How do you as a leader or manager of an accounting firm connect in a deeper, more meaningful way with your team? How do you ensure that this connection has a positive impact on the way in which team members behave and on their motivation, their drive and their willingness to see your firm succeed? How will this influence the amount and quality of the work they do and the level of care they show for that work?
There’s also a question to be addressed regarding how you connect in a deeper way with your clients, so that they want to work with you more often and take more action based on the insights, guidance and advice you can share with them.
In my conversation with Karen Eber, you'll hear about the importance of the power of stories in connecting in a deep and emotional way with your team, and in a deep and emotional way with your clients, so that you get the results you and your firm deserve.
Karen talks about how there is power in both data and stories, but connecting data – the numbers – with stories results in greater power and a deeper connection that will make a positive difference to every meeting you have with team members, either one-on-one or as a group, as well as every meeting you have with clients.
So why not join Karen and I on this HumaniseTheNumbers.online podcast, or go to your favourite podcast platform – Apple, Spotify, Google – and hunt out the podcast discussion with Karen Eber.
The Solution:
Data can be shared quickly, but that doesn't mean that it is understood.
We’re all guilty of sharing a lot of data very quickly, but not always knowing the understanding or connection to it.
In the meetings I've been in it’s a barrage of data at once.
You don’t talk through all of it, there is way too much to focus and attention, people only disagree or speak up so many times and then the meeting ends and you feel good because you've spoken and you've said what you wanted, but you don't necessarily know if what you have said has been understood or the connection has been formed in the same way.
So, what we think might be quick might not really be quick and might not be achieving what we want.
SHOW NOTES
Connect with Karen
Connect with Paul
Resources relating to this podcast:
This whole Podcast is about stories and there importance in business, not just because people remember stories more than data but because people connect with stories more.
Karen Eber talks about meetings - meetings that are a download of information and data are forgotton almost as soon as the meeting is over, but meetings where the essence of that same data is communicated using stories ensures that the people in the room have a much greater emotional connection with what is being said.
There are a couple of Bitesize Business Breakthrough reports that demonstrate the power of stories, from a marketing point of view and from a clients point of view by ensuring the client is the hero of your story.
Click the buttons below to access both these reports, there are some powerful insights on the difference that a well crafted story can make to your firm.
Remarkable Practice Manager Programme.
Could your managers be more skilful, more motivated, or more engaged to deliver better results for your firm?
In your accountancy firm, it’s not just your financial and technical skills and knowledge that drive performance, it’s the quality of your managers.
When your managers grow in capability and confidence, everything else in your firm improves:
- Team engagement goes up
- Client loyalty strengthens
- Work quality and turnaround time improve
- Profitability increases
The return on investment is clear. When your managers develop, your people deliver.
That is exactly why we created our Manager Development Programme — built specifically for the challenges and expectations of modern accountancy firms.
If you want a stronger firm, start with stronger managers.
Click the button below to read more about our Remarkable Manager Programme and if you want to discuss it further, please get in touch via the 'chat with us now' button on the website - it's a real person.
Remarkable Practice Client Manager Programme.
You secure your firm’s future growth and profitability when your clients are loyal, recommend you more, buy additional services and are open to regular price increases.
And what drives all of that?
Not just technical quality. Not just deadlines met.
It’s the behaviour and mindset of your client managers.
When your client managers improve how they engage and care for clients, your firm’s results improve.
So the question is: Could you be doing more to build your client managers’ skills and mindset?
That’s exactly what our Client Manager Programme is designed to do.
It helps client managers:
- Build deeper client relationships
- Deliver value beyond the numbers
- Handle pricing conversations with confidence
- Spot and act on opportunities for additional services
Great client care is no longer a soft skill. It is a strategic advantage.
Click the button below to read more about our Remarkable Client Manager Programme and if you want to discuss it further, please get in touch via the 'chat with us now' button on the website – it’s a real person.
TED TALK
How your brain responds to stories - and why they're crucial for leaders
During this podcast Karen Eber tells a brilliant story about Maria and Dottie - this story is about the importance of human connection. Here is a link to Karens fantastic TedTalk on the importance of stories and how the brain responds to them.
How do the world's best leaders and visionaries earn trust? They don't just present data - they also tell great stories. Leadership consultant Karen Eber demystifies what makes for effective storytelling and explains how anyone can harness it to create empathy and inspire action.
BRAIN FOOD
Here is a link to a section of The Eber Leadership Groups website called Brain Food - This is a collection of media appearances, blog posts, YouTube channel and tools. Scroll or search by keyword to find a brain spa of information on Culture, Leadership, Teaming and Storytelling.
Click the button below for more.
Your Firm’s Future - by Douglas Aitken and Paul Shrimpling of Remarkable Practice
In a world of constant change, uncertainty, and increasing client expectations, one thing separates ambitious firms from the rest: Strategic health.
In our book, ‘Your Firm’s Future’, we share a practical framework built around 8 essential questions that will help you assess and build your strategic health.
Why does strategic health matter so much? Because when your firm is strategically healthy it benefits your team, your clients, in fact everyone connected with your firm.
Strategic health isn’t just an internal metric. It delivers a better outcome for everyone connected to your firm.
Click the button below to take the strategic health of your firm seriously by completing our 'Strategic Health Diagnostic’
or
Click the button below that to buy the book.