Be The Leader

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim is fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves Lao Tzu

Last year at a Christian business breakfast I had the privelage of listening to Dr Paul Browning now the former principal of St Paul's in Brisbane. He had the privelage of turning the school around after they (school) faced a Royal Commission on Child Abuse. Trust was the key missing element at that school. He was an inspirational speaker.

In an era of fake news, more government control, being told what to do, we face a global crisis around trust in the workplace and society. Let me add that I believe the traditional family structure is the bedrock of society. This may offend some people but it's what I believe.

As an accountant or financial adviser trust is the number one characteristic we must have and what our clients expect of us. We hold our client's futures in our hands.

Trust has been identified as one of the future key challenges our nation faces in relation to governments, organisations and media. In his book Principled Leadership Paul outlines 10 leadership practices for building trust and recently listed this month on INTHEBLACK CPA's monthly magazine as one of 9 top business books to read.

Here's the list:

1. Listening
2. Admitting Mistakes
3. Offering Trust
4. Consultative Decision-Making
5. Providing Affirmation
6. Visibility
7. Demeanour
8. Coaching or Mentoring
9. Caring
10. Keeping Confidences

Listening: I've written about active listening before. Remember the saying you have 2 ears and one mouth. Focus on the other person. Listens far more than they speak without distractions. Asks clarifying questions, demonstrates empathy and can succinctly summarise what the person is feeling and values. When was the last time you rang a client and asked them how they were doing and then waited in silence for them to answer.

Admitting mistakes: I've also written about what to do when we make a mistake! The first thing we need to do is own it, take responsibility and then see if it can be fixed or provide a solution which provides a desireable outcome for our clients. Paul says displays professional and personal vulnerability: has the humility to admit the mistake and actively rectifies the problem. He also says willing to take responsibility for others' mistakes. This is so important when a team member makes a mistake we need to help them overcome the guilt and often shame they feel when they make a mistake. I've been there have you?

Offering Trust: As a leader we need to treat our staff no matter what position they hold with respect. We all have to start somewhere. So treat employees as professional colleagues by trusting them to perform their roles; provides coaching or mentoring to grow the careers of others. There should be no gender issues it's the best person for the role and if not how can we help them get there.

Consultative Decision-Making: When major decisions have to be made in our organisations do we consult our team or do we go ahead and just make the decision. We all have different ways of thinking and often a team member will see something that we didn't. So a leader uses a consultative decision-making process, values others' opinions and makes timely and informed decisions and implements them.

Providing Affirmation: We all need affirmation! Often a timely word at the right time can be the best part of your day or week. I recently received a message from someone giving me affirmation and it was exactly what I needed. I was in overwhelm and I needed that word to keep going. As an accountant or adviser how great do we feel when we are recognised or appreciated by our clients. So look for ways to actively thank staff or clients for the difference they make.

Visibility: Is regularly seen by staff around the organisation; interacts with employees, customers and stakeholders and is accessible to everyone. I'll never forget the surprise I felt when Dr Paul Browning said that every morning he would walk all around the school to greet people. It said a lot without needing to say something. It demonstrated he cared.

Demeanour: A leader is consistent and predicatable in their demeanour. Remains calm and level-headed no matter the situation and is respectful. As an accountant or adviser isn't this why clients come to see us? If not why not?

Coaching or Mentoring: In one of my newsletters I wrote about taking a coaching and mentoring approach with our clients. Do we take time to educate them, help them be aware, explain how we got the result we got. Do we make suggestions on strategy to help their future outcomes. And do we act the same way with our staff. Our most precious commodity is time so we need to spend it wisely. Help someone today.

Caring: Exhibits a geniunely benevolent concern for members of the team, invests time, gets to know individual employees as people and offers practical support. Not everyone is an extrovert. See comments on listening above. Our clients want to know that you care about their future so find multiple ways to show them. Emails, phone calls, a gift, a card doesn't have to be expensive just visible.

Keeping Confidences: Last but not least. As a finance professional we get entrusted with all sorts of confidential information and we are expected to keep it. We all remember when PWC made headlines for not keeping confidences and look at the subsequent fall-out in that firm and others. Paul mentions acts on information only with permission. That's important. Often clients just want a sounding board before they make a decision. Our job as a finance professional is to listen and help them.

Food for thought. What do we need to practise on today? Pick any one of them and focus on it for a time. Your clients and staff will thank you for it.

If you finding this newsletter helpful I would appreciate you sharing it with someone who you think may enjoy reading it.

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