As an accounting firm coach, mentor and consultant I am in and out of firms pretty much every day. One of the things I have observed is the critical role of non-techncial skills. My experience is that as a person gets more senior in a firm these skills increase in importance. Team members who develop a strong set of non-techncial skills tend to generate better outcomes for the clients, the firm and themselves (think more rapid career development). Firms that are on top of this are usually very successful firms.
I’ve also noticed in many firms that partner/director level people don’t have the non-techncial skills they really need. In small to medium firms this is not entirely surprising as they don’t have a critical mass of people to be able to run training in house and, dare I say, also tend to have a very strong techncial focus when it comes to training.
Here are nine non techncial skills I reckon great seniors, supervisors, managers, directors and partners inside accounting and advisory firms have. These skills apply equally to business services, audit, tax, SMSF, insolvency, financial planning and bookkeeping managers, and also to internally focused senior people. These are all skills that can be learned.
- Manage themselves and their time/priorities well
They have clear goals and understand their priorities – they make wise choices about how to spend their time. They have patterns of work that ensure the important stuff gets done efficiently and effectively.
If you can’t manage yourself you can’t manage others! - Delegate effectively
They know what and when to delegate and provide the right amount of support.
I hold the view that on average, managers and directors/partners are spending 50% of their time doing stuff that should be delegated to another person! Such a big opportunity. - Communicate well and provide effective feedback to the team
They are able to adapt their communication style as needed to connect with others and avoid confusion.
They understand that not everyone is like themselves and have a high degree of self awareness of the impact their actions and words can have. - Manage jobs effectively for on time on budget delivery
They get stuff done!
This is still such a big area of opportunity inside firms. It feels like not many firms have really nailed this. - Present well in front of a small or large group of people
They are confident on their feet and leave a positive impression.
That doesn’t mean they are necessarily charismatic or “loud”.
Most of us have been to weddings where the speeches have been just awful frankly and yet there are some key skills that are relatively easy to learn to stop this! - Build strong client relationships and deliver great client service
They are good at managing client expectations and meeting them or even exceeding them.
This ties into skills 3 and 4 above too. - Run effective business meetings
Whether it be 1 on 1 or with a larger group they preside over meetings with purpose delivering useful outcomes.
Another area of great opportunity in most firms. - Understand how to influence and negotiate with other people
They use some well tested approaches to get positive outcomes for all.
In my experience very few people inside accounting firms have had any formal training in this area. - Build business
They are doing a few key things to attract new clients and new work from existing clients.
This can come more naturally to some, but this is very much a learnable skill and is usually a requirement for anyone seeking to become and equity holder in their firm.
How do senior people in firms gain these skills? In my experience it happens in a few different ways:
- Learning from others through observation – unfortunately sometimes this is a way to learn bad habits!
- Self study – reading, webinars, podcasts
- Attending training courses – preferably with others in the same role
In one sense I don’t really care how you build these skills so long as you do actually build them. Because I really, really do believe these are such critical skills for firm success.
The good news is I have a Manager Development Program which helps Senior Accountants, Supervisors, Managers and Directors (or people who are moving towards those roles) build the nine skills I have identified above.
I’ve had 380 people participate so far and every time without fail the reviews are excellent.
It is three full days in the space of two months with the next programs starting in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in September. Plus there is an online facilitated option which is 6 x half days over a similar period.
It’s practical, energizing and of great benefit to the participants and the firms they are in.
See here for details and to register:
https://www.planetconsulting.com.au/manager-development-program/