Episode 33: The Truth about Brave Leadership (In Demand Accountant Part 5)

In Episode 33, Sam explores the concept of Brave Leadership. She covers what brave leadership is, how to get started and why it's such a crucial part of being an In Demand Accountant.

Sam explains why you are a leader even if you don’t have a leadership role at work, plus the 5 attributes of brave leadership. These 5 attributes of a brave leader are: being accountable, having difficult conversations, never compromising values, putting resources where your mouth is and giving your job away.

Sam drills down on each of the 5 attributes individually and works through what each means, plus shares some everyday examples of what they look like in accounting firms. Finally, Sam poses some powerful questions to help you reflect on your own bravery and leadership and offers some steps to take to work towards brave leadership in your life and work.

Listen to an excerpt

What we cover in this episode

• What brave leadership is and why we need it now more than ever

• Why you are a leader even if you don’t have a leadership role at work

• What brave leadership looks like in 5 attributes

• How brave leaders stay accountable for their words and actions

• The powerful letter Eisenhower wrote in case of the failure of the D day invasion

• How brave leaders have difficult conversations when necessary

• The importance of being effective over being liked

• Why brave leaders do not compromise on their values or principles

• The ways a brave leader must put their resources where their mouth is

• How brave leaders give their jobs away and empower other people to do what they do

• Practical examples from accounting firms of values-clashes, lack of time/energy/money invested and blocks to empowering others

• Questions to help you reflect on your own bravery and leadership

• Steps to take to work towards brave leadership in life and work

Quotes

“One of the core attributes of being an In Demand Accountant—and I think it's an attribute that we all need right now—is braver leadership. At the moment, obviously, with everything going on, both in our industry and outside, as I think there's a massive call for brave leadership. If there's one superpower that we need, we need radical bravery going forward, not just in what we do every day in our jobs, but also personally and in our communities as well.”

“For this conversation, brave is just doing the right thing, even when it's uncomfortable…But it's not just about mustering courage to face overwhelming odds. It's that making decisions every day. And then leadership means assuming the mantle of responsibility for your sphere of influence that you have…So for everybody listening here to say I'm not a leader’, you are.”

“Ultimately [brave leaders] give their jobs away. They empower other people to do what they do.”

“When we have success or when something goes well, it's very easy for us to then stand up and delve into that success. But it's when you stand up when things go wrong, both for yourself and your team, that you become brave.”

“We have to be able to take responsibility, even when we may not be involved in the execution. If we made the decisions, we need to be able to stand up [and be] willing to accept our responsibility.”

“At BlueprintHQ we spend a lot of time helping people have difficult conversations upfront. And there's such a big element of bravery in it: it’s far easier to avoid having difficult chats with your team, but brave leaders recognise it is more important to be effective than to be liked.”

“One of the things that really blocks change is the braveness that's needed to really put the resources in. But don't just think about it as money, e.g. ‘I paid for the coaching, I paid for consulting, I paid for the software and nothing's happened.’ You've got to put your time and your energy in it [as well].”

“Brave leaders recognise that our jobs are to actually reproduce ourselves, and to train others to ultimately shoulder responsibility…So we need to encourage, teach and empower others.”

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