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Take Your Leadership to the Next Level: Lead Well in All Directions
Is it possible for you to be a good boss and, at the same time, underperform as a leader in your organization? That was the dilemma facing Peter,* a coaching client who served as a manager in the financial services
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Three Ways to Add Depth to Virtual Communications
Videoconferencing, emails, and chat messages fall flat by their very nature. Leaders must take intentional steps to replicate the important connections and informal interactions of the in-person office in a remote workplace. Last fall at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council,
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Flexibility and the workplace of the future: What does that mean?
On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus a global pandemic. Within days, employers across the world sent workers home to work remotely. Soon after that, a Gartner survey of top executives showed that
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Skate Shorter Shifts: A Strategy for Focus
Use this hockey lesson to remain focused amidst distractions. If you’re struggling to stay focused throughout this pandemic, you’re not alone—it’s a recurring theme for workers across organizations and industries. There are countless distractions every day as coronavirus concerns, economic uncertainties,
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From Restless to Rest: 3 Steps to Find Meaning in 2020
While 2020 draws to a close, one prevailing sentiment is, “Good riddance.” As a leader, you may be growing restless to wrap up this year and move forward to a better year in 2021 (whatever that means). Not so fast, I
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Leading Yourself Through a Crisis
Strengthening your self-leadership skills will not only make you a better team leader—it will also empower you to face the stress and distractions of a historic crisis with energy and insight. I will never forget March 9, 2020. The morning started
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This Underrated Leadership Skill is More Important than Ever
Of all the skills leaders need to be successful, active listening may be the most overlooked and underrated. Active listening has become even more vital during the global pandemic, as many organizations work in a remote environment. As a result,
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5 Tools for Mastering Remote Leadership
Effectively leading remote teams is now—and forever will be—an essential leadership competency. March 2020 will always be remembered as the month when the coronavirus pandemic began to escalate in the United States. Professional and college sports paused, many businesses closed their
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Be the CEO of Your Career
Who is the person most responsible for your career success? It’s you! It’s imperative to take ownership of your career trajectory. You need to care more about your career advancement than anyone else. This was true prior to the arrival of
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The Case for Upskilling Your EQ
There are career risks for accounting and finance professionals who forget to develop emotional intelligence alongside technology skills. Upskilling is on a rapid ascent in Google search trends and as a hashtag on social media platforms. The concept is gaining traction
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How to Make the Business Case for Change
McKinsey & Company’s research suggests that 70 percent of change efforts fall short of their objectives or fail altogether. That creates a challenge for you as a leader to obtain approval for change initiatives when you are not the ultimate
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Leading Change with Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a primary driver of leadership effectiveness. Numerous research studies identify EQ as more important than technical skills, industry knowledge, and other factors that set apart top-performing leaders. EQ expert Daniel Goleman credits emotional intelligence for 90%
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How to Build Your Personal Brand
Putting some thought into your personal brand can help you show up as your best self in every business situation. Bill was a senior accountant for a multinational company in the hospitality industry.* Although he enjoyed his job, Bill was unsettled
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5 Ways to Engage Millennial and Gen Z Talent
Lessons learned from Deloitte’s 2019 Millennial Survey. Uneasy. Pessimistic. Dissatisfied. Skeptical. Disillusioned. These words from The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey should give every accounting and finance leader pause. The morale and engagement of millennials (those born between 1983 and 1994), who will
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Lessons on Change from a Night at the Airport
It’s inevitable. It happens at virtually every airport, every day, across the world. Flights are delayed or canceled. Sometimes, it’s weather-related. At other times, maintenance issues, crew schedules, or other logistics are to blame. No matter the cause, the response from
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Want a Better Team? Work on the Team – Not Just as a Team
As a CPA, you’ve probably heard the saying, “you need to work on the business, not just in the business.” Perhaps you’ve given that challenge to a client or colleague at one time or another. I suggest a similar mantra when
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3 Keys to Attracting and Retaining Accounting and Finance Talent
Winning top talent in a tight labor market is one of the CPA profession’s biggest challenges, but it doesn’t have to be. It comes as no surprise to me that “finding qualified staff” and “retaining qualified staff” were among the top
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Employee Engagement and Successful Change
Employee engagement is a crucial driver of several positive business outcomes, such as productivity, employee retention, customer satisfaction, and profitability. What’s often overlooked is the importance of employee engagement in driving successful change. Research by Anna University management professors C.