This blog stems from my corporate days when we did the Gallup Culture survey.  I happened to get good scores and I got a lot of questions from my accounting peers on what I was doing to be in the top 95%.  I wasn’t much help because my primary answer was “Genuinely care for them.  People can tell.”  But accountant types want a task list.  So, I tried to think harder so I could be more helpful here.

Most accountants are likely to be task-oriented, rational professionals focused on projects, deadlines, and getting things right. There’s value in that — accounting attracts people who like structure and logic — but leadership requires something more.

Over the course of my career in finance, audit, and consulting, I’ve learned that strong teams are not built only on technical ability. It’s a pre-requisite, but to differentiate, culture matters.  It was Peter Drucker who is credited with saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The idea behind it is that even the best strategy will fail if the culture doesn't support it.  Ultimately leadership creates culture.  Being relational, engaging your team and mentoring them is a culture.  It says they are your product – the team will provide your accounting results.  

Be a Human Being First

One of the ways one of my peers tried to develop employee relationships was to create more tasks.  So, she took every one of her employees to lunch once a month. She was disciplined about this, which I respected, but what I heard from her employees was that they kind of dreaded these lunches.  They didn’t know what to say; they were awkward; they didn’t already know her.

Lunches are great if the daily conversations precede it. Simple conversations matter. Ask how their kids are doing. Ask about their weekend.  How is their current project going? And not just “Is it almost done?” but, “Are you enjoying it?” Those moments help people feel comfortable and cared for, which makes collaboration easier and work more effective.

Leadership positions can naturally feel intimidating, so small efforts to connect personally go a long way toward building trust.

Solve Problems Together

One leadership habit I try to avoid is handing someone a problem and leaving them to figure it out alone. It’s easy to unintentionally create stress by saying, “Here’s the issue — go fix it.”  Letting them do that for a period is good delegation, but you still need to check in and ask what solutions are being tried.

When employees know they’re supported, problems become shared responsibilities instead of personal burdens.

Just as important is knowing that blaming individuals only damages trust. I want people to know that when something goes wrong, we will fix it together and move forward together. The alternative is people will hide problems, and then you will have surprises.  You want people to know they can say “I think this got messed up,” and severe anxiety and blaming won’t be the result.  You will be there to help make them know that doesn’t reduce their value, that problems are part of life, and that you are going to figure out the answer together as a team.

Care About the Person, Not Just the Task

Accounting and finance professionals are often trained to focus on efficiency and results, but leadership requires stepping into empathy as well.  Engagement, people having a why, feeling what they do has purpose, is a great motivator.  I remember a colleague who totally missed this.  She was asked if her people were engaged.  She said she kept them very busy.  Not a problem.  But being busy and feeling that what you do matters are two very different things.

Sometimes that means offering career advice with the employee’s best interests in mind, not just what is easiest for the organization. I try to ask myself whether I would give the same advice to a son, daughter, neighbor, or friend. If the answer is no, then it probably isn’t the right guidance.

Even tough conversations should come from a place of genuine care.

There also needs to be balance — leaders can be relational while still staying pushing for execution. It’s just also realizing that getting everyone in the right place and into work that suits them is likely to increase productivity.