Whenever I’m asked why I got involved with CFMA, it brings me back to when I was looking to grow my knowledge base and elevate my career opportunities for the future. I had already been in the construction financial management industry for several years and was pretty comfortable in my role. However, I wanted to become more strategic and provide more value to my organization. In addition to becoming a more strategic leader, I also wanted to be more well-rounded in all of our company’s business aspects, from estimating to project management, HR, IT, and accounting.
At the time, having the opportunity to join CFMA certainly provided many educational offerings across a number of different disciplines, ultimately helping me become a better leader through education. I worked to make it to as many local meetings as possible to listen to the speakers and gain as much knowledge as I could. If there were any online courses or other events, I’d find the time to attend and take notes on things that would help our company. Education was certainly the main reason I joined CFMA, and to this day, it continues to be one of the most important parts of being a member.
Over the years, CFMA continued to expand its educational offerings, not only within the technical financial areas but in areas that are outside of the “norm,” such as project management; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and gamification with The CFM Challenge, to name a few. It’s amazing to look at the number of offerings that cover a variety of areas of our industry.
It’s equally important to note how many great people have continued to give back their time, effort, and expertise to teach these sessions; we’re truly blessed to have some of the best people in the industry giving back to CFMA and its members.
As I’ve continued along my CFMA journey, I’ve certainly evolved into a more well-rounded strategic leader. Although education continues to be the backbone of that development, my definition of education has evolved over the years. Now, it’s not just centered around the courses, webinars, and Zoom sessions I can squeeze in. That’s an important part of continuing education, but for me, some of the best lessons learned and growth I’ve had has been through relationships with my peers and other CFMA members.
Being able to get outside of my comfort zone, meet new people in the industry, and learn from those conversations has been vital to my personal growth and development during the past several years. I’ve come to realize that there are so many talented, knowledgeable members within CFMA who are willing to share wisdom, insight, or personal experiences, good or bad, and what they learned from them.
There is so much to learn from just having that conversation. We have General and Associate Members as well as sponsors in every chapter who are willing to help educate members on current solutions to challenges and what’s happening in our industry. Every single one of those conversations is an educational opportunity to learn and grow.
Our theme this year of Coming Together has had many different meanings. How else can we Come Together to build a better industry?
I encourage you to continue expanding your horizons through education, both at the fundamental level and through personal relationships with other CFMA members. There is so much more out there to learn, and it’s all right within arm’s reach; you’re just a simple “hello” away from furthering your education and helping us build a better industry!
Copyright © 2023 by the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). All rights reserved. This article first appeared in January/February 2023 CFMA Building Profits magazine.