By Heath Slawner, Igniter at Simon Sinek Inc.
Heath Slawner’s expertise lies at the intersection of leadership, influence, and trust. An in-demand keynote speaker, Heath shares his insights with individuals and teams at leading organizations around the world.
In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, CPAs are more than financial stewards—they’re strategic advisors, providing vital insights to guide decision-making, strengthen strategy, and mitigate risk for long-term organizational success.
To thrive in this expanded role, it’s essential for CPAs to build trust and develop the ability to influence effectively. High-trust individuals and teams are proven to outperform their low-trust counterparts in key areas such as profitability, revenue growth, customer experience, and employee engagement.
I’m excited to present as a keynote speaker at EVOLVE 2024! In my session, Trust-Based Leadership, Influence and Performance, I’ll explore the critical role of trust and influence in leadership. You’ll learn how to excel as a trusted advisor and discover actionable strategies to enhance your relationships, boost performance, and achieve remarkable outcomes.
Ahead of my keynote presentation, I wanted to share two common questions I often receive about how CPAs can truly fulfill the role of a trusted advisor and be a catalyst for change.
What are the key behaviours or actions that differentiate a trusted advisor from traditional advisors? And what do you think that looks like for CPAs?
First, we need to define what a “trusted advisor” is. It’s someone who is sought out to provide guidance, insights, and options that will help others make better decisions.
The key part of that definition is being “sought out”. You don’t just start off as a trusted advisor, you earn that coveted role over time by proving to your clients that you have credibility, knowledge, and the ability to follow through. They recognize you know what you’re talking about, and they trust you to have their best interests in mind.
The behaviours or actions that differentiate trusted advisors are:
- They are absolutely focused on others. Their success is helping others achieve success.
- They have an innate understanding that relationships are the foundation of accomplishment. Collaboration is at the core of what they do.
- They’re always looking at the long term and thinking about the big picture.
- They believe and practice transparency. A trusted advisor will share their thinking and their constraints. They’re willing to be vulnerable because they know people want to do business with those they trust, and transparency is key to trust.
How does this apply to CPAs? The world is changing faster and faster. It’s absolutely a cliché to say, but in all the industries I work with, the pace of change is increasing. AI, big data, robotics, etc.—there’s tons of investment and transformation happening around us and CPAs play such a crucial role in that. The need for trusted advisors is stronger than it’s ever been. CPAs who integrate those behaviours and actions listed above can take on that role.
When working externally with clients or customers, what strategies do you recommend to quickly establish yourself as a trusted advisor?
I have a list that I keep with me called “15 Ways to Build Trust Fast”. There’s this impression out there that trust takes time, and I agree, it can take time. But, that being said, can you build trust quickly? Absolutely.
At the top of my list is “show that you’ve done your homework”. Too many people arrive at meetings unprepared, and I don’t blame them. Microsoft says the average professional is in 50% more meetings today than they were in 2019, meaning that we’re bouncing from one meeting to the next with barely enough time to do anything else. Trusted advisors do things differently. They build in time between meetings to make sure they’re prepared and they’ve done their homework. This helps build trust quickly and positions that person as a trusted advisor.
Secondly, take a point of view. Trusted advisors are willing to frame and envision. Some people may hold back because they’re worried they may offend or say something wrong. But trusted advisors have the expertise to take a point of view.
Lastly, and I talk quite a bit about this, it’s listening with empathy. Trusted advisors spend more time seeking to understand as opposed to trying to be understood. So, they do quite a bit of listening, not just to the facts and the data, but to the song beneath the words. What’s the emotional component? What’s the feeling?
Those are just some ways you can build trust quickly and position yourself as a trusted advisor, even with people who don’t know you very well.
If you’re ready to deepen your relationships, gain influence, and position yourself as a trusted advisor in your field, join me at EVOLVE 2024 on November 19. Don’t miss the chance to learn how to put these strategies into practice and drive real change!
