Personal Development
Why are you Changing?
I recently had the honor of presenting on the topic of change management, with my friend and fellow industry consultant Guy Gage of Partners Coach, at the Accounting Today Growth and Profitability Summit. For those who know me well and have been following my writing over the last seven years, I often like to combine…
Read MoreUnlikely Source of Career Life Integration
Jayne is a team player. She is very passionate about her work and life. She has many things she wants to be involved in. She can be relied on to take things and run with them. Unfortunately at this stage in her career, as a director, she is seriously considering leaving the organization. She is…
Read MoreAs A Leader, You Worry About Others – But Don’t Forget About Yourself
Whether you are an actual owner, principal, firm administrator, marketing director, HR director or a talented up-and-comer inside your CPA firm, the fact that you are reading this blog means that you deeply care, and worry about the firm, the client and your team members. But what about YOU, personally? Many of us in CPA firm management are…
Read MoreDon’t take things from other people.
I thought I learned that as a kid, but apparently I didn’t. In this all too true story about the early years of my accounting practice, I took things from other people without realizing it and ultimately of course I paid the price. As you read this, consider if you’ve unwittingly taken things from others.…
Read MoreDelegation Missteps
Are you a current leader in your firm – possibly a Partner, Manager or Supervisor? If you are, you understand that one of the skills you must develop is that of being able to delegate effectively to team members. Unfortunately, we must also negotiate the missteps that can derail us from being able to move…
Read More4 Key Traits That Will Propel Your Career
We are fortunate to work with a lot of CPA firms. As a result, we hear day in and day out about the many challenges they face. The number one challenge right now for most firms is succession planning. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a firm ask about getting the…
Read MoreRetaining & Developing Diverse Talent
Jane is a minority with ten years of experience in public accounting. She is certified and versatile in the areas of practice in which she might contribute now and in the future. She has deep community roots in the major metropolitan area in which she works and she has shown great promise in promoting the…
Read MorePerceptions of You
What do people really think of you? Do you even care? Do you care too much? Many of the managers and executives I coach and train start off by being surprised and maybe even slightly insulted to think that they need to improve their leadership skills. After all, they wouldn’t have been promoted if they…
Read MoreWhat’s in Your Head Can Make, or Cost, You Millions
While I’ve long since given up my boyhood hopes of becoming a superhero, I continued to hold on to the notion that there was some special, magical “something” out there that allows us to have all the great things we want in life, and little or none of the bad stuff. Fortunately, to my surprise,…
Read MoreWhat Will You Keep, Stop and Start In 2014?
My mom asks me every New Year’s what my New Year’s Resolutions are. I typically have a hard time setting them – even the old standbys. As I contemplate resolutions for the coming year, I’m reminded about a question that my partner, Jack Lee, asked in one of his blog series on goal-setting: “My question…
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