Leadership Training Is an Oxymoron

We've had a Leadership Training program at our CPA firm for several years, and until this summer it didn't strike me: The phrase is an oxymoron. No, it's not that I don't believe leadership skills can be learned, or that leaders are born and not made. Here's the deal: Leadership development is about learning, not training. Your firm's future leaders, like mine, must be given the opportunities, tools, and motivation to develop their leadership.

The 2010 Innovation Challenge

This summer, my CPA firm embarked on what some might have thought impossible. We wanted to add 'innovative' to the words that described our 48-year-old culture. We believe that innovative ideas can set us apart competitively, increase productivity, and influence the bottom line. And we wanted our rising stars (and some we had not yet seen shining) to have a chance to develop themselves.

So we kicked off a program right after tax day that could only succeed if accountants could be creative: the 2010 Innovation Challenge. I've facilitated professional development programs for accountants and attorneys for more than 10 years, and I'm here to tell you that anyone, in any profession, can feel the joy of creativity.

The Challenge was designed to provide future leaders with the chance to learn innovative thinking, teamwork, presentation skills and discipline. Participants self-selected; everyone except partners was encouraged to participate, and partners were available as resources.

How It Worked

At a kickoff meeting, participants were directed to form teams and register on our Intranet. Each team was to come up with an innovative idea, small or large, that would help the firm. They were to create a business case that demonstrated the idea's benefits, and present that case to management. Selected teams moved forward to creating full business plans. We will commit the resources to implement approved ideas.

No, our people did not have all the skills to do this. Many of the participants didn't know what went into the business case or plan, and most felt their creativity was limited. So we gave them the tools to show themselves that they could do it, and watched them grow and develop.

Workshops

We held lunch workshops every Monday, in which they learned different aspects of the process and, through fun exercises, competed to demonstrate their skills. The first workshop was about Blue Ocean Strategy, an excellent way to show different innovation techniques through familiar examples. (Did you know Henry Ford wasn't in the automobile business? See www.blueoceanstrategy.com) The early workshops helped participants understand that they were all creative in different ways. Then, using fictional examples or articles from the business press, we facilitated in-class exercises that took them from idea generation through research, business case development and presentation, and finally business plan development and presentation.

None of the workshops was difficult to develop or deliver. One of my favorite early examples was simple: Three workshop leaders were starting a new cable network and, using the elements provided to them on picture cards, each team pitched us a programming idea. In another workshop, the challenge was to use the powers of assigned superhero characters to fend off a national competitor threatening their mom-and-pop pizza shop. As the summer continued, we introduced a template for their business case, and used a fictional product (the Kitty De-Sander, for people who take their cats to the beach) to let them try using the template.

Teamwork

The teams took it from there. This was a special project, not to take time away from their billable work, and 17 teams found time to meet, create, and present. Ideas ranged from an iPhone app to a day care center to profitable ways to expand existing services to meet emerging market needs. Seven teams have moved forward to the final business plan competition; their presentations take place the first week of September. Workshops continue to help them learn how the business plan should sell the idea.

Incentives

Yes, we made it fun. The incentives were inexpensive (days off, and the final winners will get a small financial reward) but these future leaders really developed themselves this summer. The real reward was to be able to show their skills in front of our managing partners. They showed discipline, focus, and teamwork.

Conclusion

I am more convinced than ever that leaders are made, not born. But as educators, we don't make them. We plant the seeds, provide fertilizer, sun and water, and watch them grow!

This article first appeared in Law Firm Partnership & Benefits Report, a sister publication of this newsletter.

We've had a Leadership Training program at our CPA firm for several years, and until this summer it didn't strike me: The phrase is an oxymoron. No, it's not that I don't believe leadership skills can be learned, or that leaders are born and not made. Here's the deal: Leadership development is about learning, not training. Your firm's future leaders, like mine, must be given the opportunities, tools, and motivation to develop their leadership.

The 2010 Innovation Challenge

This summer, my CPA firm embarked on what some might have thought impossible. We wanted to add 'innovative' to the words that described our 48-year-old culture. We believe that innovative ideas can set us apart competitively, increase productivity, and influence the bottom line. And we wanted our rising stars (and some we had not yet seen shining) to have a chance to develop themselves.

So we kicked off a program right after tax day that could only succeed if accountants could be creative: the 2010 Innovation Challenge. I've facilitated professional development programs for accountants and attorneys for more than 10 years, and I'm here to tell you that anyone, in any profession, can feel the joy of creativity.

The Challenge was designed to provide future leaders with the chance to learn innovative thinking, teamwork, presentation skills and discipline. Participants self-selected; everyone except partners was encouraged to participate, and partners were available as resources.

How It Worked

At a kickoff meeting, participants were directed to form teams and register on our Intranet. Each team was to come up with an innovative idea, small or large, that would help the firm. They were to create a business case that demonstrated the idea's benefits, and present that case to management. Selected teams moved forward to creating full business plans. We will commit the resources to implement approved ideas.

No, our people did not have all the skills to do this. Many of the participants didn't know what went into the business case or plan, and most felt their creativity was limited. So we gave them the tools to show themselves that they could do it, and watched them grow and develop.

Workshops

We held lunch workshops every Monday, in which they learned different aspects of the process and, through fun exercises, competed to demonstrate their skills. The first workshop was about Blue Ocean Strategy, an excellent way to show different innovation techniques through familiar examples. (Did you know Henry Ford wasn't in the automobile business? See www.blueoceanstrategy.com) The early workshops helped participants understand that they were all creative in different ways. Then, using fictional examples or articles from the business press, we facilitated in-class exercises that took them from idea generation through research, business case development and presentation, and finally business plan development and presentation.

None of the workshops was difficult to develop or deliver. One of my favorite early examples was simple: Three workshop leaders were starting a new cable network and, using the elements provided to them on picture cards, each team pitched us a programming idea. In another workshop, the challenge was to use the powers of assigned superhero characters to fend off a national competitor threatening their mom-and-pop pizza shop. As the summer continued, we introduced a template for their business case, and used a fictional product (the Kitty De-Sander, for people who take their cats to the beach) to let them try using the template.

Teamwork

The teams took it from there. This was a special project, not to take time away from their billable work, and 17 teams found time to meet, create, and present. Ideas ranged from an iPhone app to a day care center to profitable ways to expand existing services to meet emerging market needs. Seven teams have moved forward to the final business plan competition; their presentations take place the first week of September. Workshops continue to help them learn how the business plan should sell the idea.

Incentives

Yes, we made it fun. The incentives were inexpensive (days off, and the final winners will get a small financial reward) but these future leaders really developed themselves this summer. The real reward was to be able to show their skills in front of our managing partners. They showed discipline, focus, and teamwork.

Conclusion

I am more convinced than ever that leaders are made, not born. But as educators, we don't make them. We plant the seeds, provide fertilizer, sun and water, and watch them grow!

This article first appeared in Law Firm Partnership & Benefits Report, a sister publication of this newsletter.