Those of you who attended my 12 Lessons workshop in 2016 will recall that my first lesson from 30 years of working in and with accountants was about leadership. And you will recall I said that it was first for a reason. I believe that how you lead your firm – how you behave and communicate – is the foundation for firm success. Yes, technology is important but people remain the key.
Since I ran the 12 Lessons Workshops I’ve observed and heard of a number of firms grappling with people issues. This has reinforced the importance of accounting firm owners being aware of the impact they have on their team. In short, your team members:
- Behave as you behave
- Say what you say
- Do as you do
- Count as important what you count as important
As the leader of your firm you are always “ on stage” and need to act accordingly.
For me a couple of key things I expect of leaders are:
- Regular communication about firm goals and progress against achieving them
- Recognition of good work and extra effort made by team members
- A positive, can do attitude, calm under pressure and when things don’t go to plan
- Doing what you say you will do
I could add many things to this list and I will leave it to you to compile your own list of the top 10 things you believe you should do as a leader of your firm. Alternatively, ask you team to build the list for you and discuss it with them. You may be surprised by what they suggest!
No really – do it – ask your team for the 10 tops things they expect from you as the leader of the firm and then discuss with them.
When you do this let me know how it went and what you learned.