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A Year in the Life: Michael Coakley
January 22, 2021
I have been a part of the Washington Business Dynamics (WBD) team for more than four years. As a long tenured employee, I have had the unique opportunity to be a part of the firm’s growth from a small startup to an industry leader in the management consulting space. During my time with WBD, I have observed repeated philosophies that I believe embody the firm’s culture and remain central to our firm’s success.
Colleague Collaboration
Whether it was pre-COVID happy hours and firm events, or post-COVID virtual gatherings, WBD has always genuinely encouraged collaboration among colleagues. This network of shared ideas allows our firm to thrive and progress.
Based on the suggestion of a colleague, WBD instituted a mentor program, which pairs new hires with a senior employee in order to answer questions about the firm, build their consulting skills, and set a career path for them to grow professionally. Our colleagues take pride in seeing each other succeed.
During these uncertain COVID times, WBD has adapted by using Teams, Zoom and Slack so that I can connect with colleagues to continue sharing strategic ideas, participating in business development meetings and exchanging best practices with other firm managers. This allows me to remain engaged to our mission as a firm, and continue providing the best support to our clients and my team.
I have the privilege of working with intelligent colleagues of diverse backgrounds and unique skill sets. WBD promotes the fact that we can all learn from each other to better ourselves as professionals, and ultimately, our clients.
Action-Based Leadership
As a smaller firm, our leadership takes an active role in our daily success. They make sure we understand the firm’s goals and strategies, and remind us that the work we do matters.
Leadership understands my strengths. I am consistently challenged in my roles and have been enabled to work on high level client projects. I am given the autonomy to utilize my creative thinking to solve problems for our clients, which has made me a better consultant.
Our senior leaders are easily accessible and have provided me with honest feedback on what is required of me, in order to grow within the firm, and take advantage of our firm’s diverse opportunities.
Diverse Opportunities
As WBD has and continues to grow, so do the firm’s diverse opportunities available to our employees. Supporting numerous domestic and international clients, employees can work on multiple projects, expanding their knowledge base, technical skills and consulting expertise.
Within the past 12 months, I have transitioned from working as a Financial Analyst into a managerial role as an Acquisition Lead. I am directly supporting our client’s mission, overseeing a team of employees and broadening my overall knowledge base and skill set.
Through collaboration with fellow colleagues, the active role our leadership takes, to the diverse opportunities our firm has to offer, WBD has provided me with the necessary skills and abilities to grow my career with the firm. Knowing that WBD will allow me to be whatever I resolve to be, I am excited to reach my full potential.