FIVE MINUTES WITH….LUCIA VILLAMOR

The role of Mentorship in Finance & Accountancy: How to find and be a mentor

I suspect Mentoring has always been around but the last decade or so has seen it rise to considerable prominence...Its value is probably greater now than it was throughout our history, or at least modern history.I have been exposed to mentoring and mentorship from every angle having proactively sought out my own mentors in the past and in time taken on the role of mentor to others. In my dual roles as a partner within The CFO Partnership and a board director of Sharp Consultancy for over a quarter of a century I have experienced it through osmosis and experience. Mentoring is something very close to my heart.Hopefully in this article I can explain why you should seek out a mentor for yourself, why your skills could make you a great mentor for others, how much satisfaction you might gain from mentoring others and one or two points on what makes a great mentor. Mentoring in Finance:Whilst mentoring can be beneficial in every type of employment and indeed, every walk of life, I believe it has particular relevance in the accountancy and finance sector.Accountants need to develop their management and leadership skills as they progress just like anyone else. They need to develop their self-knowledge and self-awareness like anyone else. They are, however, more exposed to issues regarding ethics and integrity than many other roles/industries. There can be and often is pressure for the results to be better than they are, perhaps to secure further lending or investment, please the boss, even keep their job. More than a few accountants have found themselves at His Majesty’s pleasure having done something they wouldn’t normally have done but have been pressured into. The finance leader (usually Finance Director or CFO) is the key sounding board for the owners/stakeholders; they are often the conscience of the owners. They probably need the ability to say ‘no’ more than other board members – and say yes and encourage. Whilst not responsible for operations, marketing, HR, IT (sometimes they are) and so on they transcend all those areas. They make a mistake – everything can go South very quickly.It is in part for the above reasons that the value of a mentor, someone who can be an independent sounding board, can question you and listen to you, offer opinions and advice is invaluable.Frequently a mentor helps you reach your decision and gives you the confidence to fulfil your plan. They help set challenges into perspective. They ask questions you haven’t thought of and allow you to see things through another person’s experiences. They are calming influencers and confidence builders. As a younger man early in my career I was told the best way of developing fast was to be a sponge, to absorb the greatest attributes of those around me and above me; to become an amalgamation of the best traits of those people. The challenge in accountancy and finance is you can easily find yourself at a relatively young (and hence relatively inexperienced) age in a fairly senior role with perhaps only one or two more senior finance people above you. Even if they are good, it is a very shallow talent pool to learn from. A mentor therefore can help you ‘mentally mature’, hone your decision making, cope with daily stresses, deal with difficult situations, improve as a manager or leader, manage upwards, improve your profile and credibility and build your own personal brand – in effect be the best version of yourself.However, it is worth noting what a mentor is NOT. They are not there to tell you what to do. They are not there to make decisions for you. They are not there to do your job for you. If that is what you are looking for then a mentor is not the solution.Why I became a Mentor:It was a very easy decision for me. By nature, I love helping others (it’s why I’ve loved recruitment for nearly 30 years) and I benefitted so much from formal and informal mentors myself.As an aside, a formal mentor is someone who takes responsibility for mentoring you. Informal mentors are people you surround yourself with who you know you can learn so much from just by being associated with them. There are dozens if not hundreds of people I would class as informal mentors to me; people who probably believe that I have helped them and probably don’t realise just how much they have helped me. Osmosis again!Mentoring someone is surprisingly two-way. You are there to benefit them, but you often benefit from the dynamic yourself. Mentees frequently inspire you to think differently in the same way you hope to inspire them. If you like helping people, then few things are as satisfying as being a mentor. When your mentee has a huge challenge and they are lost at sea, helping them find their way of navigating those choppy waters is one of the most satisfying things you can do. They feel fulfilled. You feel fulfilled.Finding a Mentor:It would be very difficult to try and find a random person to be your mentor. Chances are it will be someone you know well enough to admire and respect. Possibly a colleague, a customer, a supplier, a relative or a friend.You probably need to know them in advance to be sure you’d feel comfortable opening up to them; and be sure they would operate in the strictest of confidence.My first mentor was one of my customers. He was (is) a chartered accountant and at the time had been a partner in private equity for many years. He was inspirational, knowledgeable, vastly experienced in business and because of his private equity experience, had dealt with every size and type of business and every type of management team. I was very nervous asking him, but I plucked up the courage and was surprised by how flattered and delighted he was to be asked.Pick a mentor who might have enjoyed the career and experiences that you hope to achieve yourself. Luckily in finance it’s likely that you have already been exposed to such people.Identify who you’d want and simply ask them in a manner that shows how much you respect them. Give them a very easy way out so they don’t feel trapped in to agreeing ‘I know how very busy you are so there’s absolutely no problem at all if you haven’t got the time or for that matter, if being a mentor just doesn’t appeal to you’.How to be a good mentor:I suspect this is the one area I am least qualified to speak with authority on. I hope I’m a decent mentor, but would I be told if I wasn’t?There are some very sensible things that you can do or avoid doing though:Do ask what they want to get out of the meetingsDo ask what they don’t want to cover Do ask lots of questions; questions where the mentee presents the potential answers.Do explore reasoning; ‘Why’ is not an aggressive questionDo give ideas if requested toDo listenDon’t tellDon’t do it for themDo agree what actions they want to deliver before the next meeting (if that’s something they want you to do)Don’t berate them if they haven’t done what they said they were going to do – you aren’t their managerDon’t be emotional. Be factual. The regularity of the meetings is entirely up to the mentee. I always liked 1 hour every 2-3 months but that’s me. Final Thoughts:Finance is a multifaceted, technical, regulated and challenging discipline. It has huge risks if mistakes are made and can have more ethical/integrity dilemmas than many jobs. Having a mentor in finance can therefore have huge benefits.From a career development perspective, they can make all the difference. Therefore:Decide on what kind of support and advice you would like.Decide what you are trying to achieve in your business and your career.Figure out what kind of prson might have the experience that would be valuable.Do you know anyone like that?Don’t be shy, ask them. Ask them the way I mentioned earlier, and they’ll be flattered (and more likely to say yes).A dog may be for life, but a Mentor doesn’t have to be. If it isn’t working (they all lose their benefit over time) move on to another.Consider doing the same for someone else and mentoring them.

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Diversity and inclusion are essential for today’s modern business as the variety of people from different backgrounds, specialisms, cultures and experiences ensure a balance of outlooks and voices that can help shape an organisation’s culture and support its recruitment and retention programme.

From increasing creativity and innovation to creating happier employees and boosting productivity, the importance of a clear and proactive diversity and inclusion strategy is fundamental. Recently Executive Director Lee Sweeney caught up with Lucia Villamor, Partner – Investor Relations at Endless, who he placed, to discuss how the private equity investor’s approach has had a positive impact on her career to date.

Lee Sweeney (LS): Firstly, congratulations on your well-deserved promotion. What does your new role involve and how has your career developed?

Lucia Villamor (LV): Thanks Lee. My role at Endless mainly consists of managing relationships and communications with existing and potential investors in our Funds and project manage our fundraising processes. I studied Law at University in Spain but I did not fancy a legal career so ended up moving to the UK and doing a post graduate degree in Business Administration at the University of Leeds. I joined Deloitte straight from university where I spent three years in the Audit team and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Following this, I joined the Commercial Due Diligence team – I was there for another year before moving to Endless in 2008. Initially, I worked within the Investment team where I had both portfolio and transaction responsibilities, before moving across to Investor Relations in 2015.

LS: Having gained experience in a number of different areas, what made you choose this particular career path?

LV: The variety of work in Private Equity was a real draw for me; we get to see a range of different types of companies in what are often very diverse industries and work with management teams that embrace different leadership styles, ambitions, challenges to help transform businesses. Since moving into Investor Relations, I thrive on meeting investors from across the world, understanding their aims and their organisations and helping to generate real value for them.

LS: When you look back to the time when you joined Endless, can you remember what it was that attracted you to this particular role and organisation?

LV: Yes, whilst working at Deloitte, I enjoyed getting under the skin of different businesses and industries during Commercial Due Diligence assignments. We worked mainly for Private Equity businesses advising them on potential targets or helping them prepare existing investments for sale. However, I wanted to see what happened on the other side after the transaction had taken place and the new owner set off to deliver their value creation plan. I had a strong interest in being on the other side of the table and wanted to experience what it would be like to see and work with a business that was being transformed. Endless had a great reputation in the market as an experienced, responsible investor and I liked their ethos of “making businesses better for everybody”.

LS: One thing that has always come across when I’ve worked with Endless, or talk to others in the industry about them, is they have a real and genuine focus upon supporting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Is this something that you have seen during your time with the organisation.

LV: Absolutely. We have a Diversity & Inclusion team which in the past two years has done fantastic work to bring D&I to the forefront of our agenda. We have worked very hard at reviewing our recruitment practices, we have reviewed our parental leave policies and we have supported a number of industry initiatives such as Level 20 and the 100 Black Interns Program. We also try to promote flexible working and emphasise to the team that we care about results and not hours spent in the office – that really helps people who, for example, may have family commitments, like myself.

LS: How did this approach help you in your career development?

LV: It has made a huge difference; by having a very progressive flexible working policy and a culture where you can have open, honest discussions about your career, I’ve never felt that I’ve had to make the same career versus family compromises that I’ve seen others have to make. When you look at the team page on our website, it is very clear to see the importance the company places on diversity and inclusion and how this is reflected in our people – this in turn encourages others to want to join and be part of a business with a progressive outlook.

LS: What do you think employers need to have in place to support their employees achieve their career goals?

LV: Without a doubt, there should be more emphasis placed upon mentoring and sponsoring to support employees – and this doesn’t necessarily have to be from an individual’s line manager or boss. Often the best mentor/mentoree relationships are developed by those who may not necessarily work closely together on a day-to-day basis but they have skills, experience or an outlook which the other can benefit from. There also has to be an openness around communication – from both sides - particularly when it comes to discussions about career ambitions as well as honest feedback on development areas. Difficult conversations are never the most comfortable for either party involved, however by approaching them honestly and constructively, far more will be achieved in the long run.

LS: Would you say there has been somebody who has supported you as a mentor and how do you feel they influenced you?

LV: I think the value of mentoring is something which should never be under-estimated and is something which, when approached correctly, will have real benefits for both the mentor and the mentoree. I have learnt a lot from our Managing Partner on how he communicates to investors and other stakeholders. We have our own “in-house style” - I think our investors appreciate and respond well to it and he has played a key role shaping this up over the years.

LS: What would you say has been a particular challenge that you have had to overcome and how did the guidance or support that was put in place help?

LV: The move from the Investment team to Investor Relations was a big one and I felt a bit out of my comfort zone at the start. I did a lot of listening and observing and had a lot of support from our two founding Partners whom I learnt a lot from. It made me realise that is good to push yourself into unfamiliar areas sometimes – it’s one of the best ways to learn!

LS: There’s also a real focus upon ‘celebrating success’; is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

LV: I agree and it’s so important to celebrate success whether that is something achieved as an individual or as part of a team. It’s also important to support and celebrate the achievements of others. I was very proud of the Endless V fundraise back in November 2020. We hit our fundraising target in 12 weeks in the middle of a global pandemic. We were so pleased with the support from existing and new investors. And from a personal perspective, I was also very proud to be promoted to Partner earlier this year.

LS: If you could offer one piece of advice to someone – regardless of whether they were at the beginning of their career or about to make a move into a senior role – what would it be?

LV: I think whatever stage you are at in your career, this same piece of advice rings true - work as hard as you can and be brave!

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment and executive search of finance and accountancy professionals within owner managed businesses, national and global plcs and leading venture capital and private equity firms. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to find out more.