Leadership: Losing Sight of the Obvious

There have been highly successful firms who are yet to embark on the next wave of technology change including document management and workflow systems or they still manage their people using time based productivity measures.

There have been less successful firms which have implemented these new technologies and new KPIs and yet have not achieved breakthrough results. This has led me to consider – “What has been to common factor in the successful firms compared to the less successful firms?”

It is clear that the answer is leadership. Without exception the successful firms have strong leadership. There is generally an individual (sometimes two) at the front of the firm who has a singular focus on where they want the firm to go and have the passion, enthusiasm, energy and commitment to make it happen.

These people have an ability to instil in their team the same energy and commitment. Sometimes, they use incentive programs that are aligned to the firm goals but in many cases they don’t. These leaders have an understanding of what their team wants and they strive to provide it:

Empowerment and delegation

In every case the leaders in successful firms have a commitment to empowering their people by delegating responsibility and ensuring that team members have authority to act to achieve the outcome for the client. Team members are encouraged to meet and communicate with clients and to deal with day to day matters without requiring partner input.

Training

There is a strong training culture in these firms to ensure that the team is technically skilled, fully understand the firm’s processes and are getting the most from the firm’s technologies. Soft skills training is provided to assist in the personal development of the individual resulting in improved client interaction and a more harmonious team.

Continuous improvement

There is a desire to continuously improve and seek how new ideas from the team as well as external sources. There is no procrastination. New ideas are implemented quickly. Problems are quickly addressed and processes changed.

Mentoring and coaching

There is genuine interest in team members. There is a desire to assist them to develop. Support and genuine care is forthcoming when personal issues arise. Time is taken to meet regularly with each team member to understand their goals and objectives so that the firm can shape its operation to assist team members in meeting their desired outcomes. The impression is given that they always have time for the team.

Fun

All these leaders have a sense of fun in their business. Fun is not just about events and activities, its about day to day interaction - a laugh and a sense of fun can go a long way.

But it’s not just about the team. These strong leaders have a highly focussed commitment on the need of their clients and to providing high levels of quality client service. Typically these firms:

• Engage their client in regular discussions focusing on their holistic wealth and income needs. Compliance work is a by product of this process rather than the focus. The partners and the team have a genuine interest in the client’s affairs.
  
• Seek regular feedback from their clients regarding the relevance and quality of service received and actively seek ways to improve.
  
• Have integrated financial planning services into the practice so that he holistic needs of a client can be dealt with by a team working together on a total outcome for the client.
  
• Have built alliances with other quality providers so that the client can feel confident that the firm can assist no matter the issue being addressed.
  
• Encourage team member interaction with clients so each client has more than a single point of contact when issues arise.
  
• Through communication of a genuine interest in the client encourage clients to discuss any matter of concern. Some firms do not charge for telephone or email inquiries to encourage client to contact the firm. It is clear that additional, higher value work, is generated from this increased level of interaction with clients.

Each and every one of us know the importance of leadership; however, with day to day pressures and deadlines often the focus is lost on the big picture issues that will drive the success of the practice.

The successful leaders in our profession have mastered the ability to rise above these day to day pressures to ensure that focus is maintained on the things that will ensure in the long term that team members are enthused, committed and motivated and clients are delighted in the service and genuine interest in helping them achieve their outcomes.

About David Smith

David Smith is Australia's most experienced specialist independent IT and process consultant having over 30 years involvement with accounting businesses. He was managing partner of PKF, Sydney; he created PKF CRS and Superfund software; he is the strategic advisor to a national accounting firm and is the coach and to many small firms. He was the 2003 National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

FMRC Smithink is an Australian based joint venture between Andrew Geddes and David Smith. They deliver a range of seminars and consulting services to accounting practitioners and other professional service firms. For more information, or to sign up for the free monthly e-newsletter, please visit www.fmrcsmithink.com