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by Troy Waugh
Leading An Accounting Firm
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter 1—Why Leadership Matters
Leading the Brightest of the Bright
Leading the Organization
The Leader’s Role—Influencing Mission, Vision, and Values
Losing Focus
A Sad Tale (Tail!)
Leading Versus Managing
You Need Both
New Skills
Are Leaders Born or Are They Built?
Types of Leaders
Effective Leaders Must Be Humble
Challenges of Leadership
The Measure of a Leader
Conclusion
Section 1—Leading Self
Chapter 2—Self-Knowledge: The Inner Accelerator
Your Leadership Style
The Value of Self-Knowledge
Characteristics of Good Leaders
The Crisis of Success
Building Leadership Ability for Better Effectiveness
Commit to the Process
Opening Up for Growth
Build on Strengths or Improve Your Weaknesses?
Experience Matters
Building Self-Knowledge
Self-Knowledge Through Interaction With Others
The Undeniable Link: Lifelong Self-Learning and Leadership
Self-Knowledge for a Fulfilled Life
Conclusion
Chapter 3—Trust: The Leadership Imperative
Trust Is a Competitive Advantage Inside and Out
Dimensions of Trustworthiness
Consulting Experiences
Delegation
A Healthy Meeting Among Toxic Ones
Integrity
Group Dynamics
Intent
Invested in Trust
Rebuilding Trust Takes Time
Lessons From Consulting Experiences
Levels of Trust Development
Building Trust
Building Organizational Trust
When Trust Is Broken
Rebuilding Trust
Conclusion
Chapter 4—Critical Thinking: Creating Your Future
What Is Critical Thinking?
Thinking Standards
Critical Thinking Applied: Phil Holthouse
Depth and Breadth
Logic
Significance
Fairness
Applying Critical Thinking
Myths About Thinking
Learning to Think Critically—Like a Leader
Purpose
Question
Information
Concepts
Inference
Assumption
Point of View
Implications
Relationship of the Elements
Conclusion
Chapter 5—Preparation: Ready for Seizing Opportunity
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Developing Your Leadership Skills
Laying the Groundwork by Seeking Input From Others
Preparing to Lead Strategic Initiatives
Step 1—Prepare a High-Resolution Picture of the End Game
Step 2—Clarify Each Staff Member’s Role
Step 3—Assessing Potential Opportunities
Step 4—Understanding Possible Threats
Step 5—Gather and Review Relevant Research
Step 6—Budgeting Time, People, and Money
Step 7—Develop the Initiative Game Plan
Step 8—Launch the Initiative With Overwhelming Power
Preparation Is for Action
Getting Started
Conclusion
Chapter 6—Self-Discipline: Be the Master, Not the Victim
Leadership Demands Sacrifice
Self-Discipline Makes You the Best You Can Be
Your Inner Circle Values
Delay of Gratification
Five Qualities of Self-Discipline
Self-Knowledge
Strong Relationships
Commitment
Living Your Values
Self-Coaching
What Are We Leading Toward?
Focused Growth Is a Priority
Using Self-Discipline to Focus
Building Habits of Self-Discipline
Invest Five Minutes Each Morning to Meditate on the Major Areas of Your Life
Make Self-Discipline a Part of Your Daily Ritual
Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning
Accept Responsibility
Face Your Fear to Develop Courage
The Truth About Self-Discipline
Conclusion
Section 2—Leading Staff
Chapter 7—Teaching, Coaching, and Mentoring: Multiplying Your Leadership
Developing Skills Over a Career
Training Begins One on One
Teaching
Training Programs Demonstrate Your Commitment to People
A Plan for Adult Learners
Creating Purposeful Training
Coaching
Working One-on-One Raises Your Commitment and Retention
On-the-Job Training Helps Coaches and Mentors
The Leap From Coaching to Mentoring
Great Leaders Mentor
Mentoring: Benefits for the Firm
Conclusion: The Impact of Training
Chapter 8—Accountability: Trust but Verify
Why Is Accountability So Important in Business?
Accountability Is the Opposite of Permissiveness
Increasing Accountability
Measuring Accountability
How Does Individual Responsibility Factor Into a Group Setting?
What Should Partners Know About Performance Measurement?
Positive Results of Performance Measurement
Implementing Accountability for Positive Results
Accountability Through Measurement: Scorecards and Performance Pay
Ways to Establish Staff Member Accountability
Establish Accountability Through Communication—Set Expectations and Reinforce Success
Accountability Through Measurement
An Introduction to Measuring Performance
After Measuring, Now What?
Setting Goals
Frequent Feedback
Coaching
Performance Scorecard
Performance Pay
Keeping a Well-Rounded Perspective
Conclusion
Chapter 9—Challenging Personal Growth: Leading the Whole Person
A Path to a Better Person
Personal Growth, Firm Growth
Growing Pains
Intentional Success
Barriers to Personal Growth
Dealing With Change
Overcoming Barriers
Rule 1: Believe in the Meaning of Your Work
Rule 2: Communicate Regularly and Honestly With Team Members
Rule 3: Leaders Must Always Be Moving Toward the Larger Goals
Rule 4: Recognize Your Team Members
Finding Balance
Tips for Achieving Personal Growth
Conclusion
Chapter 10—Empowerment: The Secret to Exponential Growth
What Is Empowerment Really?
Keys to Effective Empowerment
Existing Leadership Philosophies
Mistakes: Both Risky and Rewarding
Empowering Members of a Team
Principles of Empowerment
Develop a Rational Shared Vision
Provide Training and Information for Good Decisions
Raise the Level of Conflict
Allocate Proper Resources
Reward Staff Members for Empowered Behavior
Trust People
Working With Teams
Shared Mission
Mutual Respect and Trust
Frequent Substantive Communication
Shared Processes
Different Talents
Adaptability and Flexibility
Continuous Improvement
Building Highly Empowered Teams and Firms
The Seven Elements of Empowerment for Teams
Communication
Conflict Engagement
Contribution
Connections
Cooperation
Change Initiators
Commitment
Conclusion
Section 3—Leading Strategy
Vision (Chapter 11)
Mission (Chapter 13)
Values (Chapter 12)
Next Steps: Goals and Objectives
Goals
Objectives
The Role of Strategies and Initiatives
Example Plan
Vision
Mission
Strategy
Goal
Objective
Action Plan
Chapter 11—Vision: Reality in the Future
Vision: What It Is and Why You Need One
Making the Vision Real for Your Staff Members
Our Vision Shapes Our Future
The First Vision
The Value of a Vision
Building Your Vision
Get a Mental Start
Developing a Vision Statement
Things to Keep in Mind as You Begin
Bake In the Buy-In
Communicating Your Vision
Don’t Limit Your Vision
Common Stumbling Blocks
Strategies for Success
Conclusion
Chapter 12—Values: The Character, Actions, and Outcomes
The Purpose of Core Values
Core Values as Standards or Aspirations
Core Values Are Worthless Unless They Govern
Finding Your Values
The Elements of Core Values
Our Principles of Service and Communication
Go Deep
Be Responsible
Understand First
Deliver Excellence
Never Assume
Make Their Day
Invest in Myself
Are Strong Values Realistic?
Leading by Example
Core Values Help Frame Our Behavior
Sustaining Core Values
Conclusion
Chapter 13—Mission: Making a Difference
The Benefits of a Mission
Clarifying Your Mission
What Do We Do?
How Do We Do It?
For Whom Do We Do It?
More Than One Mission? Maybe So
Six Steps to Developing a Mission Statement
Exercise 13-1: Client Statement
Exercise 13-2: Problem Statement
Exercise 13-3: Statement of Purpose
Exercise 13-4: Business Statement
Exercise 13-5: Value Statement
Exercise 13-6: Writing a Mission Statement
Problems to Keep in Mind
Developing a Personal Mission Statement
Exercise 13-7: Personal Mission Statement
Sample Personal Mission Statement Development
Past Successes
Core Values
Identify Contributions
Identify Goals
Mission Statement
Final Thoughts
Conclusion
Section 4—Leading Systems
Chapter 14—Managing Processes for Your Future Firm
Setting up Business Processes
Advantages to Structured Procedures
More Consistent Results
Measurable Outcomes
Training for Team Members Improves
Benefits of Creating the Process
Establish Standards, Policies, and Procedures
Improve the Consistency of the Client Experience
Standardizing Work-Flow Management
Process Should Follow Strategy
Manage to a Written Strategic Plan
Management for the Future
The Balanced Scorecard Framework
Selecting the Right KPIs
Standardizing KPIs
Business Process Management Overview
BPM Activities
Design
Modeling
Execution
Measuring
Optimization
Issues to Look Out For
Conclusion
Chapter 15—Building the Future Firm Continuously
Commit to Continuous Improvement
Critical Success Factors for Change and Growth
Building a System to Manage Change and Improve Processes
Six Sigma
Lean Processes
Kaizen
Flowcharts for Seeing and Improving Processes
The Benefits of Continuous Improvement
Conclusion
Section 5—Leading Synergy
Strategic Alignment
Objectives Alignment
Internal Alignment
Chapter 16—Synergy and Alignment: One Plus One Equals Three
Building a Shared Purpose
Leadership in Tough Times
Crisis: Realities and Constructions
Understanding
Decision Making and Coordinating
Terminating
Accounting
Learning
Teamwork
Leading Teams for Synergy
Team Development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Conclusion
Chapter 17—Sustaining Leadership: The Ultimate Succession Plan
Developing Your Leaders From Within
Approaches to Succession Planning
Top Down
Bottom Up
Futuring
Targeting Approach
Succession Planning Versus the Traditional Replacement Method
Potential Labor Crisis
Challenges of Implementation
Why Succession Plans Fail
Your Leadership Development Program
Overall Approach
Define the Leadership Competencies for Each Level
Assess Potential Candidates
Measure Leadership Styles
Refer to Your Developmental Process
Build the Next Generation of Leaders
Prepare a Nomination and Application Process for the Program
Selecting Partner Leaders
Rename Your Next CEO as the Leading Partner
Choosing the Lead Partner
More of Choosing a Leader
Can a Leader Serve Clients?
Conclusion
Appendix A:
Appendix B:
Appendix C:
Appendix D:
Appendix E:
Appendix F:
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Leading an Accounting Firm
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LEADING AN ACCOUNTING FIRM
THE PYRAMID OF SUCCESS
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