Leadership in Accounting: You and Your Team

The terms leadership and management are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. However, every organization needs both in order to function at its best. Your Pennsylvania accounting or CPA firm is no different.

The roles of a leader and a manager can intersect, but there are clear distinctions. While the leader provides vision, the manager provides process. Your accounting firm will need both. Not every leader is a manager, but every manager ideally should be a leader.

As a leader for your accounting firm, you provide the vision for the future, the goals toward which you strive as a team, and the strategies to get there. A good leader does not dictate from the top down; a good leader gathers input from the team, but in a way that inspires them to think of long-term, creative goals. As a leader, you also need to be able to respond to sudden changes or shifts in the market and the tax/accounting environment. You should be able to offer agile and creative new approaches, perhaps outside-the-box ideas, and perhaps as a result of brainstorming with your team, to make important and valuable changes. A leader isn’t afraid of taking risks when the situation calls for it, but is not reckless.

As a leader of your firm, you need to provide motivation and mentoring, building positive morale and a shared desire to reach the destination on the horizon. Leaders think about people, support their team members’ own individual strengths, mentor them in their careers, and encourage them to develop leadership skills.

A manager is critical to put the leader’s vision and strategies into practice and make sure the firm reaches its destination. While leadership is somewhat undefined, management science has been honed over the years. Administrative theory, developed from 14 principles and 5 functions of management, was defined in a book published in 1916, authored by a French businessman named Henri Fayol. He divided management into 5 functions:

Obviously, the manager’s skills are key to the application of the leader’s vision. But you can also see that leadership needs to pervade every step of management, as well. Management focuses on process, leadership focuses on people. Management organizes work; leadership leads and inspires the staff in fulfilling the work. Management monitors performance, leadership motivates greater performance.

A leader can be found at every level of a team. Any team member who inspires or encourages other team members to be the best they can be and shows initiative that is respected by other staff is a leader. But you can see that, if a manager is also a leader, every process will run more efficiently, guaranteeing greater success for the company.

While some people are said to be “born leaders,” leadership skills can also be learned. Many books and seminars are available, and some universities offer online or in-person courses in leadership principles. You may also want to find a mentor who can help you develop any characteristics of leadership that you feel you may need to strengthen.

Our PSTAP members collaborate through our online discussion group, PSTAPexchange, asking questions and sharing information. Many friendships and business collaborations have grown out of this strong fellowship. You may find some advice and mentorship through our own PSTAP members.

PSTAP supports CPAs and accountants by providing training, CPE courses, and support. If you are not a member, learn about the many advantages of membership HERE.