What’s Up Miss Lil: A Harlem Woman’s Journey Through Corporate America

By Lil Nickelson

During my fifteen years of professional accounting/finance careers in corporate America, I worked at four different corporations.

I received a promotion at each of these companies, along with generous merit increases as well as becoming a trusted resource to the senior management teams I have worked with. I spent an additional ten years working as a consultant for two consulting firms specializing in the property & casualty insurance industry. The CPA who owned one firm was such an expert in the field that he helped write the AICPA industry standards for property & casualty insurance companies.

“… hard-working men and women …”

You might wonder how a Black female born and raised in the Sugar Hill section of West Harlem and educated in the NYC public school system was able to accomplish promotions at every firm? Growing up in Harlem I was exposed to hard-working men and women with Harlem style and culture from an early age. My neighborhood included diverse people from varied backgrounds, and we peacefully lived, worked, and played together. My first hair stylist was a transgender female, and all the other stylists in the shop she worked in were gay men. My mother had no problem being her client or sending her two daughters ages 8 and 13 to the shop as regular customers either.

When I decided to enter the business world, I began venturing into new territories that required me to use the survival skills I learned in Harlem in a new arena, corporate America. Harlem style taught me to stay ready, so I do not have to get ready. I needed to be ready to seize an opportunity or manage a challenge without having to scramble or miss out altogether due to a lack of preparation.

Educationally I prepared myself when I started college at sixteen years old and received my BBA in Accounting and my MBA in Finance. To help pay for my tuition and fees for these degrees I worked as a resident assistant in the dorms and as a graduate assistant for a computer simulation game that put future MBAs in the roles of the chief operating officers of a corporation. Once out of school, I worked various temporary work assignments until I found the right work environment for me to grow and strive in.

“My parents raised me to be a productive member of society.”

At every workplace, it troubled me that I was the highest rank Black person in the division because I stand on the shoulders of so many that came before me. I always fielded questions about my cultural background like, “You’re from down South, right?” When I told them no, my parents were, but I was born, and bred in Harlem they were shocked. My comeback every time was, “Do not believe the hype about what Harlem is or about the people of Harlem and our accomplishments. My parents raised me to be a productive member of society.”

I made it a habit in the first six months in a new position to put forth extra hours each week either before the workday began and/or after the workday ended with one thought in mind. Explore your teams’ reporting requirements, examine the finished products, continue with what is working and look to upgrade what needs to be as soon as possible. My personal expertise lies in creating new financial products such as dashboards, and reports that I deliver using my advanced written commentary reports and verbal communications skills via oral presentations.

I was blessed professionally to collaborate with men who spotted I am a quick learner that had talent who can create reports based upon conversations about what information they wanted to see. My bosses provided me with the technical equipment, the autonomy to do my thing, training if requested, as well as guidance when needed to fulfill our team’s mission.

“Everybody wants more money …”

Everybody wants more money, but what have you done to earn it? I knew my worth and could easily make a business case for why I should earn a higher salary and/or additional rewards. How? Because I could quantify financially how practices I put in place in accounting either brought in additional revenue and/or reduced expenses and provided cost savings to the firm.

I made such good impressions with my superiors and senior managers from other departments that when they moved on to other roles at other companies, they would call me up and ask, “Are you ready for a new job? I have a position that you would be perfect for, and you know I know your value!” The best offer made to me was at a lunch date where this senior sales manager told me, “Don’t tell me what you’re presently making, I want to know how much it’s going to take for you to turn in your resignation and come and collaborate with me!”

If you desire to get merit increases that reflect you are one of your department’s top performers that should be put on the upwardly mobile list, then there are some things you have got to do to distinguish yourself from the pack and your performance must be noteworthy.

The Upwardly Mobile List:

1. Most bosses will ask their direct reports to develop their own performance objectives and the specific tasks they will be judged on. If you develop them properly you will be able to gauge how you are doing throughout the next year. Setting up interim targets at the 3, 6 and 9-months’ mark is how you accomplish your goals.

I had one year to develop a financial model equal to corporate planning’s model for our eight affiliates. Corporate planning took 45 days after a month to release their report. My target: to release mine within 15 days after a month ended to give my bosses 30 days to explain variances from planned results. Within 6 months my model properly hit in on the revenue side and it took another 3 months to lock in very closely on controllable expenses.

When my senior management started showing up to their top-level meetings on monthly results with answers to questions posed, their counterparts at other affiliate companies inquired how they were so prepared. Our new Assistant to the Controller developed a model for each of our affiliate companies which she releases a report on one month before this meeting.

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I started getting phone calls, emails, and informal visits from my counterparts at other affiliated companies. I was able to put them onto the right trail, and I made multiple professional connections that helped them during my time working there. Financially I received an 18% merit increase, and I was promoted to officer status for my efforts.

Why? Develop performance goals in such a way that your performance rating falls in consistently exceeds expectations for an employee at this level.

2. Learn to write informative business letters to accompany monthly reports you distribute. The narrative report should share what pertinent information you see from the first page until the last page. Add in a few pie or bar graph charts with colors to distinguish actual versus planned results to appeal to visual readers.

Why? So that you begin to educate your readers with what you know by highlighting what the results are telling you. Do not assume they know what the results mean, readers will begin to see that you as a trusted resource.

3. Start preparing yourself to be able to give oral presentations at regular meetings with your direct superiors by writing down a checklist of key points you want to inform them about; good and especially bad. You should be able to enlighten them at that time if possible.

Why? So that they can begin to view you as a trusted resource who comes prepared with answers.

4. Volunteer of your time for company-driven projects or start one at your company by asking your management team members to participate and partner with the help of a worthy non-profit organization. Job Shadow Day, Dress for Success clothes drive, prom attire give-away, back-to-school supplies, donate still usable computer equipment you have replaced. Show that you care and give your time and talents to those in need.

Why? So that you begin to help yourself by helping others in need. The company management team will see the human side of you.

5. Go to after-work events sponsored by your employer dressed in after-work business attire. Do not spend too much time with the people you interact with every day. Do not get loose or lit; save that for moments with close friends. Approach a senior manager in another department and strike up a conversation. If asked, let them know what position you hold with the firm. Ask them about their background and education. Ask them if they mentor employees looking to get ahead.

Why? Networking is what is going to keep you well-informed about what is happening at your place of employment. Asking do you mentor can help you find someone to mentor you. Remember the first people laid off are people nobody knows or knows what value you bring to the table.

This accounting-based article is to motivate you along your career path and find the right path to follow from Harlem to Harare, you have to find the path is best for you.

Do you have any get-ahead tips you would like to share? Please write back and enlighten others looking to blaze their career paths.

Next column let us discuss ways you can learn how to quantify your work efforts to ask for a raise and/or promotion. You do know that sometimes you must let them know you are ready!

What do you think?

Lil Nickelson

Lil Nickelson is a Senior Consultant with an MBA degree focused on Finance and Financial Management Services from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Skilled in sales, management, business development, marketing strategy, and social media, with a history of working in the food and beverages industry. Her column “Dining with Miss Lil” has been featured in Harlem newspapers and with Harlem World Magazine for numerous years.

Photo credits: By Rudy Collins.