Guiliana Garces Reyes

I personally think that I'm pretty good at asking for challenges. A lot of people are capable of doing more than their current role, but they don't ask for more challenging roles or more challenging projects, and I think that sometimes that keeps them where they are. Something that I'm really proud of is being able to speak up and ask for more challenges and ask for what I want, kind of shape the role that I want. I think it ties into my entrepreneurial mindset. Being in accounting and eventually becoming a partner, you kind of are an owner of your own business, because you have your own set of clients, and you manage that. I'm very proud of being able to move up quicker than the standard because of that ability to speak up and ask for challenges. Even though there can be hesitations personally, like I don't know if I'm ready, I've never experienced that, being able to ask for those experiences and ask for those challenges helps you prove to other people what you're capable of, and helps you become experienced and become that role that you want to be in.

The most important lesson I learned from my mentor Kyle Paxton was about being human as a leader and not pretending that everybody's perfect. He never got upset at anyone for making mistakes, and the thing that I admired the most about him was him admitting that he's not perfect either, which I think is so important as a leader, because it makes the people that you're leading feel comfortable with you. Being able to say things like 'oh, this fell through the cracks,' being able to apologize, being able to just be honest, and knowing how to move forward with that is really important. He always inspired me in just being a human, and that made me be a good leader now, and made me feel comfortable getting to where I am now.

I would say that this field is challenging, and it can sometimes tempt you to not believe in yourself, because it's so compliance heavy and very technical, that there's a lot to know. It's hard to feel like you know everything, so don't expect that one day you're magically going to know it all and be able to answer every question that people ask you. I would tell her to just keep learning, because every day you learn something, and that is going to help you in the future. The things that you learn in this career apply to real life, which is always amazing - being able to help the people around you with those things that you've learned. But you're never going to know everything ever, especially since tax laws are always changing, accounting is always changing and evolving. I would say steer away from those negative thoughts of insecurity, and just know that every day you're getting better and better, and learning something, and being challenged, and those challenges will always help you move forward.