Leadership Transitions

Source: Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders

The following is a complete reprint, reproduced with permission, of an article by Rita Keller.

Inside many CPA firms a change in leadership is imminent. This year, the oldest baby boomers began turning 65, and according to Pew, 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 every day for the next 19 years! That's 76 million.

The oldest baby boomers in CPA firms will be passing the leadership role (managing partner) to the younger baby boomers and, in many cases, to a Gen-X partner. Many of these younger CPA partners have been waiting anxiously for “old Joe” to retire. They want to do things their way and their time is coming.

What I believe often happens is that the younger wave of partners over-adjusts. If the retiring managing partner has been a dictator type, the next wave tends to be way too laid back and lenient. If the exiting leader has been non-confrontational and spent a great deal of time trying to build consensus without making waves nor making much progress, the new group may react too harshly and end up micro-managing everything.

There is something to be said for staying the course (to a certain degree). If your firm has grown and prospered during the last 15 to 20 years, you have probably been doing a lot of things right. Yes, some change is probably overdue, and the last couple of years probably have not been your best. However, there is something to be said for sticking with the things that really do work. There is also something to be said for getting rid of things (and people) that don't.

“Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” – Keri Russell

From Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders, the blog of Rita Keller, president of Keller Advisors, LLC, [email protected], “Drastic vs. Modest Change Inside Your CPA Firm.” Visit http://ritakeller.com/blog/.