Archive for the ‘Managers’ Category
Thursday, July 21st, 2011
I was reading an older post on the Mentor Plus blog by Edi Osborne. I had saved a link to the blog because…. well, just because. I bet you do that, too. You read something that is thought-provoking or simply a good idea that you want to implement or share at some point in time. Then you forget about it and never get around to implementing or even sharing.
I find this is a basic trait of many CPAs. I describe it in two-word phrases. If you have attended one of my presentations or workshops perhaps you have described your firm to me using two words.
Here’s the two-words for this situation and for many, many more inside CPA firms: Good Intentions. No Implementation.
Fall is coming and the threat of losing great people is looming. You have probably read the stories and stats about accountants – - you might have 20% turnover in 2011.
Read this blog post by Osborne, Performance Based Chickens. It is so entertaining and has a very important message for you as you manage, nurture, train and motivate your staff this fall.
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Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate nonperforming individuals in important jobs.
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Peter Drucker
Monday, July 18th, 2011
I was talking with a CPA partner recently and they commented that their firms mission statement would not inspire anyone. It was too long, too boring and no one in the firm even seemed to be able to recite it.
I read a lot of CPA firm mission statements and, yes, most of them sound very much alike and they really do not inspire. In fact, I believe that few professionals, like CPAs, are motivated by grand visions or clever mission statements.
Young, high-potential “superstars” inside CPA firms are inspired by individual managers/owners who know how to get the best out of them.
Yet, many CPA managers/owners simply have not been trained, mentored and coached in how to manage people. CPAs of all levels inside firms receive plenty of technical training, they do plenty of professional reading on the technical aspects of the profession but they have not been trained, nor do they read about how to manage people, how to give feedback in such a way that it leaves the recipient energized rather than resentful.
Even the managing partner (and many firms are seeing new MPs take office) has not been trained, as the old saying goes, on how to get a bunch of prima donnas to sing like a choir.
All of this is so important during a merger and there are lots of mergers going on in the profession right now. Firm leaders need to pick managers carefully and train them quickly.
Beginning this fall, I am involved in a training program for managing partners, future managing partners, PICs of offices and niches. Click here to download the full informational booklet. Click here to register.
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I believe managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it.
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Tommy Lasorda
Friday, March 18th, 2011
As you prepare for your management retreat this year, are you having your team grade you on your performance? Is a survey on your performance part of your firms regular feedback system?
On a scale of one to seven, with seven being outstanding how do you think you would rank? Often leaders are expecting a 6 or 7 and they are very surprised to receive a 3 or 4!
Honestly, I like to see a firms culture where upward, anonymous surveys are not necessary because leaders are continually asking for honest feedback, verbally, and giving honest, career-building feedback almost every day. However, I find that this is not usually the case. I am sad to report that I often find team members hesitate to be honest because they have some fear of retaliation
If you ask for feedback and receive some unfavorable ratings, it should not come as a surprise to you. Could some of your comments sound like these?
- Bill needs to be more available.
- Joe needs to make more timely decisions.
- Sharon needs to be more clear and direct with her direct reports.
- Mary seems to reward mediocrity.
- Eric is always too busy and doesn’t seem to have time to give us feedback.
- Sam’s challenge is being able to really hold people accountable.
- Barry needs to be able to use the firms technology better.
- Firm meetings are a big waste of time. We try to cover too much too slowly.
Of course, there are always a lot of positives, too. And, even with the negatives, the main point is that feedback is needed and should be acknowledged, discussed with the team and some action steps put in place. As leaders, once you ask for and receive your team’s feedback you need to visibly demonstrate that you take their feedback seriously and that you are making progress.
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Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.
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George Carlin
Friday, March 11th, 2011
If you are working inside a CPA firm, by this time in March, everyone on the team has been working long and often stressful hours. They are moving from engagement to engagement, focusing on client service and responding to multiple priorities on a daily basis. Often they are eating dinner at the office and usually seeing way too little of their families.
Occasionally, tempers are short while expectations remain high and the managers and team are “mad” at someone up-the-line or down-the-line.
Requests are flying around the office: “I forgot to tell you, we have a meeting with the client in 2 hours and we need the draft statements!” “Big Fred Client is leaving for Florida tomorrow, can we get his return done by noon today?” “Can we pull some of those people out of the field to help with tax?”
We certainly need less of this kind of March Madness! Here are some suggestions to stop the CPA firm March Madness:
Think Positive
Smile when you walk down the hall. Stop and briefly chat (talk about the work) with the team, inquire how they are doing and ask if they need any guidance from you. Give them lots of cheerfulness and a positive attitude.
Stop Whining and Complaining
It is so easy to get caught up in the rumor mill; you get sucked in before you know it. So, STOP it! Be aware of your words and immediately think “STOP IT!” if you are coming across negatively.
Use Positive Self-Talk
When you do something really dumb what do you call yourself? (Idiot, jerk, dumbo). If you say it or think it often enough you might become it. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Don’t Walk Away From Negative People
RUN away from them! Stay away from them physically and mentally.
Learn to Praise and Compliment Others Freely and Often
Some of us may have grown up with parents who were just naturally critical, so we may tend to be very critical of others, too. Do you think praise is too fake or schmoozy? There are two rules: Praise must be true. Praise must be specific.
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You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.
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John Wooden
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
I have a featured article in the AICPA’s Career Insider newsletter. I’m very pleased. I hope you’ll read it.
It is titled: Blame It On The Retiring Baby Boomers – Gearing up for the looming talent shortage, one million and counting.
The main message is: Firms that don’t craft a strategy to better attract, manage and retain their people will undoubtedly find themselves sliding backwards. Keep in mind that star performers don’t leave firms, they leave their direct supervisor. In a CPA firm that could be a partner, manager or supervisor. Have you provided your managers with training focused on how to be a great boss?
Smart CPA firm leaders will take advantage of opportunities like the PCPS Human Capital Forum to expand their people management expertise.
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Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.
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Napoleon Hill
Friday, February 11th, 2011
I really like the book Monday Morning Mentoring by David Cottrell and I have often used his concept in my presentations when I talk about team members inside of CPA firms.
Inside your CPA firm you have three performance groups:
- Superstars
- Middle Stars
- Falling Stars
Superstars – these are the few people on your team who have the knowledge, experience and the DESIRE to be the very best at their job. They earned their way into this category by being consistently outstanding. They comprise about 10 to 20 percent of your team, maybe even 30 percent.
Middle Stars – This group makes up about half (50%) of your team. They may not have the experience yet to be a superstar. They could be your future superstars or they could fall backward. Middle stars are variable performers. Some days they exceed your expectations and on other days they fall short. Your ability to affect the performance of this group is critical to your success.
Falling Stars – They are the ones who are doing as little as they can get away with. This group is normally quite small, but their impact can be huge! Often they are not only not doing their own job, they are preventing your superstars from doing their jobs well. A falling star who is not right for the job and who creates a negative environment within the work group will destroy your team.
Here’s what happens. You take work away from the falling stars and thus reward them with less to do and more freedom. You give more and more work to your superstars and their reward is working more and more hours.
In fact, in many organizations, the performance review reflects fairly similar ratings for the superstars and the falling stars. Managers hate to give people bad news or create confrontation. This happens when you live in management land.
Management land is where you, the manager/partner, hides. There is always “busy” things to do in management land. And, in management land, simple things become complex and people easily lose perspective.
Cottrell says, “You simply cannot hide in management land, ignore performance issues, and expect your superstars to stick around for very long.”
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Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.
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Tom Peters
Friday, January 14th, 2011
I read a blog post by Seth Godin this morning that made me think of you. You know who you are, one of the hundreds of people in the CPA profession (probably thousands) who I have talked to about the importance of mentoring in your firm.
Yesterday, in a session with the BDO Tennessee Valley Alliance members in Nashville, a manager stated: “I’m going to do it! I have been mentored and now it’s really time that I did it for others.” You don’t have to be a partner in the firm OR an “older” person to mentor others. Managers in CPA firms – I’m talking to you.
Does someone “have your back?” Do you have someone else’s back?
You, CPA leaders (partners/managers), say you want people to step-up, take charge, and do things. You want them to improve the processes and client service in your firm. However, do you have their back? Your firm will never move up to the next level if people are afraid of risk, embarrassment or failure.
I also recently heard a partner say…. “If those managers want things to be different then they need to step-up and take over from me, buy me out and then they can do what they want.” Just made me wonder if people inside this firm have each other’s back?
If you want people inside your firm to take a risk, brave the fear, and show leadership inside the firm, be sure you have their back.
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The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.
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Aristotle
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Many managers in CPA firms have the “manager” title just because it is a title that an experienced, long-time employee receives in a CPA firm. In relation to the work of the firm, they take care of clients and they take care of partners. As managers, they are often STILL the work-horses.
My mind is filled with questions about CPA firm managers and what you are doing to help them help your firm:
- Why aren’t they more skilled at taking care of the people they supervise?
- Have you (Mr./Ms. Partner serving as their Boss), invested (yes, spent lots of money) on the development of their emotional intelligence and their understanding of how nurturing relationships with people build a solid foundation for an organization’s success?
- Have your managers studied and been trained on the power of generational differences?
- Do they understand and enthusiastically reach-out to the youngest CPAs and play a key role in keeping them in the CPA profession?
- Are your managers, “people” people?
Here are some more important questions:
- Do you, CPA firm owner, study what behaviors make a front-line manager in your firm successful and makes them “the” manager everyone wants to work for?
- Do you spend a huge amount of time selecting your managers?
- Do you have the best training program possible for your managers (not technical accounting skills), I mean people skills?
- Do you formally, rigorously and enthusiastically mentor your managers?
- Are you willing to leave a manager slot open until you can fill it with someone who is awesome?
- Do you consider promotion decisions for managers as thoroughly as you do for partners?
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Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.
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Paul Dickson
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
If you are in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and maybe Illinois you can drive to Columbus, Ohio.
If you are in other states – it’s an easy fly-in!
On Friday, November 19th I will be talking with members of the Association for Accounting Administration, managing partners, firm administrators, HR directors, marketing directors and other CPA firm citizens at the Ohio Chapter Meeting next door to the Ohio CPA Society at Franklin University in Dublin.
The Importance of The Three M’s – Mentoring Marketing & Managing – - – Now, more than ever, CPA firm leaders need to ask themselves:
- What more can we do during these challenging times?
- Why is it important to have a healthy mentoring program?
- Why should all team members renew their enthusiasm for marketing?
- What can we do to help our managers truly manage – taking it beyond just a title?
Click here for more information.
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Why doesn't the fellow who says,
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Kim Hubbard
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Simple fact: If you want to lead and manage your firm better, you have to continually educate yourself. You can learn so much about running a successful firm by simply reading.
Reading does not mean just books and paper newsletters anymore. It means blogs, tweets, digital newsletters, daily informational emails from the AICPA, state societies and so on.
Back in June I recommended you read How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Once you read it, you will see how it has influenced the current herd of management and leadership authors.
Today, I urge you to read (or re-read) David Maister’s Managing the Professional Service Firm. Assign it as required reading for your senior managers, just as you have assigned Maister’s True Professionalism for all your recent college grads and interns.
Today’s picture is one I took this morning of MY copy of Managing the Professional Service Firm. Highlights and page markers abound. I studied it and I still refer to it often.
What are you reading?
If you would like a copy of my recommended reading list for CPA firm leaders, just let me know.
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The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who can't read them.
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Mark Twain
