What Can You Learn from Best Firm Award Recipients?
By Jon Lokhorst, CSP, CPA, PCC Your Best Leadership LLC Earlier this fall, Accounting Today released its 2023 Best Firms to Work For results, with two Minnesota-based firms scoring high in the midsized employer category. Ranking third among 53 midsized was St. Paul-based Mahoney. Coming in eighteenth was Global Tax Network (GTN), which is headquartered in Maple
5 Tips for Creating an Impactful Off-Site Team Retreat
When was the last time you pulled your team away from the daily grind to work on the team, not just as a team? The best leaders recognize the need to get off the hamster wheel of never-ending operational tasks to focus on building a cohesive, high-performing team. An off-site retreat is one of the
How Assessments Can Help You Lead Well in All Directions
By Jon Lokhorst, CPA, PCC Is it possible for you to be a good boss and, at the same time, underperform or even fail as a leader in your organization? That was the opening question during Mission-Critical Leadership: How Smart Managers Lead Well in All Directions, a full-day training experience offered during PICPA’s 125th Annual Meeting and
5 Tips for Leading a Hybrid Workforce
Performance, productivity, and … proximity bias? Leaders navigating hybrid work environments have new risks to watch for when trying to level up their leadership skills. We’re two-plus years into the ever-changing COVID era, and employers and employees alike are wondering what the future of work will look like. “Employees are happier and more productive when they
How Savvy Leaders can Surf the Turnover Tsunami
Consistent and meaningful one-on-one check-ins are one key to keeping your—and your organization’s—head above water. The great resignation that swept many organizations up in a turnover tsunami doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. According to Fidelity’s Financial Resolutions Study, 39 percent of workers plan to look for a new job in 2022, and that number
Use a 360-Degree Approach to Get Feedback on Leading Change
By Jon Lokhorst, CPA, PCC Leading change has always been a high-risk, high-reward proposition. That’s become even more true throughout the significant, unplanned change of the COVID pandemic. This rapid, constant change also makes it difficult for leaders to gauge their effectiveness, especially when many of their team members are working remotely. The best leaders address this
Build Your Leadership Capacity on a Strong Personal Foundation
Jayden,* a newly appointed supervisor, approached me with a question at the end of a leadership program. “What can I do to advance quickly as a leader in my company?” he asked. Jayden was surprised when I responded, “Start by building a strong personal foundation.” As I went on to tell Jayden, you can’t build a
Executive Coaching and Leading Change
Leading change is one of the most stressful responsibilities of leadership. Change initiatives require heavy workloads, long hours, and helping others navigate the change process. It’s a lonely endeavor as leaders often have to go it alone due to the sensitive nature of change. It’s no surprise that a Korn Ferry survey found leading change one
How to Change Through Coaching
Coaching continues to gain traction as a tool for personal and professional development. In a recent survey, 87% of leaders rated their work with a coach as mostly or very effective. Ninety-five percent of them said they would hire a coach again. Coaching is a great resource to launch and/or grow a CPA practice. Many practitioners
Thrive — Don’t Just Survive — This Busy Season: 3 Tips To Coach Yourself To The Finish Line
Note: this article was originally published in the Minnesota Society of CPAs Public Practice e-Newsletter. No matter what your role is, the first few months of the year are likely to be crunch time for one reason or another. If you’re in public accounting, April 17 marks the finish line for the annual race known as tax
