Jobs and CareersLeadership Transition - 6 Common Barriers Facing Accountants
By Duncan Brodie
Making the move into leadership is challenging for most people. For accountants making the transition from a highly technical role to a leadership role, it can be even more demanding. So what are 6 common barriers accountants need to overcome to successfully transition to leadership roles?
Barrier 1: Letting go of the detail
A lot of the work of accountants is about detail and tasks. When you make the transition into financial leadership the landscape changes. You become responsible for financial strategy and the long term health of the organisation. Too often accountants get stuck in score keeping mode.
Barrier 2: Lacking the right support
Anyone who is in or has ever been in the top job in Finance will tell you just how vital it is to have the right support in place. A key role is your number two. The individual in this role needs to be confident and capable of running the department day to day so that you do not constantly get dragged into routine activities.
Barrier 3: Gaps in skill set
When you move into a leadership role you become what I call 'T' shaped. What I mean by this is that you retain the depth of expertise in your professional discipline (the vertical piece of the 'T') but need to be competent across a whole range of business areas (the horizontal piece of the 'T'). Too often accountants fall into the trap of focusing all of their attention on the vertical piece of the 'T'
Barrier 4: Not using time effectively
The one thing you cannot change is the amount of time in a day. What you can influence and change is how you allocate and use the time available to you. If you are to maintain some level of sanity you need to get competent at effectively using your time.
Barrier 5: Not spending time developing your team
You have probably heard a hundred times before that your team is a key foundation in your success. While you might have heard this before, the question is making the investment in developing your team?
Barrier 6: Not focusing on results
As a leader you are tasked with delivering results. Make sure that you keep your focus on delivering results otherwise you run the risk of getting caught up on doing things rather than delivering results.
Bottom Line - Making the move to leadership is a major step. So what barriers do you need to overcome to achieve success?
And now I invite you to take advantage of my free audio eCourse, Leadership Success at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with professionals, teams and organizations to develop their management and leadership capability.
With 25 years business experience in a range of sectors, he understands first hand the real challenges of managing and leading in the demanding business world.
============================================
How to Manage the Horse and Carriage Principle - Every Leader is a Follower
By Dr. Jim Sellner Ph.D.
. . . Every Follower is a Leader.
The Leader -- Follower Principle -- We can't have one without the other
Followership is the key human element that determines the success of leaders. It gets little attention in business.
Plug followership into Google.
You come up with 183,000 hits. It sounds like a lot.
A search on "leadership" however, gets a whopping 157,000,000 hits.
That's a 1-to-858 ratio.
It's a bit of an unconscious arrogance in the leadership/management field. It betrays the assumption that we can "do things TO people", rather than "with and through people, with their agreement."
No wonder leaders are so often frustrated in their efforts to develop people and followers are resentful toward "management."
The element of partnership is missing.
There is a lack of understanding that business is a team sport.
A leader cannot lead if people are not willing and/or able to be led. Why is this so?
Because everything a leader wants must be given to us by others -- preferably voluntarily.
Followership is a voluntary, participatory sport.
The key question in getting what we want done is whether we engage with others as "them" - people we want something from - or as "you and me", people who are engaged in relationship with us.
This basic idea is a major stumbling block in companies that demand blind, costly obedience from its employees. Creating an environment in which employees become active, committed followers, requires effort on all sides and lots of risk and two-way feedback.
It will be fascinating to see what happens with GM and Chrysler in the coming years, which have had the "us" vs. "them" culture for decades.
A leader's job is to develop competent, motivated followers who are learning how they contribute to values/vision/mission -- based performance. The big goal is for everyone to be taking appropriate leadership actions to construct a sustainable business with a healthy "Invisible Balance Sheet."
Some basic guidelines to being an effective "follower," which also makes for a good leader:
* Seek to develop Emotional Intelligence - the key skill-set to collaboration.
* Constantly improve technically and tactically.
* Act on directives. Initiate appropriate actions in the absence of clarity.
* Develop a sense of responsibility. Take responsibility for actions taken.
* Give, receive and act on corrective and praising feedback on a regular basis.
* Set an example for others.
* Be familiar with one's leader and his/her job - anticipate his/her requirements.
* Seek to understand the task, and how it fits in to the bigger picture. Ask "Why?"
* Be a team member, but not a passive "yes sir", "yes m'am."
* Confront ineffectiveness and stupidity wisely.
* Professionalism in followership is as important as professionalism in leadership.
A Follower can Only Perform Well if the Leader is Competent and/or Motivated to Lead
So, an effective leader has three top priorities:
* Always keep the big picture top of mind and remind people what it is.
* Catch people doing things well.
* Make corrections immediately.
A company's senior management must be willing to invest money and resources, plus engage in dialogue and lead by example.
We must come to grips with the continuum from followership to leadership, rather than present the two as opposing concepts across a yawning gap.
People caught on the chasm's followership side will not take leadership initiatives. The distance will prove too great for all but the most ambitious risk-takers.
Four Follower Questions
1. "What am I not doing well, and what does a job well done look like on that task? Please be specific." The key here is that it conveys something that every manager wants to hear: "I want feedback. I want to do better. I can handle it, please help me." Wow! Imagine leading people who are actively looking for feedback on how to do the task better! Leaders would do well to do this too. Become one of those people! Ask the question at least once-a-month. Make the improvements instantly!
2. "What am I doing well, according to expectations? Be specific please." Congratulations or recognition for a job well done is a big motivator for people.
3. "What are the next steps in my development?" Most managers do not spend enough time working on their followers' professional development plan. The big problem with this is that the manger becomes "the only." S/he is "the only" one who knows how to do key tasks. This leads to a major, expensive succession problem. Go to "The Deal." Then ask, "What are my next steps?" Then, go to question number one. "How did I do? What would make it better? What should I improve?" Ask this question every quarter. Then deliver!
4. "What can I do to help you?" To a follower, the leader/manager is a key customer. The follower needs to make sure the boss knows that. Demonstrate her/his importance by asking "How can I help?" Ask it once-a-week, then follow through.
The first question says:
* "I am motivated. I want to know how to improve."
The second question says:
* "I need some reinforcement to keep doing the right things, right."
The third question conveys:
* "I want to keep 'The Deal' we made."
The fourth question shows I understand that:
* "This is a team sport. I want to be a key player your team."
Lead, Follow, or . . . Stay Out Of the Way.
Dr. Jim Sellner, PhD., DipC.
http://subject2change.ca
Assumption: We behave in our best interests when we:
* Increase our competencies;
* Get in alignment with our personal and business values; and
* Choose to be engaged.
This combination leads to individual, team and company actions that produce increased
personal and business results.
Dr. Jim's most recent e-book - Leadership for Einstein's: Bringing Out the Genius in People While Becoming Great Yourself.
The model is based on Dr. John H. Eggers' Action-Research of 350 entrepreneurial companies.
The Five Pillars of Business Success:
* Financial Intelligence;
* Values, Vision, Mission;
* Emotional Intelligence;
* Leadership & Followership; and
By Duncan Brodie
Making the move into leadership is challenging for most people. For accountants making the transition from a highly technical role to a leadership role, it can be even more demanding. So what are 6 common barriers accountants need to overcome to successfully transition to leadership roles?
Barrier 1: Letting go of the detail
A lot of the work of accountants is about detail and tasks. When you make the transition into financial leadership the landscape changes. You become responsible for financial strategy and the long term health of the organisation. Too often accountants get stuck in score keeping mode.
Barrier 2: Lacking the right support
Anyone who is in or has ever been in the top job in Finance will tell you just how vital it is to have the right support in place. A key role is your number two. The individual in this role needs to be confident and capable of running the department day to day so that you do not constantly get dragged into routine activities.
Barrier 3: Gaps in skill set
When you move into a leadership role you become what I call 'T' shaped. What I mean by this is that you retain the depth of expertise in your professional discipline (the vertical piece of the 'T') but need to be competent across a whole range of business areas (the horizontal piece of the 'T'). Too often accountants fall into the trap of focusing all of their attention on the vertical piece of the 'T'
Barrier 4: Not using time effectively
The one thing you cannot change is the amount of time in a day. What you can influence and change is how you allocate and use the time available to you. If you are to maintain some level of sanity you need to get competent at effectively using your time.
Barrier 5: Not spending time developing your team
You have probably heard a hundred times before that your team is a key foundation in your success. While you might have heard this before, the question is making the investment in developing your team?
Barrier 6: Not focusing on results
As a leader you are tasked with delivering results. Make sure that you keep your focus on delivering results otherwise you run the risk of getting caught up on doing things rather than delivering results.
Bottom Line - Making the move to leadership is a major step. So what barriers do you need to overcome to achieve success?
And now I invite you to take advantage of my free audio eCourse, Leadership Success at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with professionals, teams and organizations to develop their management and leadership capability.
With 25 years business experience in a range of sectors, he understands first hand the real challenges of managing and leading in the demanding business world.
============================================
How to Manage the Horse and Carriage Principle - Every Leader is a Follower
By Dr. Jim Sellner Ph.D.
. . . Every Follower is a Leader.
The Leader -- Follower Principle -- We can't have one without the other
Followership is the key human element that determines the success of leaders. It gets little attention in business.
Plug followership into Google.
You come up with 183,000 hits. It sounds like a lot.
A search on "leadership" however, gets a whopping 157,000,000 hits.
That's a 1-to-858 ratio.
It's a bit of an unconscious arrogance in the leadership/management field. It betrays the assumption that we can "do things TO people", rather than "with and through people, with their agreement."
No wonder leaders are so often frustrated in their efforts to develop people and followers are resentful toward "management."
The element of partnership is missing.
There is a lack of understanding that business is a team sport.
A leader cannot lead if people are not willing and/or able to be led. Why is this so?
Because everything a leader wants must be given to us by others -- preferably voluntarily.
Followership is a voluntary, participatory sport.
The key question in getting what we want done is whether we engage with others as "them" - people we want something from - or as "you and me", people who are engaged in relationship with us.
This basic idea is a major stumbling block in companies that demand blind, costly obedience from its employees. Creating an environment in which employees become active, committed followers, requires effort on all sides and lots of risk and two-way feedback.
It will be fascinating to see what happens with GM and Chrysler in the coming years, which have had the "us" vs. "them" culture for decades.
A leader's job is to develop competent, motivated followers who are learning how they contribute to values/vision/mission -- based performance. The big goal is for everyone to be taking appropriate leadership actions to construct a sustainable business with a healthy "Invisible Balance Sheet."
Some basic guidelines to being an effective "follower," which also makes for a good leader:
* Seek to develop Emotional Intelligence - the key skill-set to collaboration.
* Constantly improve technically and tactically.
* Act on directives. Initiate appropriate actions in the absence of clarity.
* Develop a sense of responsibility. Take responsibility for actions taken.
* Give, receive and act on corrective and praising feedback on a regular basis.
* Set an example for others.
* Be familiar with one's leader and his/her job - anticipate his/her requirements.
* Seek to understand the task, and how it fits in to the bigger picture. Ask "Why?"
* Be a team member, but not a passive "yes sir", "yes m'am."
* Confront ineffectiveness and stupidity wisely.
* Professionalism in followership is as important as professionalism in leadership.
A Follower can Only Perform Well if the Leader is Competent and/or Motivated to Lead
So, an effective leader has three top priorities:
* Always keep the big picture top of mind and remind people what it is.
* Catch people doing things well.
* Make corrections immediately.
A company's senior management must be willing to invest money and resources, plus engage in dialogue and lead by example.
We must come to grips with the continuum from followership to leadership, rather than present the two as opposing concepts across a yawning gap.
People caught on the chasm's followership side will not take leadership initiatives. The distance will prove too great for all but the most ambitious risk-takers.
Four Follower Questions
1. "What am I not doing well, and what does a job well done look like on that task? Please be specific." The key here is that it conveys something that every manager wants to hear: "I want feedback. I want to do better. I can handle it, please help me." Wow! Imagine leading people who are actively looking for feedback on how to do the task better! Leaders would do well to do this too. Become one of those people! Ask the question at least once-a-month. Make the improvements instantly!
2. "What am I doing well, according to expectations? Be specific please." Congratulations or recognition for a job well done is a big motivator for people.
3. "What are the next steps in my development?" Most managers do not spend enough time working on their followers' professional development plan. The big problem with this is that the manger becomes "the only." S/he is "the only" one who knows how to do key tasks. This leads to a major, expensive succession problem. Go to "The Deal." Then ask, "What are my next steps?" Then, go to question number one. "How did I do? What would make it better? What should I improve?" Ask this question every quarter. Then deliver!
4. "What can I do to help you?" To a follower, the leader/manager is a key customer. The follower needs to make sure the boss knows that. Demonstrate her/his importance by asking "How can I help?" Ask it once-a-week, then follow through.
The first question says:
* "I am motivated. I want to know how to improve."
The second question says:
* "I need some reinforcement to keep doing the right things, right."
The third question conveys:
* "I want to keep 'The Deal' we made."
The fourth question shows I understand that:
* "This is a team sport. I want to be a key player your team."
Lead, Follow, or . . . Stay Out Of the Way.
Dr. Jim Sellner, PhD., DipC.
http://subject2change.ca
Assumption: We behave in our best interests when we:
* Increase our competencies;
* Get in alignment with our personal and business values; and
* Choose to be engaged.
This combination leads to individual, team and company actions that produce increased
personal and business results.
Dr. Jim's most recent e-book - Leadership for Einstein's: Bringing Out the Genius in People While Becoming Great Yourself.
The model is based on Dr. John H. Eggers' Action-Research of 350 entrepreneurial companies.
The Five Pillars of Business Success:
* Financial Intelligence;
* Values, Vision, Mission;
* Emotional Intelligence;
* Leadership & Followership; and
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