A professional administrator from a CPA firm visited our sponsor table last week at the CPAFMA Connections 2024 conference in Savannah, Georgia. Her discouragement was evident from her slumped shoulders and shuffling walk. She immediately shared her frustration with the fractured partner group at her firm.

She explained that the senior partners were retiring, and the next generation was dysfunctional. They refused to communicate with each other, had poor billing and collection practices, and were generally unavailable to their staff. Her distress over their behavior was palpable. We asked a few questions, hoping to offer suggestions or guidance, but there was nothing we could offer that would help. We felt her anguish.

Stressful Times

This was not the only administrator or partner we encountered who was distressed with their leadership team. Many reported feeling pressured and stressed to the max due to changes in the profession. Firm leaders have had to deal with significant disruptions, requiring innovation that stretches everyone beyond their comfort zone. The decisions needed are more than any one person can handle alone.

Existing challenges like limited capacity, succession concerns, technology investments, and building advisory services for clients are only the beginning. Looming around the corner is the need to adopt AI into their practice.

Firms with cohesive leadership teams have been and will be able to manage these disruptions. They have learned to acknowledge and appreciate individual contributions and build a foundation of trust, ensuring each member is committed to the firm’s vision.

Stressed Teams

However, too many partner groups do not function at this level. Each dysfunctional group has its own mix of attitudes and behaviors that prevent them from weathering the profession’s changes. Simply telling partners what they should and shouldn’t do is insufficient. Learning to function as a high-performing partner group is the only way to navigate the headwinds of change.

This is the discouragement the firm administrator faced. She saw great potential in her firm but felt her partners couldn’t see it. It is truly unfortunate that firms continue under the illusion that, because they are making money now, they can continue as a fractured partner group.

The post A Fractured Partner Group appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

We learn so much from our coaching clients, like what they really want, what concerns them and what holds them back. Over the years, our experience has revealed a common theme—that transitioning from staff performer to project manager is one of the most under-appreciated shifts in a career. Unfortunately, firm leaders often neglect equipping managers for success, which negatively impacts the manager, staff, clients, and the firm as a whole.

The Situation

At the entry level, the primary goal of professionals is reliable performance. It is crucial to develop the work habits and traits necessary for excellence. What worked as a student is often insufficient in a professional setting. In fact, many firms now implement extended onboarding programs to guide their young professionals into a successful career. And the results are telling.

The Shift

As staff are promoted to managers, the emphasis shifts from personal performance to overseeing projects, ensuring high-quality work that is timely and within budget. This transition is frequently underestimated. It is much more complex than simply promoting someone to a title. Too often, firm leaders allow managers to continue as individual performers, rather than equipping them for their broader role.

Many firms lack a formal manager orientation, assuming that newly promoted managers inherently know what to do. Managers may receive a list of tasks and are told what they should do: delegate more, train your staff, be available for questions, communicate with partners, ensure that client information is obtained. Oh, and meet your charge hour goals. However, without proper guidance, managers struggle to meet these expectations, leading them to frustration and overwhelm. Hoping they will figure it out is not supportive leadership.

It’s no wonder that managers duck back into the known and safe role of being an individual performer. But the result is that projects bottleneck at the last minute, staff are frustrated because their manager is unavailable and partners have only a vague idea how projects are progressing through the system. And clients will just have to wait.

Success

Successful managers excel in four primary areas. In addition to completing their own work, they must ensure staff performance, enlist client cooperation, and track the work to deliver high-quality, on-time, and on-budget projects. This is the essence of the manager’s role.

Support

As a firm leader, consider how you are equipping your managers to succeed in all four areas. Do you leave them alone to figure it out for themselves? Are they merely given a list of duties and then expected to perform? Do you provide any training or mentoring? Are they held accountable for managing high-quality projects? Effective performance won’t happen by chance—it requires intentional support and development.

Leaders must assume the responsibility to set up their managers for success.  There are all kinds of resources and support available. If you believe your managers would benefit from being better equipped to perform, contact us to discuss your situation. We may be able to help.

The post Equipping Managers To Perform appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

One of the most difficult situations we can encounter in life is wanting to do well but it’s not coming together. We struggle because there is a gap between our capabilities and what is required to succeed. We encounter this situation in sports, academics, music and any hobby we take up. We need a strong supervisor.

Yes, But

On the other side, those in a position to be strong supervisors sometimes resist and resent the fact that their protégés need the additional attention. This issue arises in my calls with partners. The partners ask, how is it that smart professionals need so much of my time? Why can’t they notice that they are falling short and figure out how to succeed, like I did?

What About

And then there are those who are underperforming but they think they are doing ok. As you can imagine, there is a term for this. It is referred to as the self enhancement bias, or the tendency to view more favorably one’s performance  than is warranted by objective reality. Partners and supervisors who coach struggling performers find this part of their job particularly stressful, frustrating and time-consuming. Their messages to struggling performers are viewed as simply their opinion and an example of them being overdemanding.

So there are two types of struggling performers: those who are aware and those who aren’t. Regardless, the response should be the same. They both need a strong supervisor.

It’s The Same

Strong supervision means having to be more involved. It means having to confirm assignments or requests in a follow up email to make sure there is clarity and documentation. It means having to meet more frequently for check-ins and updates. It means asking more direct and specific questions about their progress. It means helping them prioritize their work so they focus on the right things. It means consistently asking if there are other priorities that conflict.

If it feels like micromanaging, it probably is. But if it is required to move people to a higher level of performance so you aren’t left holding the bag, it may be worth the effort. All of your complaining that you shouldn’t have to do all this is futile, so let it go. Hopefully, your time and effort will help struggling performers with a clearer sense of their actual performance and give them better work and communication skills.

Your Turn

Being a strong supervisor requires something different for each of the ones you supervise. Take the time and invest in each one so they can succeed, knowing each has their own needs. This is the job of being a strong supervisor.

The post Be A Strong Supervisor appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

Last week I had a great call with a senior staff member of a firm. It was a follow up call to a course we presented entitled Be An ACE: Manage Your Attitude, Credibility & Excellence. The call inspired me because not only did he implement one of his Action Items, he also experienced the positive results of a new discipline of acknowledging his good fortune.

The Results

He talked about what he is doing to adjust his attitude. Not that it was bad, he just didn’t pay much attention to it. He mentioned that he is being more grateful for having a good job in a good firm doing important work and being able to live a comfortable lifestyle. He just never thought about remembering daily how thankful he is for his good fortune. It has made a difference for him.

I adopted this same discipline in college and it has stuck with me for decades. My experience was the same as his, so I decided to take a closer look into what the research says about acknowledging good fortune.

The Evidence

In one paper, there were three experiments conducted by the University of California and Miami University regarding the impact of regularly appreciating blessings and good fortune. In two of the studies, over 200 participants were randomly divided into three groups: one group regularly reflected on their burdens, another group reflected on their blessings, and a third group reflected on neutral conditions. The third experiment only had two groups: a blessings-reflection group and a neutral conditions group.

All of the experiments showed the same finding—there was a significant increase in general wellbeing and life satisfaction for those in the good fortune group. The authors reported “considerably more satisfaction with their lives as a whole, felt more optimism about the upcoming week, and felt more connected with others” compared to the other groups.

This isn’t the only evidence. In addition to these findings, there are a host of other health benefits that other studies reported, such as reduced depression, lessened anxiety, heart health, reduced stress and improved sleep. These results have been replicated for decades.

Your Decision

It’s hard to believe that regularly practicing a simple, easy discipline as acknowledging gratitude can have such an impact. And it’s even harder to believe that so many have chosen not to practice this discipline.

Those who realize that their attitude is an internal state in their control and not a result of their external world that they have no control over may be more likely to adopt this simple discipline. Which are you? And what will you do to acknowledge your good fortune?

The post Acknowledge Your Good Fortune appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

We’ve heard a lot about learning to say no, and rightly so, because we often say yes too much and take on too many responsibilities. It is no fun. However, that said, the real issue just might be that we’ve never learned to say yes effectively.

Remember, every yes has a cost. Minimally, it’s our time and energy; but also exacts from us our priority and focus. What happens when our time, energy and resources are overdrawn? We become overburdened, overwhelmed, which leads to stress and anxiety. Yep, your yeses are a cause of much of your stress.

Considerations of Yes

So how should you account for your yeses? Before you say yes, consider the following:

Capacity Constraints. When something new comes along, think about everything you’ve already committed to, including personal and work-related obligations. What constraints do you face, like tight due dates, conflicting priorities, and other shifting responsibilities? Unfortunately, adopting a FIFO (first in/first out) approach is seldom applicable. Before you say yes, discuss it first with your manager or partner, even if it’s only to let them know of your situation.

Expectations and Reliance. Saying yes creates expectations in others. People are relying on you to follow through. Are you at risk of letting them down? This includes not just clients, partners, or managers, but also your significant other, children, family, and friends.

Neuropsychology has taught us that the negative impact on others when we don’t meet an expectation is much greater and lasts longer than their satisfaction when we meet an expectation. This explains why missed expectations are much more significant and remembered than the times we come through.

Commit to Yes

Is it time for you to better account for your yeses? After all, you have to protect your reputation. Learn to say yes so that you can make good on ALL of them. Everyone is depending on you.

The post Account For Your Yeses appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

This is a very common (and false) assumption that people make all the time. We had a good conversation about how important it would be to position himself to be considered for his aspiration—promotion. He should be more involved in the whole process rather than leaving his aspirations to others.

There are some effective ways to position yourself. None of them is a silver bullet that will guarantee your aspiration. But collectively, they get the attention of your decision makers. Breaking through your assumption that they will just see how good you are is a mistake made by too many disappointed aspirants. Here are few ideas to consider.

1. Let your intentions be known. Don’t assume your leaders know your aspirations. You have to tell them. If you don’t tell them clearly, they will make their own assumptions that you are fine where you are—a good, dependable worker who makes their lives easier.
2. DO NOT ask for feedback. You probably won’t get the frank input that you are looking for. If you do get honest feedback, it will likely be comments about your work, not information about what they are looking for to promote you.
3. Identify the gaps. Instead of feedback, ask them about any gaps they see in you and your performance. Since you haven’t achieved your aspiration yet, they know what you lack. You are more likely to get good information about what they are looking for but aren’t seeing. This is the information you need, especially when their perceptions differ from yours.
4. Commit to your supervisor that you intend to fill those gaps in order to be considered for whatever your aspiration is. Ask them for help and guidance. Continue the conversation over the weeks and months. Keep your aspiration in the forefront.

Firms today need solid leadership talent. If you aspire to be in a leadership position, you have to tell them. Otherwise, you leave your career aspirations to unpredictable chance and unfounded hope.

The post You Have To Tell Them appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

Up to 40% of the actions we take are by conscious decision. That means that, for most of our day, we function on autopilot. Since we all have habits that need to be adjusted or changed, we would benefit from correcting the habits that are automatic.

Auto Habits

It’s hard to believe that most our daily activity is driven by our automatic habits—actions we have adopted over the months and years. Some of them are good, like brushing your teeth or saying thank you.

However, there are a number of habits that have developed over the years that should be questioned. For instance, work habits might include an inconsistent start time for your day, eating lunch at your desk, or allowing distractions to take you away of the work at hand. Personal habits might include your snack choices that are bad for you, not hydrating throughout the day, or avoiding a daily walk. Changing your autopilot habits is rarely easy, but necessary.

Change Auto Habits

We are often told that in order to change, we need to have more self-control. And when we fail, it is because we aren’t disciplined enough. However, there may be more to making changes in our lives than sheer self-control.

More recent research suggests that that putting ourselves in the right situations is more important than gathering enough discipline to do something differently. It makes sense. As an example, if you are restricting your food or beverage intake, you shouldn’t watch the game at the local tavern.

This technique of creating situations for change may be more important than mustering up enough self-control to make changes. If you turn your phone off and out of sight, you are less likely to be distracted by it. If you have a water bottle at your desk, you are more likely to hydrate instead of snacking. If you have a habit of saying yes too quickly to requests, you would benefit by developing a habit of delaying a response for an hour or a day to get a better perspective.

Your Auto Habits

You know automatic habits you have that you have accumulated over the years. Which ones would you benefit from changing in some way to increase your professionalism and your satisfaction with yourself and your work? You deserve the best and your auto-habits are one way to get there.

The post Habits That Are Automatic appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

We all have heard of socially transmitted diseases. Be they colds or Covid, being around others is always a risk of catching whatever they have. But did you ever hear of something socially transmitted that was positive? Well, come to find out, there is at least one. Who would have thunk?

Empathy Is Increased Or Decreased

The researchers of a recent study discovered an interesting finding. Girt Hein, a neuroscientist from the University of Würzburg in Germany, found that seeing someone respond with empathy increased the empathy in others.

“Depending on whether empathic or non-empathic reactions were observed, empathy ratings increased or decreased,” Key takeaway: When you respond empathically toward others, it elicits empathic responses in others. Conversely, observing ambivalence decreased the empathic response in others. So don’t think that your relational behavior goes unnoticed. People see and are influenced by what you demonstrate.

Empathy Benefits

But was it the value of empathy?

Empathy in organizations has several benefits that cannot be ignored. First, people in an empathic environment feel genuinely cared for and appreciated. It generates feelings of worth—that they matter and they are not alone.

Another benefit of an empathic culture is that people are less likely to experience burnout. Stress and overwhelm are understood and shared, generating perseverance to endure situations and periods of intensity.

Also, empathy is one of the factors that improves morale. Studies conducted by McKinsey demonstrated that empathic managers are a significant determinant of employee satisfaction and performance.

Your Opportunity

So, the question to ask yourself is this: do you and your organization value job satisfaction, increased performance and high morale? If so, then you have a role to play by intentionally displaying empathy for your peers and colleagues. Without displayed empathy, you are fostering an organization that most say they don’t want.

Are you building up or tearing down a culture of empathy in your team and firm? There is value in empathy.

The post The Value Of Empathy appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

As you come out of recovery from any intense period (aka busy season), you enter into a season that may be less intense, but still full of activities and responsibilities. Will you enjoy the journey?

Journey Past

For the next four months, you have annual or semi-annual reviews, continuing education opportunities, colleague and client connections and other firm responsibilities. In addition, you have a full personal life—family vacations, personal interests and other activities that beckon your time and energy.

You have a lot going on, don’t you? If you aren’t careful, you will look up and the summer will be over and wonder where the weeks went. Holy smokes!

Journey Present

To protect yourself from this unfortunate demise, there is a popular phrase that really captures it all.

Simply—enjoy the journey. Yes, it’s that simple.

But I’m not the one to write about it. You see, I have an affliction, described in a phrase coined by Phillip Berry, entrepreneur and author. He called it being “arrival-driven.” That’s me. Haahh, is it ever me. He wrote,

“One might argue that we are arrival-driven, that it’s all about getting where we want to go. We’re impatient for completion. Give me my destination so I can begin to enjoy it. I suppose that’s how it is with any goal. Whether it’s time, money, or personal sacrifice, the price we pay is along the way. The payback happens at the end, when we’ve finally arrived.”

I’ve spent the better part of my adult life trying to moderate this affliction. And I’ve made great strides. But every so often, I can still get focused on the end that I forget to enjoy the time and effort—the journey—to get there. I get impatient, frustrated, even fearful that I won’t arrive or accomplish. It only tenses me up so that I stress and fret all the more. Grasping more tightly, I grit and grind to the point that I’m a hot mess with a sore jaw and pounding headache.

But most of the time now, I remember…

Enjoy the journey. Take a breath, calm down, and experience the present moment.

Journey Next

As you enter into this next season, remember to enjoy your journey. You know your own tendencies and what you must do.  You have a few months. It starts now. What can you do today? This week? This month?

Whatever you do, enjoy the journey.

The post Enjoy The Journey appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.

Whenever we experience intense situations, they get encoded into our memory bank. Strong situations can be pleasant or unpleasant, depending on our initial interpretations. They are formed subconsciously and stored as such. By consciously reflecting on our experiences after the fact, we have the ability to use them to our advantage for growth. Coming out of an intense spring season, what did we learn?

Code Your Memories

Sometimes, memories get stored in ways that are less helpful. If all we remember is the overtime, the urgency and the overwhelming volume of work, then our memory will be one that is unpleasant. This is natural and is referred to as the negativity bias. It is designed to keep us alert and safe. But since we really aren’t at risk, we can recode the memories to serve as learning experiences.

For instance, rather than recall a situation as overwhelming, you can reflect on how you came together as a team to pull off a big project. Rather than remember all the extended days finishing up projects, you could recall those situations for the relief and sense of accomplishment you felt when done They are both true, but reflection allows you to choose how you will store the memories so you can learn from them.

Reflect On Your Memories

This is why reflection is a critical ingredient to your professional growth. We get so busy doing the next thing that we don’t hit the pause button to reflect in order to learn. You have to make the time to reflect. Here are three areas for reflection to make them learning memories.

About your work. What can you do now or do better than before the intense situation? Surely, you are more capable now than you were 6 months ago. But because it happened incrementally over time, it is easy to forget, focusing more on the discomfort you experienced in the learning process.

About your team. We all have our foibles, so rather than emphasizing what people are not, why not focus on what they are? What are their superpowers that you appreciate? Who modeled what you want to emulate?

About yourself. How did you manage yourself appropriately in different situations? How are you a better, more capable, and more confident as a person and as a professional?

Act On Your Memories

If you don’t reflect in order to learn, you will miss the growth opportunities you might gain from those memories. Schedule yourself now to reflect on the spring season and begin recoding your experiences into learning memories.

The post Reflect In Order To Learn appeared first on Partners Coach by Guy Gage.