Scaling New Heights
Many of you have told us that Building and Leading a Team can be an intimidating prospect and the Yeti – i.e., challenge – that causes you the most anxiety. Some of you are making it work and reaping the benefits, but there are many who are hesitant to grow their practice because of the challenges of hiring and managing a team. You wonder, “Are the risks and the amount of effort required to hire, train and lead a team worth the potential benefits?”
When you finally make the decision to push past the fear and face down that yeti because you know your practice can go further and grow stronger with the right team members, you are ready to begin the process of creating your team.
Your team members will fill various roles in your practice (e.g., bookkeeping, business development, sales, marketing, production, etc.). In his book, "Good to Great," Jim Collins compares leading a business to driving a bus and compares the roles within your company to seats on that bus. An organizational chart based on the roles in your practice clearly defines the seats on your bus that you need to fill!
Begin by defining the current roles in your organization. (Even a sole practitioner can do this. Every practice has multiple roles, even if one person is currently performing all of them.)
If you currently have employed team members, don’t think about the people who are currently in the roles. Rather, focus solely on the roles themselves. And remember, there’s not necessarily a one-to-one relationship between roles and team members; some team members may fill more than one role.
We believe most people can develop the hard skills and knowledge necessary to excel in a role if they have the appropriate background, aptitude and motivation to learn.
You should also consider what roles you see yourself adding to your practice within the next two to three years. It is okay to make future roles contingent on hitting certain practice development milestones.
Use this information to create an organizational chart based on roles, not job titles or people.
Jim Collins continues the “bus analogy” by saying, “Leaders of companies that go from good to great start … by getting the right people on the bus … and the right people in the right seats.”
With your seats well defined, you are ready to begin the process of finding the right team members to fill those seats. Since putting the right person in the right seat on your bus determines how far your bus (practice) can go, this decision is crucial. Herein lies the rub: How do you decide upon the qualities the right person must possess?
We believe most people can develop the hard skills and knowledge necessary to excel in a role if they have the appropriate background, aptitude and motivation to learn. On the other hand, qualities like integrity, passion, love of learning, strong work ethic, and the willingness/ability to work well with others are components of a person’s character and personality that have been developed over their lifetime.
These components determine if the individual will be a good fit for your company culture and, ultimately, if there’s even a “seat for them on your bus.”
Finally, you should also consider that your own role and identity will change somewhat after your first hire. Over time, your role will shift from producer to team leader, teacher, and coach. I hear you wondering, “What if it turns out that I am not good at leading a team?”
Wait a minute. Aren’t you already doing some teaching and coaching with your clients? You’re already leading them in many ways, right? Those same skills will apply when you hire and lead an internal team.
We believe there is a leader within you… “Let the Leader awaken.”
At the "2017 Scaling New Heights®" conference in the Right Team fork – i.e., track – we offer sessions that will help you get in touch with your “Leader Within” and provide knowledge and guidance from those who have experience with building and leading a team. The sessions in this “fork” include:
"The Bold Advisor Pre-Conference Workshop: Firm Purpose, Mission, Values and Big Y" will help you determine your firm’s purpose, mission, values and key objectives and will also give you an opportunity to work in groups to derive them during the session. Ian Vacin and Carla Caldwell will lead this interactive workshop on Sunday, June 4, 2017, at 10 a.m.
"Creating and Growing a Team – Your First (and Next) Steps #BeyondSolo" will give you the path to finding great team members, leading distributed teams, dealing with challenging team members and much, much more. Clayton Oates, who has overcome each of these obstacles in his own practice, will share with you how to smash through the Fear barrier on Sunday, June 4, 2017, at 2 p.m.
When you finally make the decision to push past the fear and face down that yeti because you know your practice can go further and grow stronger with the right team members, you are ready to begin the process of creating your team.
"The Bold Advisor (Part I): Firm Management Strategies that Ensure Success" will cover the key concepts that drive the best managed firms of the world and show how the most progressive firms are leveraging them to give themselves competitive advantage. Ian Vacin and Carla Caldwell will present this session on Monday, June, 5, 2017, at 8 a.m.
"Thriving in Business as a Woman" – Few would dispute that women face different challenges than do men in the business world. If you are a woman, this session can help you reach your full potential professionally and if you are a man, it can show you how to help the women in your life live up to their full potentials, whether they are your co-workers, employees, wives or daughters. Leslie Shiner will present this thought-provoking and enlightening session on Monday, June, 5, 2017, at 8 a.m.
"The Bold Advisor (Part II): Set Your Goals and Lay Out Your Plan for Success" will provide you with an opportunity to work on your business and put your plan on paper. Your instructors, Carla Caldwell and Ian Vacin, will walk you through each step of the way in this session on Monday, June 5, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.
"Leadership Series Part 1: The Leader Within" is a highly interactive class that will divulge the traits of successful leaders and help you determine what type of leader you are. Jeff Edmonds will present this session on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.
"Learn Effective Communication with Millennials, Gen X and Boomers" will cover critical communication skills across the generations that will assist you in building and leading your internal team as well as interacting with your clients. Steven Hoffman will lead this vital session on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at 5:20 p.m.
"Leadership Series Part 2: Leading High Performance Teams" covers the keys to hiring, motivating, rewarding and retaining high-performers. This session provides education on how to determine the required competencies and making selection decisions. Deborah Defer leads this session on Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.
"Leadership Series Part 3: The Effective Leader – Strategic Goal Setting and Effective Decision Making" is the final course in our Leadership series. In this session, your instructor will explore two of the most important activities of a leader: How to create and achieve goals and how to make good decisions. Jeff Edmonds will present this session on Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at 4:10 p.m.
For more on building and leading a team, listen to Joe speak with Clayton Oates on the Scaling New Heights® Podcast, Episode 27.
You can find more details about each of the sessions in a downloadable document located here: Download Course Descriptions.
Reminder: As your ever-faithful Sherpas, we stand ready to guide and encourage you along your chosen path. If you would like to consult with us about your path, please email me at coliver@woodard.com or Liz at ecolley@woodard.com. Be sure to tell us your goals and what you hope to learn so we can recommend appropriate learning paths for your upcoming "Scaling New Heights" experience in Orlando, Fla.
If you missed the previous articles in this series, you can find them here:
The Path to Refining Your Practice Begins with Streamlining Your Services
The Next Step Along the Path to Refining Your Practice: Establishing the Right Processes
Along the Path to Refining Your Practice: Identifying the Right Clients
Carol Oliver Woodard
Carol Oliver is a CPA with an accounting degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. She is a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (QB Online, QB Desktop and QB Enterprise Solutions). Carol has worked in the accounting software consulting and training field for more than 18 years and is a certified trainer for multiple accounting software products including Microsoft, Crystal Reports and F9 (a financial report writer).
For 10 of those 18 years, Carol spent about 75 percent of her time training on accounting and accounting technology, and she developed numerous software user guides, as well as curricula for many different courses. In 2011 she joined Woodard Consulting, providing services that included software integration, financial statement analysis, and customization and development of applications in Method.
In early 2014, Carol accepted a position with Woodard Events as Manager of Accountant Education and Training, allowing her to return to her first love - training accounting professionals.