but there has to be accountability.
by anthony zecca
leading from the edge
editor’s note: zecca’s new book, “leading from the edge – creating a standout, high-performing organization,” focuses on the leadership needed for accounting firms to succeed in a future of seismic disruptors. in this special series, he addresses key aspects of “edge leadership” and the challenges most accounting firm leaders (all leaders for that matter) are facing today. the first article in this series focused on strategy because leading a firm without a strategic roadmap is like walking on a treadmill – no matter how fast you move or how long you tread, you end up just looking at the same wall.
a characteristic of a great “edge” leader is the ability to empower everyone, understanding that your responsibility is to lead and not manage as a leader. if a leader does not have the confidence in their leadership and/or their leadership team to empower those who they lead, the result is managing everything versus leading everyone.
more: the art of leadership, lesson one: strategy
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why is empowerment the second leadership concept in this series? a characteristic of a great “edge” leader is the ability to empower everyone, understanding that, as a leader, your responsibility is to lead and not manage. if leaders do not have the confidence in their leadership and/or their leadership team to empower those who they lead, the result is managing everything versus leading everyone.
empowerment is a topic that is covered in many leadership courses, seminars, and conferences. it is often a topic at many partner meetings talking about firm performance and culture.
the fact is that empowerment is not a buzzword that can be tossed about at a firm meeting or in a recruiting brochure or at a team meeting. a buzzword means just that – noise, like a fly buzzing in your ear. true empowerment exists and thrives when leaders provide the tools, training, resources, and clear expectations regarding results. empowerment works when there is accountability for the expected results. it never works when it is just talking with no accountability or when the effort is the success metric for accountability versus results.
a definition for empowerment from my book that was stated by ken blanchard is “empowerment means that people have the freedom to act. it also means that they are accountable for results.” simple and clear, linking empowering the team to create accountability for the results. every firm and every firm leader constantly focuses on making the firm better; however, that is defined within each firm. great firm leaders are not satisfied with better – what they focus on is creating a standout, high-performing firm. empowerment is essential in any firm that wants to be a standout, high-performing firm. it creates an environment where good decisions are made every day, all team members perform responsibly, goals are more than words on a performance evaluation and leaders can lead and not have to manage.
a standout characteristic of an edge leader is the confidence to empower. empowerment done wrong can be risky and could result in a ton of unintended consequences. two key reasons why leadership in many firms lacks the courage to empower their teams are:
- lack of trust in their teams and/or
- lack of confidence to lead versus the comfort of managing.
reason #1 is that a leader’s trust in their team is something that is built over time and based on successful experience. when a leader’s experience with members of the team is that intended results are rarely achieved or decisions being made are simply wrong, it is impossible for the leader to build trust in the team. a leader must have trust in their teams to get things done, to make the right decisions, and achieve the agreed-upon results if empowerment is going to be alive and well in the firm.
empowerment is not a decree but a cultural imperative that takes root over time. once the decision is made to empower, there needs to be firmwide training on, among other things:
- what it means;
- how to make effective decisions;
- how to establish and communicate boundaries;
- how to establish and communicate expectations; and
- clarity on accountability and its consequences.
it takes time to create a firm where empowerment is understood and successfully practiced. it takes consistency in communication from the firm leader and leadership team, and it takes patience while the culture of empowerment takes hold.
reason #2 is that many leaders don’t have the confidence in their own leadership to give up the comfort of managing day-to-day versus leading the firm to a future vision. from leading from the edge, “one of the biggest obstacles to a firm realizing its potential; its partners and staff realizing their potential; and a firm leader maximizing his impact on the trajectory of the firm, is when the line between leading and managing gets blurred. too often, center leaders believe their job is telling everyone what to do and how to do it (managing things) versus providing the tools, authority, and clarity on the firm’s strategic objectives and then getting out of the way (edge leadership). leadership at its most basic level is about inspiring everyone toward a common shared vision and ensuring that the decision-making hierarchy is clear and consistent with the firm’s mission and core values. edge leadership is not about tactics and how things are done, but about making sure everyone is doing the right things with accountability for results.”
great leadership requires courage – courage to lead and not manage. it requires the leader to trust their team, recognizing that their success in leading depends on trust – trust in their leadership by the team and the leadership’s trust in their teams. outstanding leadership does not depend on the authority to lead but the trust to lead. empowerment can only exist where the leader has the courage to empower, the willingness to trust, and the confidence to take the necessary actions to ensure empowerment is successful.
leading through empowerment does not mean you jump off the cliff and just empower everyone. successful empowerment requires clarity surrounding boundaries relating to what everyone is empowered to do. for example, empowerment does not mean that a staff person can contractually bind the firm or that a partner can terminate a staff person. empowerment must align with and reflect boundaries that are appropriate to the individual and their role within the firm. even the ceo of the firm is not empowered to make every decision as there are or should be boundaries established by the executive committee or other governing body establishing a hierarchy of decision-making authority.
effective empowerment requires actions that empower. i have seen the following scenario play out in far too many firms: let’s say john is a practice leader for an industry group in a firm. john tells the team, “i want you to have the authority to deal with day-to-day issues that arise. come to me as appropriate when an issue requires my input.” john’s words are followed with his action of constantly checking with everyone about what they are doing and telling them what to do. john has not empowered anyone. a good question is why don’t team members push back on john? the primary reason why team members pay lip service to empowerment and don’t push back when their leader’s actions are inconsistent with empowerment is that they don’t want or are afraid of the other side of the empowerment coin – accountability. they are afraid because the history in the firm is that empowerment and accountability are simply a blame game and it’s easier to not push back and avoid the blame game.
just think about it. you are on a team where the team leader is making most decisions and if things go wrong, why would any team member want to be held accountable for the results? when employees would rather let their leader make all the decisions because they are afraid of accountability, that is a failure of leadership.
empowerment requires delegation, authority to make decisions, understanding the expected deliverables or results, and the tools and resources to get the job done. finally, all team members require a clear understanding of the boundaries of their decision-making authority.
as howard schultz, ceo of starbucks, stated regarding empowerment, “people want guidance, not rhetoric. they need to know what the plan of action is and how it will be implemented. they want to be given responsibility to help solve the problems and the authority to act on it.” said another way, a standout, high-performing firm requires great edge leadership, a future vision that is based on a sound longer-term strategic plan, and a culture of empowerment that creates a sense of ownership and responsibility for success throughout the firm.
the next article in this series will focus on “the art of leadership – accountability.” empowerment without accountability is like making ice without water – it can’t be done. there are many ways to establish accountability, and, like empowerment, accountability does not happen because the leader talks about accountability.
let’s start the conversation.