Equip. Engage. Empower. E’s your way to an effective team

Richard Brewin • March 29, 2018

Q1:   How does a team perform without leadership, the right tools, an understanding of the plan and the confidence to use their skills and expertise?

Q2:   How does a firm succeed if it’s team isn’t performing?

The answer to both, of course, is the same… It doesn’t!

Obvious isn’t it, but often I meet accountants hoping for, or even expecting a different answer.  A firm needs its team to perform but frustration can lead to the blame for under-performing being put at their door before they’ve been given a fair opportunity to do so.

I regularly throw out a challenge at our group mastermind sessions:

“Give me an example of a perceived failing in your team and I will show you how it is your fault”

People do stupid things but the point I make is that failings can more often be traced back to failings in leadership, management, communication, systems and processes, recruitment, training, development, roles and responsibilities…and guess who is ultimately responsible for that lot?

Only once those aspects are running clearly can we then engage and empower the team. That is then three very clear steps:

  1. E quip them with the right tools
  2. E ngage them into your culture, vision and plan
  3. E mpower them to embrace their role

Team days are the vehicle for both launching and sustaining this more strategic, holistic approach. Not the adrenaline fuelled ‘stag do’ style favoured by some male driven corporates but a day where we get everyone together, treat them a bit special and begin the process of engagement that will evolve them into becoming a core component of your success rather than a perceived barrier to it.

We facilitate such days but only once the plan is clear, the culture is understood and the leadership performance is right.

Like I said, everything starts with you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why your accounting firm is unique

By Richard Brewin • June 5, 2025
All accountants are the same! We’ve all heard it said. It’s nonsense, of course, but, when you are asked what it is that your firm does that differentiates it from other accounting firms, it can be a challenge to come up with something tangible.  Accounting firms tend to offer similar services, that’s what makes them accounting firms. Differentiating from competitors based upon services provided is therefore an issue.

Will MTD ITSA be the next big gift from the accounting profession

By Richard Brewin • April 2, 2025
Question… Should accountants charge for the additional work and obligations they will have when MTD ITSA finally comes into play next April? Not sure? Let me ask another one… Should business owners and taxpayers be expected to pay for the work that their accountant does for them and for the expertise that they receive? Put down in black and white, the answer seems obvious but there are many in the profession who are losing sleep over this issue.

“Accountants can’t or won’t sell”

By Richard Brewin • February 25, 2025
Accountants selling to their clients is a topic as old as the profession itself. I regularly hear criticism from those looking to monetise the accountants’ relationships with their clients that “accountants can’t sell”. I also come across an attitude within the profession that “accountants shouldn’t sell to their clients…it’s unprofessional…it’s not what my clients expect”.  Let’s tackle the issue.