BeecherMadden Founder Shortlisted For FL National Awards & Summit 2019
BeecherMadden’s Managing Director and Founder, Karla Reffold has been shortlisted as Mentor Of The Year in this years The FL National Awards & Summit. The FL National Awards & Summit, now in its 10th year, has announced its anticipated regional shortlist for London and the South.
The FL National Awards & Summit has been designed to demonstrate enterprise, talent and innovation from across the region’s thriving business community, the annual National Awards & Summit has become one of the most recognised and well-attended business awards in the region.
This is an outstanding and admirable moment for Karla, all of us here at Beecher Madden commend her. Karla added that “For me, being nominated for this award is even more important than the winning, being recognised as a woman in leadership and for my mentorship throughout my career is what matters the most. It is always a positive and redeeming feeling when fellow women uplift one another in such a male dominated industry, I encourage all women regardless of factors that may seem disheartening to continue to push forward with their goals”
Here are extracts from Karla’s interview about her career, how she handles leadership and her achievements.
Q. Can you give us examples of any common stereotypes you come across as a successful female leader?
A. I have often found that questions get directed to my male colleagues. I have felt I’ve had to earn my credibility in a way that they don’t. The upside is proving those people wrong, that’s a great feeling! And I’m lucky to have reached a point in my career and life when I care far less about their opinion or treatment of me. I see that as their failing, not mine.
Q. What are the most important decisions that you face daily as a leader in your organisation?
A. Balancing a short-term win, with our long-term goals are a daily challenge and one I think most leaders can relate to. As much as possible, I try to align my team to my long-term goals but it is inevitable that their focus will not always be the same. It also impacts my day. What do I need to focus on right now and does this move me closer to my long-term goals.
Q. What is most important to you and your organisation – mission, vision, or core values? Why?
A. Core values. If I have people with values that align to mine, then the rest will fall into place. Honesty is a key value of mine and I don’t tolerate employees that don’t live this value. It enables me to help them through challenges and deliver a better service to our clients, all of which contribute to our overall mission.
Q. What are you most proud of?
A. Taking my company through an acquisition. It involved a fast learning curve and you have to understand a lot of different legal concepts quite quickly to make sure you have protected your future. It is also a very emotional decision, and everyone involved will have an opinion. Being confident I had made the right choice to go through that process wasn’t always easy. I am very proud of how successfully I got through the acquisition process but also that two years on I am still working with the same business and growing us faster than I could have done alone.
Q. When you’re considering partnering with another person or business, what factors are deal-breakers for you?
A. Values and essentially, gut feel. I’ve had some great business offers in the past couple of years but something didn’t feel quite right. When I’ve analysed it, I’m not sure we have shared the same personal or business values and I’m confident that we would have not been successful working together. You have to enjoy working with the people around you if you are going to put enough effort in to make a new venture a success. I’d rather walk away from a good deal than sacrifice my well-being in the wrong situation.
Q. Your favourite quote?
A. Don’t throw stones at every dog that barks. The first time I read this, I realised I didn’t have to react to everything around me. Most negative situations pass pretty quickly when you don’t fuel them with your attention.
Q. On average, how much sleep do you get each night? Is it enough?
A. About 6 hours at the moment. But with baby number 3 on the way, I know that won’t continue and even that isn’t quite enough. I have to increase my energy by exercising and eating well. And lots of coffee!
We are delighted to announce this and want to congratulate Karla once more.