I’ve always been a fan of good coaching, and ensuring that our teams in professional services maintain a good coaching culture. Despite this, a single sentence completely changed how I understood the importance of coaching: “One conversation can change a person’s life“ This is something that I first remember hearing on one of the leadership courses I was fortunate enough … [Read more...] about Coaching: the thought that changed my entire perspective
You and your firm: Are you getting as much as they’re taking?
It’s no secret that professional services firms - especially public accounting and law firms - demand a lot from their employees. It’s also common knowledge that, as a young professional working in these firms, you’re unlikely to be paid as much your friends who’ve gone out into industry. So why do people even bother working in professional services? They do it because there’s … [Read more...] about You and your firm: Are you getting as much as they’re taking?
How to move overseas and not hate your life
If you’re anything like me, a young professional working in a globally-recognised field, you’ve probably thought about uprooting your life and moving to a new country. With travel and broadening cultural horizons front of mind, moving overseas with work is a tantalising option. But there’s something that often keeps us from taking that leap of faith: fear. We fear failure. We … [Read more...] about How to move overseas and not hate your life
Searching for greener grass?
Note: This post was originally posted by the author on his personal blog last year. It is reposted here with his permission because we think it’s super relevant to all of you Trench Lifers! Over the last few years, I’ve found myself cautioning those who have left our office in search of something better. “Be careful,” I catch myself telling those who’ve voiced their … [Read more...] about Searching for greener grass?
Quote on letting things happen
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”― Leonardo da Vinci I must admit, I only happened upon (see what I did there?) this quote very recently but it really struck me as something so valid. We tend to invest so much energy in complaining about the system. … [Read more...] about Quote on letting things happen
How to get the performance reviews you deserve
If you’ve spent any time in a professional services firm, you’ll know that it’s a high-performance culture. You’ll also know that the trouble with that is everybody’s definition of “high performance” is different. Whether you’re a young attorney, auditor, consultant, or anything in between, you’ll be all too familiar with having regular performance reviews. Sometimes these … [Read more...] about How to get the performance reviews you deserve
The trick to telling someone they’re wrong
If you're working in any sort of professional services environment, chances are that you have to review other people's work. For those of us working as auditors, this is especially true; we are constantly looking at work done by our clients. More often than it should be, the work is wrong in some way. This means the chances are that you've had to tell someone they're wrong. … [Read more...] about The trick to telling someone they’re wrong