Several themes consistently crop up across the Humanise the Numbers podcast. One of these is leading and managing change – but leading and managing change within your team, so that you build stronger connections, challenge the status quo and improve how you, your team and your processes do the work in your accounting firm. So there’s leading and managing change within your team, but leading and managing change with your clients as well. How do you improve the way you interact with your clients and improve the processes in the background that enable you to get the work done better, faster, more effectively, more efficiently, so that you make more money? These three themes – leading and managing change, leading and managing a team of people and leading and managing clients – show up in our podcast discussion with Dan Hood, Editor-in-Chief of the US publication Accounting Today. In this podcast, we get a different angle, a different view of the way in which you can lead and manage in your firm. In the cold light of day, though, there is not a great deal of difference in the way things are done across the Atlantic and how they’re done in the UK, or anywhere else for that matter, and Dan shares principles of success based on his years of experience of working with accounting firms in the US. Scroll down this podcast episode page for the contact information for Dan and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in this podcast. |
The Solution:
One common thing we see a lot of, not just in the technology area specifically, but in all areas, is people who spend time thinking about the future. They spend an hour a week or, in some cases, 20 minutes a week – different lengths of time depending on who you're talking to.
We often find that the people who are furthest ahead and best able to change are devoting a certain amount of regular time to thinking about the future, talking about the future and saying to themselves “OK, what do I look like, what does my firm look like, what does my career look like, in five years or ten years?”
They then turn this into something actionable and ask themselves “OK, do I need to get technology for this, do I need to get skills for this or do I need to get credentials for this?”
SHOW NOTES
Connect with Daniel
Connect with Paul
Resources relating to this podcast:
During the podcast, Paul and Daniel discuss change - for accountants, clients and customers - and the skills that accountants and business leaders in general must have to be effective at leading and managing change. Dan talks about how the accountancy profession, from its inception, did not really change a lot over the first 80 years, but in the last 20-25 years there has been continuous and rapid change.
He highlights a few of the areas where accountants not only have to think about change, but also enact change within their firms.
How good are you are leading and managing change?
How well are you dealing with finding new staff, growing your team, marketing, new technology and an increasing number of client meetings?
Standing still in your firm is a recipe for irrelevance and ruin. Change is necessary to survive and thrive. But change is hard and is often strongly resisted. People, perhaps especially accountants, push back against change.
So, rather than use a PUSH approach to persuading your people to change, adopt a PULL approach to win their hearts and minds.
If you want to know more about successfully making changes in your firm and how to use the 5 PULL strategies to support your change efforts with your people, click the button below to read the Business Breakthrough report, Make Change Easier.
In this podcast, Paul mentions Edgar Schein, the respected business theorist and psychologist, in relation to building stronger connections with your team and your clients. Paul and Dan discuss the importance of listening, and Paul mentions the 3 C's in relation to the books that Schein wrote. When you are Committed, when you are Curious and when you Care, you cannot go far wrong.
Below are links to Schein's books. Click the image for each book to find out more.
Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling.
Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster.
Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust.
Paul and Dan also talk about Marcus Buckingham's book, Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life.
They discuss this in relation to loving your work and caring. If you love what you do then you are likely to care more.
If you would like to purchase this book, click the image below.