California CPA July 2023 | Page 12

between a desire ( what they want )— and a need ( what is necessary ). For instance , they might want to hire more people when , in reality , they need to move the team around to take advantage of team strengths and experience .

· Client / Firm Teams Solidifies : By developing a team support model of at least three people ( partner , manager , staff / administrative ), the client can rely on them for any questions . Often used for merger transitions or retiring owners , the team approach allows the client to know they always have someone to talk with for an answer or just to be heard . In addition , it is harder for a client to leave a team than an individual — and it is easier to keep a client if one of the team leaves . See how key a team is ? These connections create institutional memory because of the number of people the client touches .

· Focus on Understanding as Opposed to Knowing : It might seem counter-intuitive , but focusing on knowing , having answers , solutions , etc ., in our consultative work brings narrowness to the conversation , the situation and the level of success — especially in the consultative ( CAS ) role . In many cases , the client has more to offer to the success of what is being worked on than can be imagined — they know themselves better than we might think . That way , we may become more facilitators as well as advisers .

· Communicate : We are all better communicators than we might think . We also have unique styles that might be tapped into for better understanding of how we can help ourselves and others to be more connected . Paying attention to what your current conversational skills are can almost immediately help your connection / relationship with your clients and team members . Looking at how you communicate in different arenas ( home , social , business , family ) can provide ideas about how you can play to your strengths , as well as how you might converse in better ways than you do . Tap into that — maybe you are more relaxed in a certain communication style in business social that might also work better in the professional mode .

· Discover More About How the Client Likes to Communicate : Some may like an agenda or a brainstorming session before getting down to a more conversational process . Some people just like to talk until they are finished , to get it off their minds . Taking time to learn their needs in their interactions can go a long way toward better understanding each other and how you can work together to advance their needs successfully .

· Throttle Back Questions : Questions can put people off ; they can become resistant and sometimes answer the question based on what they think you want to hear . Try more of a “ help me understand ” approach with open-ended questions and more of a “ come alongside ” approach to help people be more involved and collaborative . Also , contextualize your questions within a defined area or topic so people have a frame of reference to help them answer the questions . Sometimes , you can bring a list of questions and talk them through first , so the client knows where you are going .

· Consider Interaction as Important as Questions and Answers : Interaction is that space where what we are communicating and what others are communicating meet . Often , we can find ourselves in a standoff about what you are experiencing

and what others are tracking . In an interactive part of the conversation , it is essential that , between questions and answers , we dialogue about open items , any misunderstandings and what we are thinking . It is where we swap information , clarify , check out what we believe is clear and what they do as well . It is not just Q & A ; it is a place where we acknowledge what we think we are hearing through stopping ourselves from moving forward down a path ; by touching base so we can go down the right path together . You might say : “ This seems like another situation I was working on . May I describe it ?”

· Avoid Lines in the Sand . This is much more than knowing what to do and taking charge while leaving others behind as mentioned above . This is where we find ourselves caught sometimes in , “ This is what we are going to do , period .” When there are two or more sides to an interaction , we could have a lockdown . Are we in an interaction of , “ This is the way we ’ ve always done it ” or some other variation on a theme ? The only way to begin to rectify this is to find out where there is common ground and , from there , advance the process together . If you can come to terms with , and embrace , that each side has its own value , you can create more options . The minute you sense those lines begin to form , whether yours or the clients , pull back to see more about what is happening , then move forward to find common ground .

When CAS is about people , systems , operations , planning , business models , etc ., the whole process / project is about the dynamics of the situation . It is here our conversation and people skills make the difference . These are also essential in firm dynamics , as mentioned . If we can mentor our team members to have conversational skills for client interactions , then those skills will find themselves into all areas of the firm .

Summary We all know that IT and digital came to the rescue . New software , advance protocols and AI were necessary to navigate challenges of the day and , often , it included technology that we needed to address before a pandemic forced us into new challenges and new operating modes . These resources are here to stay , but they also need to be balanced by the soft skills that help make all applications of the digital more successful .

By focusing on what is happening or what happened , through inclusiveness , equal voices and collaborative dialogue , a path to resolution and success is created .

By honoring our personal soft skills at higher octaves and blending our technological skills and capabilities with these soft skills , a more balanced approach and business model can evolve . One without the other creates imbalance and distraction . The simplest road to crisis is when distractions take over .

As a profession , let ’ s be known for our knowledge , skills , technology prowess and for amazing soft skills and conversational tools and accessibility . Clients , team members and the firm can add value and receive value as never before .

Mark H . Fowler is chair of the CalCPA Los Angeles Chapter MAP Committee and president of Stowe Management Corporation . You can reach him at estowemanagement @ aol . com .

10 CALIFORNIA CPA JULY 2023 www . calcpa . org