Episode 91: Ask Questions To Learn What You Don't With Scott Wiley
Contrary to what many people think, asking questions does not make you appear weak. Instead, it helps you become smarter and make better decisions as a leader. Is there something you don’t know? Ask questions. Amy Vetter’s guest for this episode knows this from experience. Scott Wiley is the President and CEO of the Ohio Society of CPAs. In this conversation, Scott shares the highlights of his professional journey as a CPA, the importance of asking questions to personal and professional development, and the centricity of value-driven relationships in the profession. Join in and partake of juicy insights that will guide you for the rest of your career growth.
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Ask Questions To Learn What You Don't With Scott Wiley
Ask Questions To Learn What You Don't Know
Welcome to this episode of the show where I interview Scott Wiley, President and CEO of The Ohio Society of CPAs. Scott provides the executive vision for one of the nation's top accounting associations. He leads a team of professionals that create and deliver innovative advocacy, education business solutions for 85,000 CPAs and accounting professionals working in businesses of every size and sector across Ohio.
Some of the awards that Scott has received is Immediate Past Chair of the American Society of Association Executives. He's been the Chair of the Board and also the Chair of the ASAE Foundation. He, also with the American Institute of CPAs, has been part of the State Policy Priorities Task Force, National Commission on Diversity & Inclusion and the Future of Learning Task Force.
He's a member of the US Chamber of Commerce, Corporate Leadership advisory board, the Fisher College of Business advisory board, the Ohio State University and Leadership Columbus Class of 2017. During my interview with Scott, we talked about his CEO story beginning with his first CEO role in his early twenties, what he learned then that still helps him to this day.
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I'm here with Scott Wiley, President and CEO of The Ohio Society of CPAs. Scott, do you want to give a brief background on yourself before we get started?
Thanks for having me, Amy. I have the distinct pleasure and honor of serving as the CEO of The Ohio Society of CPAs. We're the second-largest state CPA organization in the country, with more than 28,000 members in all areas of practice, as well as more than 10,000 high school and college students we engaged with each year. What we do with The Ohio Society and what I have the privilege of doing as the CEO is we bring the profession together.
We connect. Talk about where's the profession going, what's the future of the profession and how we can help shape it. For years, I've had the privilege of leading organizations that are focused on how do we advance the future and how do we bring people together who are focused on building trust and relationships. That's what excites me about this work. Amy, that's what excites me for our conversation.
I'm excited to have you on. I've known Scott for a while. I'm also on the board for The Ohio Society. I have seen his leadership capability and his way of running an organization. This is such a great conversation to be able to have because what we're going to do is dive a little bit deeper into who Scott is. Maybe you can start back. Where did you grow up? What did your parents do?
I grew up in Upstate New York, where I got back from there. I was there visiting my mom but I grew up in a small town called Stillwater, New York. The closest city is Saratoga or Albany, but Stillwater is claim to fame if there was one. That's where the Battle of Saratoga happened and where Benedict Arnold trekked. I grew up a mile from the turning point of the American Revolution. In so many ways, that's shaped who I am and my outlook on life, as well as my outlook on leadership.
I spent the better part of my years in New York. My parents divorced when I was young. I have an older sister. The two of us stuck together. She is still probably one of the first people I look up to the most because no matter what was going on in my life, I can always count on my older sister, Michelle. I went to college at The State University of New York in Oswego, New York. For anyone who's ever heard of that, Oswego is literally on Lake Ontario.
My freshman year in college, there was 275 inches of snow but that's in between Halloween and Easter. There was the gust. That also helped and form who I am. When I was in college, I joined a fraternity. I was the student body president. I've always been drawn to leadership but also helping people find the best version of themselves, whether that's been in recruiting other people to join an organization, how can we help organizations serve the people that need it the most or sticking out a position that sometimes is popular but is about where we need to get to. Those things have helped and formed who I am as a professional.
After college, I moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and went to work for my college fraternity. My first assignment out of college was going to be to travel the country, working with collegiate chapters and undergraduates and teaching them about recruitment. In that time, I got to learn a lot about sales marketing but also how you communicate with others and what builds relationships, the value if you will, of the handshake, the importance of not just the large group meeting but the one-on-one interactions where you can get to know people, what drives them and motivates them but also who they are deep inside. How did you find those connections?
As I think about the work of this profession that I'm so grateful to be able to work with, relationships are what our business is when we think about the role of CPAs. I know you know this but anytime I get an opportunity, I'm quick to tell a firm, to tell CPAs, people who work in industry. The value you bring to your clients and those who count on you isn't your ability to decipher information. That's valuable. The real value is your ability to build relationships grounded in trust. From that trust and that relationship, you can do so much more.
I did that job for a couple of years. One of my mentors was my boss, who was the CEO of the organization. He left and started his own business. They brought in an interim leader for a period of time. They did a search. The search failed for the next CEO. That interim decided that he wanted to go back to running his own business but he recommended to the board that as they started the next search, he'd hang around for a couple of days a month. He said, “Scott and another person in the organization, let's elevate them to my deputy roles. They could help me run this while you finish the search.”
That went on for a few months. I got to present some information at a board meeting. The chair of the search committee was in the room. He came up to me in the hall and afterward said, “You should think about applying for this job.” I was 24 years old at the time. I thought, “What a nice thing for him to say to pump up my ego as we go into this next phase.” I guess I treated it that way and blew it off.
A couple of days later, I was on the road traveling and I thought about it. I called Tony, who was the interim and said, “They brought this up to me and I didn't pay any attention to it.” He said, “I'm aware. Are you interested?” I thought about it and I'm like, “Yes but I'm 24. There's no way.” He's like, “You should call them now and tell them.” That was on a Wednesday. I called that afternoon and he said, “We're closing the search Friday at noon. Can you get me your resume?” At 24, there wasn't much of a resume to share but I did. One thing led to another and I made it to the final round. I went in thinking, “There's no way I'm going to get this but what do I have to lose?”
I went in with a plan and told them what I thought and where I thought we needed to focus. Lo and behold, two days later, they called and said, “We want you.” I'll never forget my first day on the job as the CEO of the fraternity. All the pictures of my predecessors were on the wall. The organization was over 100 years and there were nine people who had held the role before me. Some held it for decades and they did it while they were part-time lawyers and things like that. There was one guy whose pictures were on the wall and he lasted six months. I remember thinking to myself, “I could beat him.”
I was the CEO for ten years. I held the position longer than anyone who had the title of CEO, other than a person who did it as a volunteer. The organization grew 300% in my time. We grew the budget by more than $5 million. We expanded across the country and brought more leadership programs to college students. We did two major capital campaigns where we raised more than $20 million. I got to work with the best people in the world and with college students, which was never dull. Sometimes I wish it was a little more adult. I liked to joke that with CPA, when they say risk management with college students, I would say cringe on a Monday morning. I did that until it was 34.
I'd like to go all the way back to your sister because you pinpointed her importance to you. I like to learn a little bit more about her and your relationship.
Ask Questions: The importance of one-on-one interactions is that you can get to know people and understand what drives and motivates them to build great connections.
Michelle and I couldn't be more different but I like to make sure she knows that she's four and a half years older than she's still five years older for a few more months. She would still kick my butt if she thought I was doing something I wasn't supposed to or if I was selling myself short. Michelle is the type of person everyone respects and wants to be around. That's because she doesn't treat anyone differently. I respect that about her. I've tried my best to emulate those skills and talents that she has in that regard.
She's also someone who's much more comfortable being behind the scenes and being the cheerleader. That's where she and I are different. Whereas I like to be out front and be the cheerleader but also share the stage, so to speak. Growing up as kids, we live with our mom. We would see our dad but we always knew we could count on each other.
When she went away to college, she stayed close to home. It was never spoken but I know it was part because she wanted to be there for me and I was so grateful for that. When I got to go to college, I went hours away but we always stayed close. We talk 3 or 4 times a week, even if it's for five minutes to talk about what our mom is doing, compare notes about our kids or some stupid thing we saw a friend doing on Facebook. She’s one of my closest counsel.
Not everyone's fortunate. We all have different family dynamics, who's involved and so forth, but when siblings can make it through those family dynamics together as friends, it's a nice thing.
She's not bashful about telling me when I'm wrong and what I should go do about that because sometimes I don't like to hear that but I know it's always coming from the position of love.
What did your mom do?
My sister and I were the first generation in our family to go to college. My mom worked for the state of New York for over 40 years. Took some time off when I was a kid but she retired from the New York State Department of Health. She worked in an area that helped regulate assisted living and nursing facilities. My dad drove a tractor-trailer. He hauled fuel oil all across the state. He works late hours early in the morning. When he wasn't traveling, he'd be sleeping a lot at the time when we were awake. Weekends were when we got to spend a good bit of time with my dad. My dad passed years ago.
Your mom sounded like she was the main responsible person. What did you learn from her watching her try to manage it all and balance it?
I would say with pride and great truth that I was raised by two strong women, my mom and my sister. Who's stronger? Let's not get me in trouble. I won't answer that one. My mom worked two jobs, sometimes three jobs to make sure we had everything we needed, probably more than we needed and most of what we wanted. As a young kid, I didn't understand or respect that. I knew that she was always working but as I became a teenager, even in college and certainly beyond, I saw how hard she was working out, how tired she was and I respect it. I'd like to think that I get my work ethic from her and certainly, the forms of decency and respect, holding the door and saying, “Please and thank you.” Things that I grew up knowing as manners, that was what it was.
Even smaller things, it mattered to my mom like when I was involved in sports, clubs, or organizations. I would have a lead role. It was important that you have to know how to iron your shirt, iron your pants and how you use starch. These are the colors that match. I would still joke with my mom. Hopefully, none of your readers who will be offended by this. My mom, Judy, taught me that you never ever wear black shoes in a Navy suit. I don't care what style guide comes out and says that's okay. We still talk from time to time. I'm like, “Mom, I was in the airport. This guy is wearing black shoes in a Navy suit.” She'll like, “No.”
We still bond over that kind of stuff. I have a daughter who is the fashionista in the house. My mom will talk to her and she's like, “Make sure your father’s tie matches the shirt and the jacket he’s wearing because I can't be there and who knows what he'll pick out.” I say that jokingly but I still appreciate that. It’s part of the whole thing. My mom is a huge influence on my life.
Coming from parents that didn't go to college, what drove you to go to college? What did you imagine you were going to be?
I thought I was going to be a politician because I was a student body president in high school and in college. I was also the president of my fraternity in college. I enjoy what I thought politics were at that point in time and the running, the leading, the charting a vision, rallying people around an idea and leading people to that. As I've matured and have a family of my own, I realized I enjoy service and I will differentiate that from politics.
There are many people who are in public life who serve in politics that truly are about service. I respect them regardless if their beliefs are equal to mine. I am so grateful for their willingness to put their name forward, to lead and to serve. What I observed all too often that's becoming more common is politics has become a blood sport. That's not something I enjoy or look forward to but I've found that leading people and leading organizations isn't politics. In many ways, leadership is an element of business and communication. I graduated with a degree in Communication and a minor in Business.
How did you go through school if your family was working class? How did you afford it?
I worked in college and I had loans. No one will ever tell you, including me, that I was the best student in college. For the CPAs tuning in who I might wonder, “How did The Ohio Society hire this guy?” I can tell you, it's not because they talked to Dr. Florence Kirk, the only accounting professor I ever had who certainly I was not memorable to her. I remember working in the dining hall and in the student union as a building manager. Then certainly, when I got into positions of leadership, that created other opportunities. I think about the jobs I had as a high school kid and college that best prepared me for the roles I'm in. It was when I got to be a server because one, carrying all the plates on the arm. I can still do that in a close space.
I used to have dreams where you had to go underneath and then the tray would slide backward.
There's an element of juggling and you’ve got to have multiple things and balance, I'm sure there, but also how you engage with people at the table where quite frankly I'm here with an armful. They're not ready to be plated yet because they're in their conversation. How do you read the non-verbals? How do you engage with people? When someone doesn't get something they wanted, how do you put the best face forward to make sure that they still can get that? I got to work in a faculty club where a lot of administrators and faculty came. You saw the regular people. You can build a rapport. You know about what their interests are. You know about their kids or what their research is in. Demonstrating that you know that, you care and you can remember it. Certainly, I wasn't an idiot to help you get the better tip.
Ask Questions: The value you bring to your clients isn't your ability to decipher valuable information. The real value is your ability to build relationships grounded in trust.
It also demonstrates that you care and you are about relationships. What we see and talk about in our profession is grounded in those relationships. Certainly, we're at a time where trust has become the most valued element of relationship building. That wasn't something I learned in a class in college or someone told me I had to develop this skill in a job. I learned that through my own upbringing and through my own surroundings but I also saw that how doing that could open doors and create new opportunities.
When you became a CEO at 24, how did that go? You've got good results by the end but starting out, how did you have the confidence? Where did you mess up?
I messed up a lot. I've learned that being a CEO, that's part of the job. If you stop messing up, then you get complacent and it’s time to go. I'll be the first person to say that. Early on, the bar was low. Should we hire? What was the situation? The organization was distressed. That probably served me well. Also at 24, I was dating someone who's now my wife but there was nothing tying me down. I traveled all the time to meet with people, to be in front of people. I quickly became the face of the organization.
In doing that, here it goes. I was building relationships, building trust and getting people to buy into me and into the ideas, the vision and what the future was going to look like that I was sharing. “Scott, I don't know if I agree with everything but I trust you. You're a decent guy. You're being honest. You're generally humble. I'm going to give you a little bit of latitude here to see what you do with it.” Then it became a little bit more and more.
That also allowed me to meet people and build more relationships. As a result, I got to meet some successful alumni in our organization, people who were executives. One who's still one of my mentors is on the US and Global Board of PwC and a CPA. I've counted on them to not only be they were the board of the organization but they were my advisory board. That's what I kicked the tires with. That's who I would ask ideas or I count on that give me strength. “You're doing this great but you might get to work on this.”
I was an “umer” early on. Public speaking, I enjoy it but I always “um” when I would speak. It took someone working through and that coaching to get through that. At 24, I was raw and unpolished. I had a blast. I still like to think that at 43, I've got the energy, the vigor and the vitality. I'd like to think I'm a little more seasoned but there was something about being raw and willing to jump in the deep end in the pool and say, “I'm here to learn. Let's go.” I still try to bring that every day to what I do as long as there can be that element, still make the impact and get the results because to me, that's the part that's fun. When the work starts being fun, it will probably show. That's when it would be time for someone else to get this great opportunity.
You brought into what you do with politics and service because you deal with a lot of politics. I don't think people might realize how much the state size are involved in government affairs. How has the passion for that served you in this role?
It's been a nice marriage because I'm personally interested and passionate about that public policy sausage-making, if you will, of how a bill becomes a law and all the stuff that goes on, the glad handling behind it. Even if at times, I can understand why no one wants to be a part of this because it is messy but also recognizing that there are good people out there. We have too few CPA legislators. We're trying to recruit more but there are good people out there who care and want to do good. The reason that state CPA organizations are so involved is because those people who care and want to do good know they don't have all the information. This profession specifically is viewed as an unbiased and fair arbiter of information and knowledge.
We work with the largest most global public companies in the world. We work with the smallest startups in the state, in the city, in the region and everything in between. Our people are trusted business advisors to those companies, those businesses. Understanding the tax policy regulation is going to impact them and their workers, their ability to grow, buy more equipment, invest in capital and hire more people. Policymakers care about, “I want to bring more jobs to my district. I want more business to grow. I want us to have a favorable tax climate. I need to know how business is going to think about this but who can I talk to?”
Enter The Ohio Society of CPAs in other states in those organizations. CPAs can come in and bring that unbiased view. We also have some thoughts beyond the unbiased view. You should do this because of the relationship and the trust. The conversation ultimately ends with, “You've given me three options. Which one do you think we should do?” We gave them three options. They're more likely to ask that. It is a big role. It's getting harder because we're in a period of time, regardless of what party affiliation you might have or what your politics are, where trust is deteriorating in institutions, government, others across the board, even outside of the political realm.
I see this as an opportunity for CPAs in the organizations who serve them and represent their voice to invest in. It's the values of their profession, integrity and competence. You're protecting the public interest. How we elevate those things cannot only help rebuild trust but can demonstrate where trust can be the bridge to bring people together on issues that need not be political. How we're going to solve an issue regarding unemployment compensation or the creation of the PPP? This profession was integral in not just bringing businesses back but finding their way forward. It's a great opportunity that this profession has provided me, others and roles like mine to be able to do that. I also think it's helped elevate this profession in new and profound ways that the role of CPAs as America's most trusted business advisors has never been as recognizable as it is.
It's important to surface this kind of work because so many people go into the profession thinking tax or audit. They don't realize how many different avenues there are. Anywhere I speak, people are burned out, especially accountants for what they've been through. There's this bubbling point where everybody is like, “Should I stay? What should I do?” I've had this message of pause and observe what the opportunities are. It doesn't necessarily mean if you have expertise in tax that you couldn't go into government like volunteer with the committees. Your state society starts learning about what that work is because there are other types of things that you can use your knowledge that people don't even realize are out there as opportunities to CPAs.
We're at this interesting point where it's probably obvious that people are tired of hearing. We see the Boomer Exodus intensifying. Good for them, they've earned the right to now, enjoy whatever their version of next is. For many, it's working in a different way and for some, it's beach and margarita in hand. Take one for me. We need to do a knowledge capture with that group because we and this economy still need them. They've got a lot of longevity. We're living longer still. We need that. I think about the professional that's already here, the X’s, Y’s and Z’s and even what's coming beyond that. The clear recognition that audit tax advisory and all those things are true but we need to start talking about this profession in a way that I know you're personally passionate about, Amy.
This is an accounting and tech profession. Those two things are married in a way where we know we've got significant pipeline issues and we're working to address those but we're not going to address the pipeline issues with the replacement of people in a one by one way. That's a known fact. The birth rate of the country isn't going to get us there. Everyone can get that out of their head. Accounting and tech are going to create even greater opportunities for us to elevate our services, advance and accelerate our ability to build relationships and trust because technology is going to become a tool and a resource to better position and empower us. It's not going to be something we're captured underneath where I know some people have that glass half-empty, not me but approach.
It's this idea that as we marry those two, we get our arms around, our fingers in it and see how that's going to work for us, the pandemic has created some opportunities for that. Has it been perfect and seamless? No but for those who've made those investments and continue to, I see the numbers. They're double-digit profit and growth. They're newest acquisitions. Even at that smaller practitioner level where they're partnering with others to create that opportunity, this profession with those opportunities is there. That balance is becoming more recognizable.
We skipped over how you ended up in the CPA world. You were the CEO of this college fraternity. How'd you end up in the accounting profession?
I'd been in that role for ten years. In those ten years, I married my wife, Linda. We had two kids. Around that time, which was around 2012, the kids were at an age where my wife had defended her dissertation. She was a senior administrator at a university. I was traveling nights and weekends. We needed a change of pace with one. I was also coming to the point where these last years have been great but I know it's time to say when. I certainly wanted to figure that out before anyone figured that out.
A recruiter called and we got to know each other. He called me a couple months later and said, “I'm doing this search for The Ohio Society of CPA. Clarke Price is retiring.” I know Clarke because in my world, Clarke was an icon. He's like, “I wondered if you knew of anyone who might be interested.” If my wife were here, she would tell everyone, “He misses the most obvious cues.”
Ask Questions: Accounting and technology will create even greater opportunities to elevate advanced services and accelerate the ability to build relationships and trust.
When a recruiter calls, you always want to make sure you respond and build a relationship. You'll never know when you need it. His name was Jim. I sent Jim three names and none of them were my own. Jim responded via email, “Thanks. I appreciate this. I will follow up with them.” What he was asking is, “If you know anyone who might be interested.” I’m like, “Let me read this again. It's something great.” We talked and one thing led to another. I got invited to meet with the search committee. I like to joke that the board was in their infinite wisdom. Clarke had been the CEO for 23 years. They had been through a search in so long. I'm sure it was hard to figure out who should be on the committee. They didn't decide that. They just let everyone on the committee. There was a seventeen-person search committee.
I'll never forget when I first showed up to meet the search committee. It was in a presidential suite of a hotel. It had to be in that room because that's the only way they could fit everyone. I remember thinking, I had 90 minutes to meet with them on the first interview. Not everyone asks questions. I remember driving going back to the airport right in the car thinking, “That didn't go well because some people didn't even talk.” I then realized, “90 minutes, 17 people, there was a time for everyone to ask questions.” They had already planned who was going to do what but I didn't know that.
I got invited back to the final round. I had to present and we got to have a meal. I still joke with some of the people. I got invited to a lunch. The idea was we want to see if we can like this person when they're not on the job. I remember what my mother had taught me. I was wearing a Navy suit, bright red tie and I had a white shirt up. They decided to take me to lunch to an Italian restaurant. They had pre-ordered the food. It was family-style and sure enough, I remember sitting at the first. There were three tables. I was going to spend 30 minutes with each group.
At the first table, they had bruschetta. I'm like, “No. Tomato, tie, I'm not doing it.” I get to the second table and there's salad and pasta. I'm like, “You guys are killing me here.” I did my part to talk. By the time I got to the third table, they'd wised up. They're like, “We want to let you eat.” Someone looked and they're like, “You're not eating because you don't want to get anything on your shirt or tie.” I laughed.
Someone across the table, a former chair of the organization said, “CPAs, this is why we're doing our own ties.” He's like, “If you ever meet a CPA who doesn't have a stain on their tie, introduce me to him.” That broke the ice a little bit but I think the question that sealed the deal over lunch was someone asked me like, “Have you given any thought to where you might live?” Not at all what I was thinking because I'm superstitious. I said, “No, not really but I was flipping through my iPad and I found that my wife had plugged in some places to Realtor.com. I'm not her.” That gave everyone some confidence that this could do things.
How did you shift to getting to know the accounting profession? What had you been doing before because it's different?
Hats off to the board and the staff here. They knew that the transition was going to be steep. I remember signing my employment agreement on Halloween night of 2012. I started at the end of January 13, 2012. The great part about that was a lot of the activity at the time of the organization tended to hew around tax season. The fact that the society operation was transitioning during tax season, probably worked to my advantage.
There was a lot of training and development for Scott going on. With those 90 days before, I had briefings from all the senior leaders on what was happening. I gave it to the board leadership and then when I got here, I spent the next 90 days doing more of that, getting to know the team, meeting with other state leaders, AICPA leaders but by the time tax season was ended, the expectation was that I was going to be ready to hit the road and do a four-hour CPE town hall with what at the time was 3,000 members in 13 locations.
I look back on that thinking, “What was I thinking?” I wasn't ready for that. I was doing the bane of my existence, reading the slides but it was like, “There's the deep end of the pool. Let’s jump in and see if you can swim.” While there was no picture on the wall of anyone who would serve for six months, I can remember thinking, “I can get through this” I'll never forget that first town hall. Someone came up to me in the nicest way possible. She said, “I don't envy you. You've got big shoes to fill.” That was in recognition of who Clarke was. In high regard, he's still held the organization. Someone walked up behind her who was on the board at the time and said, “We knew that and he's got a size thirteen. We think he'll be all right.”
Those kinds of comments are so not unhelpful to a new person. To have someone come in and say, “He'll be good,” is important.
It's been fun but I remember four months in, we had board turnover happening. We were going around the room and people were saying their goodbyes. One board member got to him. He looked at me and said, “This used to be a really easy board to serve on before you got here.” I was sitting there. I'm like, “Is this how they fire someone here?” He said, “It's been a lot more fun because you don't know anything and you embrace that. You ask questions.” I've tried to remember that it was fun. I asked questions. I still try to do that and it's been great. I tell people all the time, “I have the best job in the world because I get to work with CPAs and they're the best people in the world.”
I love the fact that CPAs don't get too emotional when they make decisions. They look at the data. If you're in my role, you’ll love that. There were times I might hope for a little more emotion. That's great because it helps me think about how we should present information to make informed decisions but the other piece is they're just good people because they care about their clients, their companies and the people they work with. They see things and sometimes, they tend to keep those themselves. The great part about it for me is I'm not afraid to talk about things.
I get to tell your story. This is a profession that has a great story to tell. At times, it tends to, “We’re not braggadocious. We tend to hold that in.” I'm like, “That's all right. That's why I'm here. I get to tell people how great you are. Not just that you're great but give them the story of how you helped that business survive or how you help the legislature craft legislation that's going to make our state one of the best places to start a business.” Being able to tell that story, that's powerful but it also lets me blend who they are and who I am.
We're getting close to the end and I like to end with some rapid-fire questions. You pick a category, either family and friends, money, spiritual or health. Things or actions I don't have that I want?
Willpower. I do love a good dessert and a good Bull red wine.
Things or actions I do have that I want?
Consistency. The pandemic, the opportunity depends on it. It allowed me to create some consistency in my fitness routine. I've been able to shed 40 pounds. I work out with a trainer three days a week. I box two days a week. I didn't realize how much I liked hitting something. I'm sure there is something there. It's been fun, but with that level of consistency and getting into a routine, I've demonstrated I can do it.
That's the second time it's come up. I'm like, “I think I need to get back to boxing.”
Ask Questions: We have to understand the skills and competencies we could bring every day to our organizations. That’s what makes you who you are and it's where the greatest value lies.
I like to tell people, “I hit the bag. I don't hit people.”
My son and I had started it during a stressful time. We would do that and then restorative yoga. We called it our yin and yang. Things or actions I don't have that I don't want?
I’m not someone who dwells. I move on. I like to describe myself as someone who used his cup as perpetually half-full because there's more opportunity to pour into it but I've never viewed it as half-empty. I have tried in my life not to surround myself with people who view their glasses half-empty. At times, that's meant making some tough choices about family and friends.
Last one, things or actions I do have that I don't want?
I overthink things. She's asking me what she thinks. Don't sit there and wonder about it. I'll read into situations, particularly the environment in Zoom. You can't read body language. That's trickier. Those are things I've intentionally tried to remove. Occasionally, I call them the nasty grams via email. My thing is I don't respond to them, one because you never know how to respond. I pick up the phone and call. 9 out of 10 times, they’re like, “I didn't mean it. You didn't need to.” 1 out of 10 times, it's like, “I can't believe you call it but let me unload on you.” That's okay. I'm trying to get better at that but I still overthink things.
As we're closing this out, you've had so many interesting lessons in your story but is there anything you want to make sure people walk away from this conversation with before we end our show?
All of our experiences inform the trajectory we choose for ourselves and the opportunities we're able to seize but also the opportunity rooms we create. I think back to the earliest ones of hard work that I saw from those that I'm closest to and the opportunities I was presented, how they shaped my desire to be in roles where relationships matter and trust is what counts. I know there are so many who are in this profession that is reading. I want to help people understand that those are the skills and competencies you bring every day. That's what makes you so wonderful, useful and valuable. Lean into it. Run with it and quite frankly, enjoy it because it's what makes you who you are and it's where the greatest value lies.
Thanks so much for being a guest with me on this and sharing your story.
Thanks so much for having me, Amy. It's great to be with you.
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For my Mindful Moments with my interview with Scott Wiley, it began with a very touching story about his upbringing, his family, his respect for his mother and his sister, how they all stuck together through tumultuous times of growing up. How important that became and shaping who Scott is, not only in having his mother and sister as such big supporters but also honest when they needed to be with Scott but also how it gave him the confidence to be a leader so early in his life, whether that was in high school, college as part of his college fraternity or when he eventually graduated and became part of the college fraternity organization and early on at the age of 24 became CEO.
The thing that he talks about that kept him grounded was his sister. His sister was five years older and made sure to keep him on track or that he was still comfortable in who he was. Making sure that he was authentic, whether that be who he was personally but also who he was on the outside. It became a very important thing for him to have the support. Also, his mom is talking about his wardrobe, what he should wear and what he shouldn't wear as this new CEO but also having her work ethic to fall back on and understanding how to drive that into his career as an adult.
Those examples gave him the mentorship that he was looking for needed to feel supported and also feel like he had somewhere that he could be comfortable to talk about maybe his fears or concerns of becoming a CEO so early and being able to show his vulnerabilities. The important thing is to find those people in your life that you can say how you're feeling and get the kick in the butt when you need it but also be able to hear the things that you need to help you that next step of the way.
With him being young as a part of student government and his calls for fraternity leadership, he had a big interest in politics. He's been able to weave that into the service organizations that he's been a part of to be able to do the advocacy and understand the agendas that are so important for the constituents that he does serves or the members that he serves in the associations that he is. Even though he didn't become a politician, this is a great example of how we still use those dreams that we had or innate things that excite us and take them into other job roles that we might not on the outside see as that occupation but we get to do it together.
He talked about how the jobs that he had younger taught him to be able to create relationships. Relationships being such an important piece of being successful at the things that he has done. He talked about his first job being a server, how he learned to engage people at the table and read nonverbal communication in order to deliver the best experience. These kinds of teachings helped him to not only do that in himself but teach the members of his association, especially CPAs, the importance of these relationships. When we have stronger relationships with our clients and team, we build longer-term relationships with our clients. They're assumptions in what we do and we don't have enough time to be able to work with them the way that we want to is how we set those boundaries to do it.
He talks about how he ended up going through the selection process of The Ohio Society, being something that he hadn't been a part of before in the accounting profession and how important it was to be asking the questions that he needed to ask. Not feeling like asking questions makes you look weak but looking at how asking questions helps you be smarter and make better decisions as a leader. Even when we are in new roles and feeling vulnerable in that role are fearful that we might not do a good job, he used this mantra which was that one CEO and the fraternity that only lasted six months where he's like, “If I can get past six months, I'm going to be fine. I'm going to get my feet grounded into this role and take it on.”
That time element a lot of times that’s good for us are some quantifications to give us grace during a learning period of any job that we're in to know that it's going to take that long for us to feel better, to feel like we understand what the role is and we still might not have at that time but also being transparent with the people around us. I take a six-month learning process in order to be able to do my role well.
Not being afraid to talk about the things that you might be having struggles with or learning about each of your members or customers what makes them tick so that you can better understand their stories and be able to solve for their pain points as well is important. Overall, where I came away from this is relationships. The more we can ask questions, the more it can serve us as a leader but also giving back the value that someone is looking for us to create.
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About Scott Wiley
Scott Wiley provides the executive vision for one of the nation’s top accounting associations. He leads a team of 40+ professionals that create and deliver innovative advocacy, education and business solutions for 85,000 CPAs and accounting professionals working in businesses of every size and sector across Ohio.
Since 2013, Wiley has repositioned the association to deliver greater member value in a fast-moving business environment. He has refocused staff resources, products and services and in 2016, launched a new mission, vision and brand. It reflects OSCPA’s commitment to advance and diversify the accounting profession and support members as Ohio’s top strategic financial advisors.
He sets the association’s bold annual advocacy agenda, collaborating with government and CPA leaders to advance tax and regulatory changes that benefit Ohio’s economy and improve its business environment. Influencing the national policy agenda for the accounting profession is a top priority for Wiley, who represents The Ohio Society of CPAs and the national association community on Capitol Hill. He does this through his active participation with the CPA Society State Executives Association and as Immediate Past Chair of ASAE, the American Society of Association Executives.
The Ohio Society of CPAs is recognized as a key leader in evolving CPA continuing education. Ohio was the first state CPA association to launch a successful online learning platform and Ohio was the first state to approve CPA continuing education credit for nano learning. This strategic move emphasizes that learning formats must be flexible and evolve to meet the needs of a new generation of professionals. Wiley’s efforts earned him a place on The American Institute of CPAs Future of Learning Task Force in 2013.