Leading An Accounting Firm: The Pyramid of Success

Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv About the Author xvii Chapter 1 Why Leadership Matters 1 Leading the Brightest of the Bright 2 Leading the Organization 5 The Leader s Role Influencing Mission, Vision, and Values 6 Losing Focus 7 A Sad Tale (Tail!) 8 Leading Versus Managing 8 You Need Both 9 New Skills 9 Are Leaders Born or Are They Built? 10 Types of Leaders 11 Effective Leaders Must Be Humble 12 Challenges of Leadership 13 The Measure of a Leader 14 Conclusion 18 Section 1 Leading Self 19 Chapter 2 Self-Knowledge: The Inner Accelerator 25 Your Leadership Style 26 The Value of Self-Knowledge 28 Characteristics of Good Leaders 29 The Crisis of Success 32 Building Leadership Ability for Better Effectiveness 33 Commit to the Process 34 Opening Up for Growth 34 Build on Strengths or Improve Your Weaknesses? 36 Experience Matters 37 Building Self-Knowledge 39 Self-Knowledge Through Interaction With Others 9 The Undeniable Link: Lifelong Self-Learning and Leadership 40 Self-Knowledge for a Fulfilled Life 41 Conclusion 42 Chapter 3 Trust: The Leadership Imperative 43 Trust Is a Competitive Advantage Inside and Out 45 Dimensions of Trustworthiness 48 Consulting Experiences 49 Delegation 49 A Healthy Meeting Among Toxic Ones 49 Integrity 50 Group Dynamics 50 Intent 50 Invested in Trust 50 Rebuilding Trust Takes Time 50 Lessons From Consulting Experiences 50 Levels of Trust Development 51 Building Trust 54 Building Organizational Trust 55 When Trust Is Broken 58 Rebuilding Trust 58 Conclusion 62 Chapter 4 Critical Thinking: Creating Your Future 63 What Is Critical Thinking? 65 Thinking Standards 66 Critical Thinking Applied: Phil Holthouse 68 Depth and Breadth 68 Logic 69 Significance 69 Fairness 69 Applying Critical Thinking 70 Myths About Thinking 71 Leading an Accounting Firm Learning to Think Critically Like a Leader 72 Purpose 72 Question 73 Information 73 Concepts 74 Inference 75 Assumption 75 Point of View 75 Implications 76 Relationship of the Elements 76 Conclusion 77 Chapter 5 Preparation: Ready for Seizing Opportunity 79 Preparation, Preparation, Preparation 82 Developing Your Leadership Skills 84 Laying the Groundwork by Seeking Input From Others 84 Preparing to Lead Strategic Initiatives 85 Step 1 Prepare a High-Resolution Picture of the End Game 86 Step 2 Clarify Each Staff Member s Role 88 Step 3 Assessing Potential Opportunities 88 Step 4 Understanding Possible Threats 88 Step 5 Gather and Review Relevant Research 89 Step 6 Budgeting Time, People, and Money 89 Step 7 Develop the Initiative Game Plan 90 Step 8 Launch the Initiative With Overwhelming Power 90 Preparation Is for Action 91 Getting Started 92 Conclusion 93 Chapter 6 Self-Discipline: Be the Master, Not the Victim 97 Leadership Demands Sacrifice 99 Self-Discipline Makes You the Best You Can Be 101 Your Inner Circle Values 102 Delay of Gratification 102 Five Qualities of Self-Discipline 103 Self-Knowledge 103 Strong Relationships 104 Commitment 105 Living Your Values 105 Self-Coaching 106 What Are We Leading Toward? 108 Focused Growth Is a Priority 109 Using Self-Discipline to Focus 110 Building Habits of Self-Discipline 111 Invest Five Minutes Each Morning to Meditate on the Major Areas of Your Life 112 Make Self-Discipline a Part of Your Daily Ritual 112 Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning 113 Accept Responsibility 113 Face Your Fear to Develop Courage 113 The Truth About Self-Discipline 114 Conclusion 114 Section 2 Leading Staff 115 Chapter 7 Teaching, Coaching, and Mentoring: Multiplying Your Leadership 121 Developing Skills Over a Career 123 Training Begins One on One 125 Teaching 126 Training Programs Demonstrate Your Commitment to People 126 A Plan for Adult Learners 127 Creating Purposeful Training 130 Coaching 133 Working One-on-One Raises Your Commitment and Retention 133 On-the-Job Training Helps Coaches and Mentors 134 The Leap From Coaching to Mentoring 136 Great Leaders Mentor 137 Mentoring: Benefits for the Firm 139 Conclusion: The Impact of Training 143 Chapter 8 Accountability: Trust but Verify 145 Why Is Accountability So Important in Business? 146 Accountability Is the Opposite of Permissiveness 148 Increasing Accountability 148 Measuring Accountability 151 How Does Individual Responsibility Factor Into a Group Setting? 152 What Should Partners Know About Performance Measurement? 153 Positive Results of Performance Measurement 154 Implementing Accountability for Positive Results 154 Accountability Through Measurement: Scorecards and Performance Pay 155 Ways to Establish Staff Member Accountability 156 Establish Accountability Through Communication Set Expectations and Reinforce Success 157 Accountability Through Measurement 158 An Introduction to Measuring Performance 158 After Measuring, Now What? 161 Setting Goals 161 Frequent Feedback 161 Coaching 162 Performance Scorecard 163 Performance Pay 165 Keeping a Well-Rounded Perspective 165 Conclusion 166 Chapter 9 Challenging Personal Growth: Leading the Whole Person 167 A Path to a Better Person 169 Personal Growth, Firm Growth 170 Growing Pains 170 Intentional Success 173 Barriers to Personal Growth 174 Dealing With Change 176 Overcoming Barriers 177 Rule 1: Believe in the Meaning of Your Work 177 Rule 2: Communicate Regularly and Honestly With Team Members 178 Rule 3: Leaders Must Always Be Moving Toward the Larger Goals 178 Rule 4: Recognize Your Team Members 178 Finding Balance 179 Tips for Achieving Personal Growth 180 Conclusion 183 Chapter 10 Empowerment: The Secret to Exponential Growth 185 What Is Empowerment Really? 186 Keys to Effective Empowerment 187 Existing Leadership Philosophies 190 Mistakes: Both Risky and Rewarding 190 Empowering Members of a Team 191 Principles of Empowerment 192 Leading an Accounting Firm Develop a Rational Shared Vision 192 Provide Training and Information for Good Decisions 193 Raise the Level of Conflict 193 Allocate Proper Resources 193 Reward Staff Members for Empowered Behavior 194 Trust People 194 Working With Teams 196 Shared Mission 198 Mutual Respect and Trust 198 Frequent Substantive Communication 198 Shared Processes 198 Different Talents 198 Adaptability and Flexibility 198 Continuous Improvement 198 Building Highly Empowered Teams and Firms 199 The Seven Elements of Empowerment for Teams 199 Communication 200 Conflict Engagement 200 Contribution 201 Connections 201 Cooperation 202 Change Initiators 203 Commitment 203 Conclusion 203 Section 3 Leading Strategy 205 Vision (Chapter 11) 206 Mission (Chapter 13) 207 Values (Chapter 12) 207 Next Steps: Goals and Objectives 209 Goals 209 Objectives 210 The Role of Strategies and Initiatives 210 Example Plan 211 Vision 211 Mission 211 Strategy 211 Goal 211 Objective 211 Action Plan 211 Chapter 11 Vision: Reality in the Future 213 Vision: What It Is and Why You Need One 214 Making the Vision Real for Your Staff Members 217 Our Vision Shapes Our Future 219 The First Vision 219 The Value of a Vision 220 Building Your Vision 223 Get a Mental Start 223 Developing a Vision Statement 224 Things to Keep in Mind as You Begin 224 Bake In the Buy-In 225 Communicating Your Vision 227 Don t Limit Your Vision 227 Common Stumbling Blocks 228 Strategies for Success 230 Conclusion 231 Chapter 12 Values: The Character, Actions, and Outcomes 233 The Purpose of Core Values 235 Core Values as Standards or Aspirations 236 Core Values Are Worthless Unless They Govern 237 Finding Your Values 238 The Elements of Core Values 241 Our Principles of Service and Communication 241 Go Deep 241 Be Responsible 242 Understand First 242 Deliver Excellence 242 Never Assume 242 Make Their Day 242 Invest in Myself 242 Are Strong Values Realistic? 243 Leading by Example 244 Core Values Help Frame Our Behavior 245 Sustaining Core Values 245 Conclusion 247 Chapter 13 Mission: Making a Difference 249 The Benefits of a Mission 252 Clarifying Your Mission 254 What Do We Do? 254 How Do We Do It? 254 For Whom Do We Do It? 255 More Than One Mission? Maybe So2 55 Six Steps to Developing a Mission Statement 256 Exercise 13-1: Client Statement 257 Exercise 13-2: Problem Statement 258 Exercise 13-3: Statement of Purpose 259 Exercise 13-4: Business Statement 260 Exercise 13-5: Value Statement 261 Exercise 13-6: Writing a Mission Statement 262 Problems to Keep in Mind 263 Developing a Personal Mission Statement 265 Exercise 13-7: Personal Mission Statement 265 Sample Personal Mission Statement Development 266 Past Successes 266 Core Values 266 Identify Contributions 266 Identify Goals 266 Mission Statement 266 Final Thoughts 267 Conclusion 268 Section 4 Leading Systems 269 Chapter 14 Managing Processes for Your Future Firm 273 Setting up Business Processes 274 Advantages to Structured Procedures 277 More Consistent Results 277 Measurable Outcomes 277 Training for Team Members Improves 278 Benefits of Creating the Process 278 Establish Standards, Policies, and Procedures 278 Improve the Consistency of the Client Experience 279 Standardizing Work-Flow Management 279 Process Should Follow Strategy 280 Manage to a Written Strategic Plan 281 Management for the Future 282 The Balanced Scorecard Framework 283 Selecting the Right KPIs 284 Standardizing KPIs 285 Business Process Management Overview 286 BPM Activities 287 Design 287 Modeling 287 Execution 288 Measuring 288 Optimization 288 Issues to Look Out For 289 Conclusion 289 Chapter 15 Building the Future Firm Continuously 291 Commit to Continuous Improvement 293 Critical Success Factors for Change and Growth 295 Leading an Accounting Firm Building a System to Manage Change and Improve Processes 296 Six Sigma 297 Lean Processes 298 Kaizen 299 Flowcharts for Seeing and Improving Processes 302 The Benefits of Continuous Improvement 304 Conclusion 305 Section 5 Leading Synergy 307 Strategic Alignment 308 Objectives Alignment 308 Internal Alignment 308 Chapter 16 Synergy and Alignment: One Plus One Equals Three 313 Building a Shared Purpose 315 Leadership in Tough Times 317 Crisis: Realities and Constructions 319 Understanding 321 Decision Making and Coordinating 321 Terminating 322 Accounting 322 Learning 322 Teamwork 323 Leading Teams for Synergy 324 Team Development 325 Forming 325 Storming 327 Norming 327 Performing 328 Conclusion 328 Chapter 17 Sustaining Leadership: The Ultimate Succession Plan 331 Developing Your Leaders From Within 335 Approaches to Succession Planning 336 Top Down 337 Bottom Up 338 Futuring 339 Targeting Approach 340 Succession Planning Versus the Traditional Replacement Method 342 Potential Labor Crisis 343 Challenges of Implementation 343 Why Succession Plans Fail 344 Your Leadership Development Program 345 Overall Approach 345 Define the Leadership Competencies for Each Level 346 Assess Potential Candidates 347 Measure Leadership Styles 347 Refer to Your Developmental Process 347 Build the Next Generation of Leaders 348 Prepare a Nomination and Application Process for the Program 349 Selecting Partner Leaders 351 Rename Your Next CEO as the Leading Partner 351 Choosing the Lead Partner 352 More of Choosing a Leader 354 Can a Leader Serve Clients? 356 Conclusion 356 Appendix A: 357 Appendix B: 359 Appendix C: 363 Appendix D: 367 Appendix E: 369 Appendix F: 377