What are the top leadership challenges facing CPA firms?
Take a conference room full of CPA firm leaders (CPA firm administrators, CXOs) and break them into small groups, and you get the “wisdom of the crowd.”
That was how we started the Insights to Action session at the AAA National Practice Management Conference in Louisville. Here are the top seven leadership challenges they identified:
- Succession planning
- Accountability and buy-in
- Communication (lack thereof)
- Managing millennials
- Work / life balance
- Leadership development
- Managing change
Others that made the list included technology issues, 24/7 work, shifting priorities, firm growth and client retention. Check out the full list and download the report here.
What can you do about these?
We think it requires a new form of leadership and leadership development — leadership that has the willingness to develop insights about the rapidly changing world and the aptitude to turn those insights into action by inspiring people.
We also think leadership is changing. It has moved from command and control to connect and collaborate, from hierarchy to network, and from push to pull. This requires new approaches and new skills. Done right, leaders can engage people in developing shared insights, align them through shared meaning and purpose, get their commitment and accountability.
Want to see how it can be done? Check out our approach and background at www.bizlearning.net/live/i2astrategicplanning.
Or see how you can develop a shared understanding of the future through our future forum process here.
Here is a copy of my presentation from AAA: