| Making the move into leadership is challenging for most | | | | retain the depth of expertise in your professional |
| people. For accountants making the transition from a | | | | discipline (the vertical piece of the 'T') but need to be |
| highly technical role to a leadership role, it can be even | | | | competent across a whole range of business areas |
| more demanding. So what are 6 common barriers | | | | (the horizontal piece of the 'T'). Too often accountants |
| accountants need to overcome to successfully | | | | fall into the trap of focusing all of their attention on the |
| transition to leadership roles? | | | | vertical piece of the 'T' |
| Barrier 1: Letting go of the detail | | | | Barrier 4: Not using time effectively |
| A lot of the work of accountants is about detail and | | | | The one thing you cannot change is the amount of |
| tasks. When you make the transition into financial | | | | time in a day. What you can influence and change is |
| leadership the landscape changes. You become | | | | how you allocate and use the time available to you. If |
| responsible for financial strategy and the long term | | | | you are to maintain some level of sanity you need to |
| health of the organisation. Too often accountants get | | | | get competent at effectively using your time. |
| stuck in score keeping mode. | | | | Barrier 5: Not spending time developing your team |
| Barrier 2: Lacking the right support | | | | You have probably heard a hundred times before that |
| Anyone who is in or has ever been in the top job in | | | | your team is a key foundation in your success. While |
| Finance will tell you just how vital it is to have the right | | | | you might have heard this before, the question is |
| support in place. A key role is your number two. The | | | | making the investment in developing your team? |
| individual in this role needs to be confident and capable | | | | Barrier 6: Not focusing on results |
| of running the department day to day so that you do | | | | As a leader you are tasked with delivering results. |
| not constantly get dragged into routine activities. | | | | Make sure that you keep your focus on delivering |
| Barrier 3: Gaps in skill set | | | | results otherwise you run the risk of getting caught up |
| When you move into a leadership role you become | | | | on doing things rather than delivering results. |
| what I call 'T' shaped. What I mean by this is that you | | | | |