
23:16
structured, too numbers focused. And to me, it
23:22
was pencils down and not heads up. And I always
23:25
want to be heads up in understanding the business.
23:28
So I do believe that finance training can sometimes
23:31
be an inhibitor. And in particular, when you're
23:34
going through school, you know, to me, university
23:39
and school is about proving that you're teachable.
23:42
When I came into the business world, the skill
23:45
sets I needed were different depending on which
23:48
company I was working with and what the role
23:50
was. And when I went back to my university for
23:53
the first time and I went to my favorite professor,
23:55
the one who had taught me, who seemed like the
23:57
smartest and had taught me the most things. And
24:00
I said, I remember telling him I have this job
24:02
at Fannie Mae and I'm doing X, Y and Z. And then
24:07
he said something. And for the first time, I
24:10
realized he's never worked in a company. He has
24:13
no idea what I do at Fannie Mae on a day to day
24:16
basis. He's not a manager who also teaches a
24:19
class. He's a teacher who teaches book knowledge.
24:22
So I do think that the training that they give
24:25
you in school is super, super important. It gives
24:28
you a way of thinking about problems and challenges
24:31
and finding solutions to those problems and challenges.
24:34
But transferring that to the workplace is a whole
24:38
different skill set. I don't know if I was always
24:45
the smartest person in a classroom, but for some
24:48
reason, I believe my ability to really be a problem
24:51
solver in a workplace is what's helped me to
24:55
reach the levels that I reached. Yes, I I remember
24:59
after school and I because I graduated in accounting
25:03
from Georgia State and I remember going into
25:05
my first internship at PWC and I almost wanted
25:08
to go back and say I want my money back because
25:10
I was not ready. It is hard. It's a big transition.
25:16
Yes, it is. And even the transition from, you
25:21
know, being a manager or director to the CFO
25:23
role, that's a brutal transition, too. It is.
25:26
It is. And and it's interesting as I watch people
25:30
interviewed to make that move and I watch the
25:34
interviewees try to assess who's ready. You know,
25:37
it really is a unique transition that you really.
25:43
need to be prepared for so one of the things
25:45
i did i remember when i was ready to be a cfo
25:48
i talked to my then cfo i was a director and
25:51
he said i think you'll be ready to be a cfo and
25:54
i want to help you get ready and i think it'll
25:56
be about five years out and i was like oh no
25:59
i plan to be a cfo in a year not five years and
26:03
i need to understand what it is that that's holding
26:06
you back or me back from being seen as someone
26:09
who can be in that role. So I hired an executive
26:12
coach. And boy, let me tell you, his name is
26:17
Gideon Coleman. He's with K Street Coaching.
26:21
His approach and the things he showed me about
26:23
myself were career altering, life changing, developmental
26:29
things that I had no idea. weren't present. So
26:34
to simplify, what I learned was the skills that
26:38
got me to be ready for the CFO weren't the skills
26:41
I needed to be a CFO. And he had this will where
26:47
he showed me all my strengths, my ability to
26:50
get the job done, my ability to do all these
26:53
tactical things. And what I really needed to
26:56
do was to build these leadership traits that
26:59
were on the top of the will. And in essence,
27:02
he was like, we're going to have to pull the
27:04
skills up into the top half of the chart. And
27:08
we spent time working on each piece of the pie.
27:11
And needless to say, a year later, I was a CFO
27:16
and I attribute the work that he and I did. And
27:20
in particular, his approach that really changed
27:24
that trajectory for me. Yeah. Now I want to hear
27:28
all about it. Give us one or two examples. Well,
27:33
at one point he put the wheel on the ground.
27:37
He had this big rollout, like kind of, I call
27:40
it like a twister mat. And we had to take our
27:43
shoes off and like almost do the twister mat.
27:46
But really one of the key things was, was integrity
27:50
and working with my team. When he showed me he
27:54
had done a 360 with my team and the leadership
27:57
of the firm I was working for. And when he showed
28:00
me where I was on integrity, it was much lower
28:04
than I still don't even like talking about it
28:07
because it was very humbling to read. But it
28:11
was the reason the score was low was because
28:14
I was a type of leader who would come in and
28:17
be like, leadership has asked us to do this by
28:19
next week. We need to get it done. This is your
28:22
part. This is my part. Everybody understand?
28:24
Go. You know, and I was and I was good at delivering
28:28
because I was good at understanding the deadline
28:30
and being driven to get it done. But for my team,
28:35
they were like, well, it just comes in and just
28:38
like that was all they knew was these were the
28:41
requirements and this is a job. Instead, I now
28:45
come in in a different way. I generally start
28:48
my meetings with how are you doing? Because how
28:52
are you doing and where you're currently at is
28:55
going to determine how we meet that deadline
28:58
much more than I can send out bullet points as
29:01
to what we need to do. But it's the how we do
29:04
it and doing it together that makes a difference.
29:06
So now when I come in and I start with a share,
29:09
oh my gosh, I had a rough morning. My daughter
29:12
didn't want to get up for school and my coffee
29:15
was cold. You know, how are you doing? Now I'm
29:18
starting to build integrity with my team because
29:20
I'm authentic and I'm building relationship and
29:23
they want to follow me and they want to work
29:25
with me in order to deliver on this deadline.
29:28
And it's a beautiful thing to see when you have
29:30
a team that's ready to go to war together because
29:33
you have that dynamic in play. And I had to learn
29:37
that before I thought I just needed to drive,
29:39
drive, drive. And it did help me to get from
29:41
manager to director, but it wasn't going to help
29:44
me be a CFO. Yeah. And you are an introvert,
29:49
so I can only imagine how hard that could be,
29:51
too, to be in those chit -chat, these meetings
29:54
and all those things, because I know you've spoken
29:57
openly about being an introvert while working
29:59
at these high levels of leadership. What would
30:02
you say something that are some of the things
30:05
that are helping you in that, like showing up
30:08
as an effective leader and yet being an introvert?
30:10
Because people tend to think it's easier when
30:12
an extrovert to do those things. Maybe it doesn't
30:15
apply to me if I'm an introvert. Yeah, I think
30:18
people get introverts confused, you know, and
30:21
at the very basic level, I say introverts are
30:25
people who need to be alone to recharge and get
30:29
their batteries to the highest level. You know,
30:32
when we look at people who are great leaders,
30:34
you know, you can't tell who's an introvert or
30:37
extrovert. You know, is Barack Obama an introvert
30:40
or extrovert? He speaks so eloquently, you know,
30:43
or pick another person. And you really can't
30:47
tell by just seeing someone present. When I stand
30:51
up to present to a large audience, my battery
30:54
is at the highest level. I'm going to bring the
30:56
energy. I'm going to work with the team. I'm
30:59
going to be one of the best versions of myself
31:04
when I'm asked to perform. But the way I recharge
31:09
for that is by spending time by myself. And I
31:13
use the weekends or I use my time off or I use
31:16
the mornings in order to get that recharging.
31:20
Other people that are extroverts may recharge
31:23
differently. They may get recharged by getting
31:26
with a group of friends and singing kumbaya or
31:29
whatever they may do. And they get their energy
31:32
through different sources. So for me, the most
31:35
important part of that understanding of being
31:38
an introvert is making sure that my calendar
31:41
and my schedule and my boundaries are set appropriately
31:46
so I have time to recharge. I cannot be in meetings
31:51
all day from 7 a .m. to 6 p .m., go to dinner
31:55
from 7 p .m. to 11 p .m., get in bed, do it all
31:59
over again. I will quickly burn out and you will
32:02
see a guy whose skin looks different, whose smile
32:05
isn't quite as bright, and who isn't ready for
32:08
work the next day in order to deliver. So what
32:10
I do is I put in pockets of time, whether it's
32:13
in the middle of a meeting schedule or just to
32:16
meet in my regular schedule. to make sure I'm
32:20
alone, I can meditate, I can read my book, I
32:24
can talk to my kids, you know, or do the other
32:27
things that are important to me. And then when
32:29
I show up, I'm ready to go. I love working with
32:32
teams. I love being a leader, but I also need
32:36
to recharge and be ready in order to do that.
32:38
And I think it helps my teammates because I'm
32:41
ready for them. Yeah. And you're not grumpy or.
32:46
I mean, we've all had those people who explode
32:49
or this. Yeah. You know, we all know there's
32:52
people who need to use alternative substances
32:55
in order to keep their energy levels up. You
32:58
know, you know, I say, you know, I don't drink,
33:02
I don't smoke and I don't do anything illicit
33:06
in order to get my energy levels up. I exercise
33:09
and I eat right and I meditate and I pray. And
33:13
I spend time with people that are important to
33:15
me. That's how I get my energy level up. And
33:18
I go on a nice ride on my motorcycle and take
33:21
this long road out the backside of my house.
33:24
And when I come back, I'm ready to rock and roll.
33:27
So we all do it differently. And I do think some
33:31
of the best leaders in the world have been introverts,
33:35
but you just may not know it. That's very true.
33:37
But I'm curious, you know, growing up, were there
33:39
maybe a moment where you realized that being
33:42
an introvert could actually help you lead instead
33:45
of holding you back? I think two things. One
33:49
is. I wouldn't say at 13, 14, 17, maybe even
33:54
21 that I knew what an introvert was. Okay. I
33:57
think I knew I liked to spend time alone. I would
34:01
often take long walks, you know, whether it was
34:04
to school or football practice or just around.
34:07
I took really, really long bike rides. But I
34:13
was trying to figure out. Who I was, which is
34:16
one of the reasons I speak so openly about being
34:19
authentic, being an introvert, because I believe
34:22
there's someone in their career who needs to
34:24
hear it and who needs to have permission to set
34:27
boundaries, because I didn't always set boundaries
34:30
in my career. And sometimes even now, when I
34:33
speak to young adults, they say, well, you're
34:35
the CFO. You could set boundaries. You know,
34:37
all I can say is if you're in a lower level position.
34:44
And you're working for an organization or in
34:46
a role that doesn't allow you to set boundaries,
34:49
doesn't allow you time to recharge and be your
34:52
best version of yourself. Then you should consider,
34:56
is that the right role for you? Or and or you
35:01
should be able to take time, not in a busy moment,
35:04
not when your boss is coming to you asking for
35:06
something right away. In the pause time to speak
35:10
to your leader or your manager openly about how
35:14
you recharge and how your best version shows
35:17
up. And I think a good leader will receive it,
35:21
you know, because I told you earlier and it was
35:23
through executive coaching that I've learned
35:26
to deal with my direct reports differently depending
35:29
on who they are. And to me, that's what good
35:32
leadership can do. If you expect everybody to
35:35
be the same personality, well, that doesn't allow
35:37
for diversity and for the best results for a
35:41
team. True, true. And, you know, I'm so inspired
35:45
by your own story, right? Because you also openly
35:48
share that you were a high school dropout. At
35:51
some point, you were a single father. Now you're
35:54
a global CFO. You sit on so many boards. You
35:56
mentor so many people. So grateful to have you
35:58
on my podcast. But when you look back on your
36:01
journey, what would you say are some of the moments
36:04
that helped you really through those transition?
36:06
Like at what point did you, like you said, matured
36:09
or what are the things that helped you, you know,
36:11
grow to be at that level? Yeah, look, to me.
36:17
During the dark days or the hard times, it seemed
36:21
dark and it seemed hard and it was hard to keep
36:24
hope and be optimistic because at those points
36:28
in time, I didn't know where things were going
36:31
to go. You know, now looking back, I realize
36:35
that those dark times and those hard times created
36:39
a resilience in me that you won't see in most
36:42
people. You know, I can walk 100 miles if I have
36:46
to in the dark with no shoes on. And I wouldn't
36:50
even be upset about it because I've walked 100
36:53
miles in the dark with no shoes on before. You
36:58
know, and whether it started with my paper route
37:01
early on as a kid or whether it was during those
37:04
times where my financial situation or being a
37:07
single parent was testing my resilience. All
37:12
of those things have built in me a muscle and
37:14
a gene that I appreciate and that I welcome now.
37:19
I even welcome hard times now because, you know,
37:22
when I go through hard times in my career now,
37:25
part of me says run for the hills, like go find
37:28
a different opportunity, go do something different,
37:30
like escape, escape, escape. Part of me says
37:33
when I get to the other side of this, I'm going
37:36
to be even badder than I was before. So watch
37:39
out, you know. And I realize now through prayer
37:43
and meditation and other things that, you know,
37:47
there's really not much that life can throw at
37:50
me that I can't handle. You know, you know, it's
37:53
just God's given me the skills and the qualities
37:56
in order to get through it. And, you know, because
37:59
I have an almighty God and that's my faith, you
38:02
know, I'm able to know that that there's something
38:05
bigger and better than just this moment in time.
38:10
Wow. I love that perspective. For me, one of
38:13
the biggest thing for me was coming to the U
38:15
.S. from West Africa. And that was a big transition
38:19
as well. And you tend to it tends to build resilience
38:23
in you because like if I could do this, like
38:25
if I could slay the bear and the lion, like I
38:29
can do this. Like it gives you that perspective.
38:32
But then I wonder how as leader or even parents,
38:36
can we instill that to our kids? Right. Because
38:38
I look at my kids and I'm like. Like I'm doing
38:40
everything to help them or I look at my team
38:43
and I'm doing everything to help them. How do
38:45
you build that resilience in the next generation?
38:48
Yeah, I mean, it's a very tough task because,
38:51
you know, here I am sitting here fortunate to
38:54
be in my role and ability to provide for my kids.
38:58
They don't necessarily have to work a paper route
39:00
or do some of the hard things I did. And surely
39:04
being a father of four. including three amazing
39:07
daughters and an amazing son, you know, I don't
39:11
want to have to see them struggle, you know,
39:13
but I think for me, one of the things that's
39:17
been most helpful is, you know, you may not have
39:21
to struggle like I did, you know, but at least
39:24
sit down and listen, you know, let me share my
39:28
story with you. Let me share with you some of
39:31
the challenges I've overcome and how I've overcame
39:33
them. And then you have a choice as the next
39:37
generation or as a young person. You can follow
39:40
the path that I follow or you can follow the
39:43
path that, you know, you know, and I'll use examples
39:46
for my children and they get to choose, you know,
39:50
and sometimes my daughter, you know, says. You
39:54
know, like they know I get up at 5 a .m. or before
39:56
every morning and my daughter tries to do it.
39:59
My 25 year old daughter tries to do it. And then
40:01
she goes, Dad, you know, do I need to get up
40:03
at 5 a .m. on Saturday, too? You know, I'm like,
40:07
well, you don't have to. But I am, you know,
40:09
you know, you don't have to show up every single
40:13
day, but I am. And so it's just living that living
40:17
by way of example. And being able to really share
40:21
authentically and realistically with the people
40:26
you care about. And same thing with my team.
40:29
You know, trust me, when some of my direct reports
40:33
come to me and they say, oh, I need to recharge.
40:37
I'm taking off the next seven days. The first
40:40
thing that raises up in me is this anxiety like,
40:42
oh, my gosh, what am I going to do without this
40:44
key person for seven days? You know, but I often
40:48
think back to what I need in terms of boundaries,
40:51
what I need to recharge. And I realize everything's
40:54
going to be OK. So if someone sends me a long
40:57
vacation request or a long request for a time
41:00
off, I just click the button because I know everything
41:03
is going to be OK. You know, and if I think too
41:05
hard, I'll try to say, oh, but we got this, you
41:08
know. And and so, you know, it's about being
41:12
authentic, being real, telling people. uh about
41:16
some of your struggles everyone does not have
41:19
to immigrate over from another country in order
41:23
to build resilience they will have challenges
41:26
in life trust me we don't have to give them to
41:29
them we don't have to give them to them the world
41:32
the world will knock them down and beat down
41:35
on them and they just need to know it's okay
41:37
you're going to be okay and you just have to
41:41
keep getting back up Wow, that is so true. And
41:45
I'm also curious, how do you stay grounded? How
41:50
do you build, I don't know if it's a community
41:52
or people around you to support you in what you're
41:56
doing or maybe clean up your surroundings? No,
42:00
I mean, it's important to people that you have
42:02
around you. And over time, that community changes
42:07
a little bit, right? And I saw it with my parents.
42:12
And it's happened in my life. I mean, when I
42:15
was, you know, doing one thing in life, my group
42:18
of circle of friends was one thing. When I moved
42:21
to being a CFO, the circle of people around me
42:24
is different, you know. And what you want are
42:29
the right balance of friendships, relationships,
42:33
resources that you can draw upon. For me, I'm
42:36
always reaching up. but I'm also always reaching
42:40
back down to lift up, you know, and I get the
42:44
most gratitude reaching down, but I never stopped
42:47
reaching up, you know, and everybody that I reached
42:51
down for can't come up and everybody that I reach
42:54
up to won't receive me. And, and I'm okay with
42:58
that. You know, I'm okay with that. You know,
43:01
I, I have a wonderful, amazing wife. four amazing
43:06
children, five, if you include my daughter -in
43:08
-law, which I do, you know, I have a grandchild
43:11
that I'm, that I'm happy with. And I have friends
43:15
who both support me and friends that need me.
43:19
And I'm happy with the balance of that, that
43:21
balance in life. And I set my own balance. Like
43:26
I'm an introvert. So if I had nobody, you know,
43:30
I mean, unfortunately I would be fine. That may
43:32
not work for everyone. You know, I have, I have
43:35
the one thing in my home that my wife let me
43:38
design, which is my basketball hoop. It's outside
43:41
the house. Everything inside the house she designed.
43:44
Boundaries. I see the basketball hoop. And like
43:47
I said earlier, I have a motorcycle in my garage
43:50
that in D .C. you don't get to ride every day.
43:53
But just seeing it there, it's one of my sources
43:57
of joy. And it brings joy to me just to pull
44:00
in and see it. Oh, yeah. Oh, that is so amazing.
44:04
So I'm always like to end with like, what's your
44:06
favorite thing to do outside of work? I know
44:08
you mentioned your motorcycle, your basketball.
44:11
What are other things that you enjoy doing besides
44:13
work? Yeah. So I need to start with saying I
44:16
like to exercise, you know, which is super important
44:19
to me for my physical health and mental health
44:22
and emotional health. You know, but I also like
44:25
my coffee and donuts. So I didn't want to start
44:28
with coffee and donuts. But I love a good cup
44:31
of coffee to start the day. I do almost the same
44:36
routine. I get a cup of coffee. I read my Bible.
44:40
I do a Peloton meditation. I exercise. And if
44:44
I can get two or three of those four things in
44:49
in the morning, then it starts my day off right.
44:53
And then I like to experience life and whatever
44:57
life may do. I say I'm not one of those people
45:00
who does the same thing every day. I mean, sometimes
45:03
I play basketball. Sometimes I play golf. Sometimes
45:06
I play tennis with my middle school friend. You
45:08
know, sometimes I go for a walk. Sometimes I
45:10
go for a run. Sometimes I ride a bike. Sometimes
45:12
I ride my motorcycle. So what you'll see in me
45:15
is someone who does like the decathlon of life.
45:19
I keep moving. I keep moving, you know, and everything
45:23
pivots around this career and life that I've
45:26
built. in terms of the job I have. And I never
45:31
forget where I came from so that when 5 a .m.
45:35
hits, I'm happy to get out my bed. You know,
45:38
I'm still the first one in the office because
45:40
I'm still thankful for my job. During COVID,
45:43
when people wanted to stay home, I went into
45:46
the office every day. I was like, I worked hard
45:49
for this office. I'm going to go in. And now
45:52
I have the whole office because nobody else is
45:55
here. And I walked in there and made the coffee
45:59
every morning and saw the one or two people that
46:02
were in there because I have an extreme amount
46:05
of gratitude. I do not take for granted the opportunity
46:09
to be the global CFO of the largest law firm
46:12
in the world. It's a blessing and I'm thankful
46:16
for it. Wow. Thank you so much for being on the
46:20
show. Your story, your work ethic. Oh, thank
46:25
you so much. Thank you. Thank you. It's a pleasure.
46:29
And like I said to anyone who wants to follow
46:32
me on LinkedIn, please look me up. I'm William
46:35
McKinley Washington III. For a couple parting
46:39
words, I did mention that, you know, making sure
46:42
you have those three books that you read. you
46:45
know, a spiritual one, a one on your profession
46:48
and one just for fun is probably the best tip
46:52
that I can leave everyone with. Thank you so
46:55
much. Thank you. Thank you for your time. And
46:59
that's all for today's episode of the Diary of
47:01
a CFO podcast. I hope it was as insightful and
47:04
enjoyable as it was for me. If so, please leave
47:08
a review and subscribe on whatever platform you
47:11
are listening on. It really helps this conversation
47:13
reach other financiers who need them. As always,
47:16
if you have any questions or want to go deeper
47:18
on anything, reach out at ask at thediaryofacfo
47:21
.com or visit thediaryofacfo .com. Thanks for
47:25
tuning in and I'll see you in the next one.