“You go first and lead the way.”
~Tom Flick
I spent the last couple days attending the annual Winning Is Everything Conference out in Las Vegas. The event gathers CPA leaders from a wide variety of firms across the country. The focus is on sharing current practice management challenges and opportunities impacting the CPA profession.
For me, a former practicing CPA firm partner and executive coach for many CPA leaders, it’s a great opportunity to keep a pulse on what’s happening in firms across the country.
This year, from the opening presentation on, I sensed a definite shift in focus and perspective in firm leaders. Now, more than ever, they shared, outstanding leadership is imperative. The consistent message came from keynote speakers, panel participants and leading consultants to the profession. And great leadership is not just critical at the Managing Partner level. It’s throughout the firm, regardless of your title or role.
Amen.
Tom Flick, former pro football quarterback, was a highlight. He gave a rousing keynote address, focusing on many of the transformational change imperatives espoused by John Kotter in his book, Leading Change. Creating a sense of urgency, instilling a vision and strategy and empowering others were just a few of the leadership “musts” that Flick touched on. I smiled as I listened to Flick’s presentation, remembering a blog post I authored on the topic a couple of years ago. These CPAs were listening.
Flick’s reminder is timely. The profession is in full blown merger mania, with combinations happening in large and small firms across the country. We all know that there’s more to mergers than dollars and cents. They impact people. (Full disclosure, my former firm was merged into Plante Moran in the late 1990s.)
As firms continue to combine, strong, transformational leadership is needed to create a positive and productive surviving culture. To make sure that 1+1 is way more than 2.
The published theme of the conference was BE A HERO: Think Outside of the Box. And that’s exactly what great leaders do.
To your success,
Mary
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