Why accountants get stuck—and how to step forward

Accountants are exceptionally good at saving the day. This is a strength, but eventually, it can also be a ceiling. Kelli Thompson, an executive coach who works closely with high-performing, detail-driven professionals, knows exactly why so many accountants get stuck in "doer" mode long after they're capable of leading. 

Here, Thompson unpacks the mindset shifts required to move from being the expert in the room to facilitating expertise across a team, why imposter feelings are a normal part of growth and how to stop chasing the dopamine hit of checking boxes. It's a must-read for anyone ready to step back and lead forward.

— Interview by Janet Berry-Johnson, edited by Bianca Prieto

Accountants sometimes tend to be detail-oriented doers. What mindset shifts are necessary for professionals who want to evolve into confident, strategic leaders?

The key here is desire. Step one, they have to desire to move beyond the details. In my work with accountants, or in any detail-oriented profession, if there is no desire to move beyond the weeds and the details, it usually just doesn't work out because they're always going to be pulled back.

So, number one, do they have the desire to move beyond the details?

And number two, it's just noticing how easily we fall into completion bias, and how good it feels to check things off a list or get into an Excel spreadsheet and have all the numbers add up. We get a little zing from getting that done. 

The mindset shift that needs to happen is really making the leap from doer to leader. When we're doers, we jump in to save the day, we do the calculations ourselves and we come up with all the numbers to be the hero.

That mindset shift you have to make is delegating those things, even work you enjoy doing for the client. That can really be hard for our egos to understand because we have to move beyond that dopamine hit we get from doing.

Slow down and recognize how you can get comfortable coaching others to serve clients and solve problems. How can you step back and pause one moment longer before you jump in?

That mindset shift is huge, but it starts with desire.

What advice do you have for accounting professionals who struggle with imposter syndrome but want to build confidence in leadership roles?

All good leaders I know struggle with impostor feelings at some point. Impostor feelings are often a systemic issue that comes from not seeing people who look like us in the rooms where decisions are made. And at the top of many CPA firms, there are still a lot of men.

But let's not confuse impostor syndrome with normal, healthy, everyday doubt. Doubt is a normal, healthy human emotion, and we're going to feel it every time we stretch our comfort zone.

I've interviewed some of the best leaders in the world, like Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo. They moved her all around Pepsi, and I asked her, “Weren't you nervous and scared all the time, just hopping into these new roles you didn't know anything about?” And she said, “Oh, yeah, all the time. But you learn how to lead while also feeling doubt.” 

So the key is, instead of saying to yourself, “I want this leadership role, but first I need to feel confident,” we need to change the words, “but first” to “while also.” You can apply for this leadership role while also feeling a little bit like an imposter. 

You can step into this leadership role while also feeling doubt because the action of doing these things, while also feeling nervous, produces confidence. The actions come first; the feelings come second. So confidence is actually a side effect of taking action.

So the advice I have is to do these leadership things while also feeling doubt, nerves and awkwardness. There's no way around it.

How can accountants start developing leadership skills before they're officially in a leadership position?

Volunteer for larger, more complex clients. Coach a peer if you see them struggling. There are many ways to develop leadership in your daily work.

A good way to identify those opportunities is to see if something makes you feel a little bit scared, a little bit nervous or a little bit doubtful about taking it on. That’s a good opportunity because it will help you develop some of those higher-level skills. So, find opportunities to present to your senior leadership team, work on more complex clients or take on high-profile activities that make you excited but also a little scared. Those are great ways to progress into leadership.

What are some common leadership traps high-achieving women fall into, and how can they lead with more clarity and courage?

One of the traps I see as they move from high achiever to strategic leader is they get stuck in the doing. I see this a ton in finance and accounting because they were brought up in an environment where the debits and credits add up. It’s always black-and-white, and so it feels good to be the expert. But they get so comfortable being the expert. So much of their confidence is built on their expertise that the first time they have to influence others, not through knowledge but through their leadership skills, it can be a huge confidence killer.

So really notice how often you jump in to fix, save or take over because you are the expert. Instead of being the expert all the time, which keeps you getting pulled into the weeds, how can you instead facilitate the expertise in the room or in your firm?

That is a huge mindset shift that I really encourage folks to take on. Always being the only expert in your firm keeps you locked into doing because you will get yanked back in.

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The Net Gains is curated and written by Janet Berry-Johnson and edited by Bianca Prieto.