Is Your Firm Anxiety Ridden?

Source: Partner’s Report

From a presentation by James Metzler at the AICPA Practitioners Symposium in Phoenix. Metzler is vice president, small firm interests, at the AICPA.

Controlling anxiety is one of leadership’s most important responsibilities. Anxiety interferes with rational thinking.

• Anxious firms are characterized by:
• Formation of triangles—A has a problem with B, but instead of talking to B about it, A talks to C.
• People avoid dealing with problems.
• The firm continues to promote its weak areas rather than its strong ones.
• Leaders tend to be either too involved or not involved at all in problems.
• Aloofness permeates the firm.
• Decision-making is either authoritarian or too dependent on consensus.

Anxiety can be reduced by understanding yourself. Once way to gain better self-understanding is to invite feedback from colleagues. Use a SWOT analysis by asking partners to talk to you about their perceptions of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This will help determine whether you’re the cause of a problem.

Leaders contribute to anxiety by:

• Failing to link with others—leaders should:
  • Ask questions to learn what others think.
  • Be good listeners—pay attention. Don’t pretend to listen. Listen for meaning, not just for facts. Don’t interrupt, and don’t listen just for what you want to hear, or for the purpose of finding something to disagree with. Do ask for clarification or for more information.
  • Avoid emotional reactions.
  • Be tranquil, but involved, when others are anxious.
• Don’t try to solve problems. Instead, help people solve their own problems. Avoid giving people answers. Instead, ask them questions to help them find their own answers.
• Talk about the firm’s vision, mission, and values for the purpose of getting everyone on the same page, and to gain agreement about expectations and accountability.

Try to develop the ideal partnership, one where:

• Triangles are avoided.
• Everyone is connected.
• There’s balance between individualism and collective actions.
• Partners try to help each other, as well as staff and clients, to think rationally.
• Decisions are made based on what’s right, rather than on what’s easy.
• Partners allow each other to be emotional at times.
• Partners develop a work/life balance.
• Partners are open with each other about what they expect.

From Partner’s Report—the Monthly Update for CPA Firm Owners, October 2007, p. 1. EXERCISING LEADERSHIP: Reduce Anxiety for a Calmer, More Successful Firm and Partnership. For subscription information contact Institute of Management & Administration, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5902. One-year subscription $399. 212-244-0360, [email protected]. For the complete article, click here.