eight questions to check.
by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great
to me, all of the planning to become a mid-market sustainable brand becomes a reality through persistent and consistent leadership. in the end this, arguably, is the hardest part of the equation, as mistakes are very costly.
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a leader in a cpa firm, be it the ceo, managing partner or a senior partner, is the quarterback. he or she is the one who has to set the tone at the top and has a very big impact on the firm’s culture, behavior and compensation of the other partners in the firm.
being a cpa firm leader requires you to walk the talk, to lead by example, “to do as i do, not as i say.” it’s a very challenging and daunting responsibility. as a leader, every word you say and every action you take has tremendous impact not only among the partner ranks but also throughout the firm.
“one thing i would require from people i hired is optimism – the sense that we were going to win.”
– bernard l. schwartz
former chairman and ceo, l’oreal corp.
presented below are some of the most significant attributes of a cpa firm leader. they are particularly important as you strive toward becoming a mid-market sustainable brand:
- recognizing that you are leading a partnership, not a corporation.
this requires considerable patience, as you need to create buy-in with your partners – particularly the executive board, senior leadership operating team, other senior partners and the younger high-potential partners – to the vision or strategic plan you believe is the path you should take at your firm. at the end of the day, however, your senior partners and young rising stars may not see the future or how to get there in the same way as you do. nevertheless, after you listen to and digest their input, you have to be willing to drive change.
- holding your partners accountable when it comes to using distinctive client service tools.
having the tools available to your partners is one thing; assuring that they are using them is entirely another. unfortunately, too often, i find that cpa firms are great at developing tools but poor at implementing them. many times the tools just sit on the shelves gathering dust or are saved in the computer but never opened. it drives me nuts when i hear someone say, “we need a tool for this or for that.” i respond, “we developed that tool years ago but no one uses it and no one is held accountable.”
- being a leader is very much like being a parent.
to be a successful parent, you need to be persistent and consistent with your children in your words, actions and principles. the same is true of being a ceo. so many leaders fail because they don’t stick to the script or the strategic plan and the accompanying tactics. instead, they jump from one flavor of the month to another. once a partner sees that you are not sticking to the plan or course of action, he/she too will start to stray and begin to say that if our ceo doesn’t stick to the script, why should i? there will not be any consequences in my evaluation and my compensation if i stray from the ranch. moral of the story: without persistent and consistent leadership, planning and developing a course for your future becomes simply an exercise in futility.
- lead by your actions not by your words.
many cpa firms have pyramids of value, core mission statements and the like, but unless the ceo embraces the words and weaves them into daily activities, you might just as well stay a merely good firm because you will never achieve sustainability.
here are some examples:
- if you aren’t trusted by your partners because your words and your music (your actions) aren’t aligned, how will others be inspired by your leadership? worse yet, how can others work with you? without trust, which needs to be earned, your partners will always be guessing your agenda – you will be challenged and second-guessed. this creates a very dysfunctional firm.
- if you fake sincerity with your partners, they will see right through that and, as a result, will begin to question if this is the firm they want to be associated with for the remainder of their professional lives.
- if you don’t believe in the firm’s core values, why should others?
- if you don’t work hard, why should others?
- if you don’t treat people with respect, why should others?
- if you don’t spend the firm’s money as if it were your own, why should others?
- if you don’t go out into the business community and develop a referral network, why should others?
- if you don’t originate new business that results in quality growth, why should others?