A survey of managing partners in an international alliance found that 85% of managing partners say they need younger leaders to step up, yet 93% of young leaders say managing partners won’t invest in them. Furthermore, 100% of the managing partners say it will cost the firm significantly to replace an emerging leader and 89% of the emerging leaders say managing partners won’t invest in travel to train them.
Accounting firm leaders constantly say they need quality people, yet far too often they allow years to slip by without addressing the development needs of their team beyond the mandatory technical CPE. It’s a fairly common explanation that largely comes down to not being willing to invest the dollars or time to make it happen.
Somehow there is an expectation that people will join a firm, identify their individual development needs, and then make the necessary investment in themselves in order to be a true asset for the firm. To be fair, there are a certain number of people who are willing to make that investment in themselves and these are the self-motivated, quality people who are your future leaders. However, it cannot be a one way street. The firm must be willing to match a rising star’s investment or risk the possibility that another firm will. Often, through a lack of initiative on the firm’s part, the rising star ends up moving to another firm in order to find the type of development opportunity they need to progress their career.
In other cases, your firm may have a number of undiscovered stars who need someone to see their potential, provide encouragement, and set a career path before them that allows their star to shine. Not every person you invest in will prove your intuition correct and some simply won’t grow, even when given the opportunity. A CEO once said to me, “What if I invest in them and they leave?” To that I simply respond: what if you don’t invest in them and they stay?
Below are several leadership investment opportunities to consider that have a proven track record of helping people and their firms grow:
- Have young leaders network at The Rainmaker Companies 2019 SuperConference in Atlanta, June 18-20. At this year’s meeting you can take advantage of seven tracks available for an array of people who are focused either on a niche practice, growth and innovation ideas, or practice management best practices.
- Send senior managers and young partners to The Rainmaker Academy, a one-year program with an enormous ROI that has been part of building accounting firm leaders for over 25 years.
- Send your three-five year rising stars to The Rainmaker Prodigy series, a virtual, live training series dedicated to building future leaders in your firm.
- Access today’s leading curriculum through The Rainmaker Companies Essentials series, which allows your internal staff to deliver out-of-the-box, exclusive Rainmaker-developed content to match your young leaders’ greatest needs.
- Get your team networked through The Rainmaker Communities, which has five niche associations for your practice leaders and their teams.
Next Steps
For more information about Leadership development skills and how to best employ them in your role, please Contact Us to schedule a complimentary phone consultation. The Rainmaker Companies can help you Grow Your Firm, Grow Your Practice, or Grow Your Self.
Patrick Pruett – Executive Vice President at The Rainmaker Companies
