by Michael Scott

In the accounting profession, we are always learning and undertaking training as there are always changes to the tax legislation that we need to be across; however, this training is always focused on improving our technical abilities only. This is why when invited to take part, I eagerly accepted the offer to undertake some leadership training to help round out my leadership capabilities. Over the past 8 months myself, and 14 other team members from throughout the Brentnalls network have undertaken the Brentnalls Leadership Hub Program. This Program has been run by Courageous Leaders and facilitated by Kevin Holloway who has been a knowledgeable and insightful instructor and coach.

The Program comprised of 8 monthly group face to face (via teams) presentations and discussions with a new topic each month. Each session stood alone but by the 3rd or 4th session we could see how each new topic was building on the previous learnings. The most helpful part of the course though was the habit builder, which ran for 21 days after each presentation and required us to check in daily to make sure that we were putting into practice what we had learnt. I found it to be very valuable in keeping what I had learnt in the forefront of my mind. We also had a buddy from the program (new buddy each month) which kept us accountable to completing our required check-ins.

The program covered the following topics:

• Leadership is not a title, it’s a mindset
• Self-Management;
• Developing your delegator talent;
• Supporting high performance;
• Feedback conversations that empower change;
• Deepening trust; and
• Taming the advice monster in coaching

There were a few concepts which were harder to grasp and a few difficult conversations, but there were also some real breakthroughs. I think for me personally, I’ve found the confidence to delegate the jobs I need to, which will allow me to do my own job effectively and to trust other staff that with the right training and support they will be able to perform to the same level (if not better!) I’ve also learnt the importance of growing trust not only with you clients, but also within your own team, which will empower them to develop their skills much quicker than they otherwise would.

The program culminated with the Brentnalls national network conference on the Gold Coast in March. This was where the success of the program really shone – as several of the participants had only been to a few conferences (if any) and now suddenly there was an immediate group of friends from across all the firms which meant that rather than trying to meet a few people for the first time, there were already strong connections which could be further built upon.

I’d like to publicly thank the Brentnalls Executive Committee and the directors of Harris Black for running this course and for my invitation to attend.