From Manager to Leader

Petikan artikel dari majalah Accontants Today , November/December 2013, Vol.26 No.6

An accounting professional’s role has evolved and expanded over time. From being a preparer of financial statements and steward of assets, accountant are now taking on more challenging roles. They are business and financial analysts, corporate planners and cost controllers. Eventually, they will ascend to various managerial functions in their organisations.

However, most of these professionals have assumed managerial roles based on job progression instead of their leadership skills and readiness to take on such leadership roles. As a result, there are more managers instead of leaders in the accounting and finance fraternity. But in today’s volatile environment, managers urgently need to become leaders to help their organisation operate more effectively.

What’s the significant difference between leadership and management? Leaders have followers who follow them by choice. Managers have been assigned subordinates based on their roles and responsibilities. While leaders lead by influence, managers manage based on the power entrusted or delegated to them. Leaders normally have followers who subscribe to their beliefs while managers have subordinates based on control systems and procedures.

Leadership vs. Management

In order to properly educate and groom accountants to become leaders, it is vital to ingrain a sound understanding on the difference between leadership and management in order to help them balance and carry out their roles and responsibilities more effectively and qualitatively.

Leadership is a relationship of influence among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes.

Management can be defined as the attainment of organisational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling organisational resources.

In ‘The Leadership Experience’, Richard L. Daft said that managers and leaders are not inherently different types of people; many managers already possess the abilities and qualities needed to be good leaders. Both leadership and management are essential in organisations and both need to be integrated effectively to lead to high performance.

Meanwhile, Peter Drucker said in ‘Essential Drucker: Management, the Individual and Society’ that management is doing things right while leadership is doing the right things.

 Why being a manager doesn’t work anymore

One of the most glaring reasons why being a manager doesn’t really work anymore is because the preferences of the new generations (Generation Y and Z,digital natives) have changed. These newgenerations value open communication, teamwork and collaboration as opposed to the previous management style that was based on bosses giving directions and expecting subordinates to simply follow just because they are in charge. They seek to underst and their bosses and peers’ perspective and do not perform well in a controlled environment.

This generation is defined by the internet and believe that anything is possible. They no longer place an emphasis on academic qualifications but seek a more holistic approach to life and career. Hence, more time is spent building relationships with their teams rather than merely sitting at their desks to complete tasks.

This new breed is also more social, optimistic and has high expectations to excel with a focus on making a difference. They tend to look for more challenging and meaningful careers which are more qualitative in nature. They expect to be led by leaders who have similar traits rather than managers who merely emphasise on getting things done. They also value their personal and family time and are willing to work hard and more productively by leveraging on technology in order to leave work early and enjoy a better work/life balance. They expect their managers or leaders to be conscious of their working styles and needs.

This new generation of professionals would follow a leader who has good interpersonal skills and who has a heart or empathy, as opposed to managers who do not possess such qualities.

Change or Perish

However, Gen Y which predominates in the current entry level or mid-level workforce is being managed by Baby Boomers or Generation X who typically possess different working styles. Logic says that to succeed, leaders and managers needto change the way they lead and manage
their team.

Managers and leaders are the main catalysts and motivators of change in any organisation. They will need to take the lead in order to facilitate the change in this new era rather than trying to maintain the status quo. They will need to articulate values that promote adaptability and demonstrate courage to recognise and learn from their own mistakes and make changes in order to satisfy the new generations who will become future leaders.

In response to generational change, corporate culture is becoming less rigid. The most successful organisations and icons of the 21st century – think Google and Apple - are relaxed and fun, stimulating creativity and innovation. It might be worthwhile for a manager with a young team to delegate more autonomy and refrain from frequent monitoring because the digital generation values independence.

The new esprit of organisations is also changing job specs. Based on the current job advertisements in the accounting and finance fraternity, many potential employers of accounting professionals, locally or globally, seek qualitative skills in addition to technical competency. It is clear that on top of academics and relevant work
experience, employers are looking for accounting professionals with leadership and excellent communication skills in order to groom more leaders among the new generation.

In Pursuit of Change

Although change does not happen quickly or easily, good leaders can help their organisations adapt to changing trends in terms of management and leadership styles to cater to the needs of the new breed of professionals who form the bulk of the workforce. Change need not happen from the top; neither does it take the one at the top to be a change leader. Change can happen if more finance managers decide to take ownership of their own leadership styles in order to become more effective finance leaders, and to ensure sustainable value creation.

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Patricia Francis is a Financial Consultant at CustomCodes (a subsidiary of Mesiniaga Berhad). She can be contacted at patricia. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Opinions and views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of CustomCodes or Mesiniaga Group of Companies.