Why I Joined August as Head of Employee Development and Empowerment
Director and Head of Employee Development and Empowerment
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, I have often reflected on what matters most in my life – family, autonomy, empowering others, and flexibility increasingly became top-of-mind. In late 2021, a small group of strategic communications professionals and I – who would soon make up the founding team at August – were united by these core values, and set out to build a business around them that catered to the modern employee. Our ultimate goal was to create an environment where professionals felt motivated and empowered to do their best work for our clients, rather than burned out and disinterested.
In the four months since our founding, our team’s dedication to achieving this fundamental goal has been the single most important ingredient in our success, and a key reason why I’m so glad I joined the firm.
My colleagues embody qualities that I’ve found to be scarce in the competitive and high-stakes client services industry: compassion, trust, accountability, encouragement, and mentorship. These are the qualities that inspire me and are what keep our team motivated to work with each other and our clients every day.
Take, for example, our CEO, Steven Goldberg, with whom I worked at our former firm. In the nascent stages of my career, Steven once asked me to join him on a call during which he would explain a complex legal matter to a reporter. Afterward, he encouraged me to take the lead on responding to the reporter’s follow-up questions, which was far out of my comfort zone. His trust in me provided the confidence I needed to take ownership of these and other important responsibilities in my career.
Steven has also always championed the importance of family, health, and wellbeing. When my sister gave birth to her daughter unexpectedly in 2019, his response to my last-minute time-off request was not only “yes,” but also an encouragement to take all the time I needed to be with family.
The opportunity to realize my entrepreneurial ambitions also drew me to August. Helping build a business from the ground up has always been an aspiration of mine, and reflecting on these past few months, the process has been more rewarding than I could have imagined. It is inspiring to see the implementation of our vision deeply resonating with team members, clients, and partners. I am excited to bolster our strong foundation by continuing to pilot fresh ideas and learning from our growing team.
Finally, leading our employee development and empowerment efforts has presented me with a unique opportunity to develop my leadership toolkit and advance my career. Not only am I deeply involved in our client work, but I also design and help implement our mentorship, training, onboarding, and review programs, which I believe are integral to the firm’s success and the development of my colleagues. With autonomy to run with my ideas – along with collaborative support from our team – I am spearheading strategies that I believe will ensure we continue to deliver on our promises of superior client counsel and prioritization of our team’s wellbeing, empowerment, and growth. A few of our core beliefs and practices include:
Encouraging team members to focus on what they do best and pursue specialized practice areas and industries, allowing them to refine their professional skillset, exercise their interests, and deliver their best work to clients.
Promoting egalitarian team dynamics to achieve an inclusive, collaborative, and productive environment. All team members – no matter their position or experience level – have a voice that will be heard.
Treating our team like family. When we speak with a colleague, we start by asking them how they’re doing. When they are sick, we send care packages and check in on them.
Celebrating the pursuit of personal interests to encourage well-rounded lifestyles and personal fulfillment.
In the years to come, I look forward to helping drive August’s growth as a firm whose brand reflects the values of its team. We are building something special and differentiated here at August, and I encourage you to reach out to me or my colleagues to learn more.