Managed Chaos

Recently, I heard the expression, "I manage a tight shipwreck." Then a few days later, I saw this same expression on a t-shirt. This little quip got me thinking. Managing a team of CPAs during "Busy Season" often feels like managing a tight shipwreck, or managing chaos, as I call it.

As someone who managed a lot of CPAs during the "Busy Season," I can relate. With all the plans, budgets, client expectations, and prior year experience to draw from, I often went into the season thinking it would be the best one yet. But it never seemed to feel that way by the end of it.

I try to live – and lead – with optimism, and I spend a lot of time talking with the profession about optimism. Never in my long career in this business have I seen more of a need for optimism.

Now you may be asking yourself, what do managing chaos and optimism have to do with each other? I firmly believe reasonable expectations enable optimism. A reasonable expectation this time of year is chaos. If we tie the two together, we should reasonably expect things won't go as planned, and, well, when they don't, we don't react as if the "world is ending." 

This is not to minimize the necessity of planning or of holding our people and clients accountable. But, when things don't go as planned, we don't have to go off the deep end.

For thirty-four years, I felt both energized and worn out by this time of the year. After several days of expressing to my family my frustration with things not going as they should, a "loving" family member laid it out for me. They said, "maybe you should change your expectations because what you are experiencing sounds like what you should be expecting." Wow, that one hit right between the eyes!

Leaders, at all levels, should think with optimism. Frame your team's mindset that unplanned things will happen and planned things will not. While we work toward better outcomes, how we react when things don't go our way has a cascading impact on those we lead. Be prepared to respond with clarity and optimism.

This definitely takes practice, but it'll become easier with time as you learn how to shift your mindset. If you want to discuss further how changing your mindset can help you lead this tight shipwreck, reach out!

Plan well. Prepare well. Hold people accountable. These are the ingredients of success.

React well. Be patient. Be optimistic. Provide clarity. These are ingredients of great leadership.