1. The Importance of Mentoring It’s The Foundation of The CPA Profession
Mentoring Matters!
The Importance of Mentoring
It’s The Foundation of The CPA Profession

2. WHO
WHY

3. WHY MENTOR?
Get Your
People Ready
For The
Future

4. The Three Types of Employees1
ENGAGED employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward. 2
NON-ENGAGED employees are essentially “checked out.” They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting time (but not energy or passion) into their work. 3
ACTIVELY DISENGAGED employees aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Daily, they undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.
(Per Gallup)

5. People Have DRAMATICALLY changed how they live and work
THEN
NOW
FOCUS
Pension
Purpose
NEED
Good Boss
Great Colleagues
HOURS
9-5
Whenever
WORKPLACE
Office
Wherever
TENURE
Whole Career
Whatever

6. Top Talent In Accounting Will Demand
Improved Processes
The Best Technology
Individual Guidance

7. Why Engage & Mentor Talent?
Because of the dark
cloud hanging over
the CPA profession:
Succession

8. Finding Qualified Staff
AICPA 2019 Top Issues - #1
Finding Qualified Staff
The War for Talent is real. It is imperative to expand mentoring, feedback, recognition and leverage their proven value in retaining people

9. Your Organization Must….
Build Leadership Capacity

10. Our Focus…… MENTORING
It’s Greek To Me!
History Lesson

11. MENTOR said to Telemachus
“You must not keep acting like a child – you’re too old for that now. You are fine and strong, I see. You should be brave, so people born in future years will say good things of you.”

12. REFLECT BACK……
CLOSE YOUR EYES……

13. Helping You Understand The Roles
GUIDE COACH MENTOR SPONSOR

14. GUIDE (or Buddy)
A hands-on guide that is assigned to a new employee to help them navigate the firm waters and be a general resource, buddy, guide, and/or friend for the first six months.

15. COACH
Coaching is a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus, performance to improve. To be a successful Coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the skills and techniques that are appropriate.
- -Eric Parsloe, author of The Coach and Mentor

16. MENTOR
Help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking.

17. SPONSOR
Sponsors advocate on their protégés behalf, connecting them to important players and assignments. In doing so, they make themselves look good. And precisely because sponsors go out on a limb, they expect stellar performance and loyalty.

18. Mentoring & Sponsoring Go Hand-In-Hand
Help my Mentee to make significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking. Advocate on their behalf, connecting them to important people & assignments. (Because I am aligned with them, I expect stellar performance and loyalty.)

19. “My mentor said, ‘Let’s go do it,’ not ‘You go do it
“My mentor said, ‘Let’s go do it,’ not ‘You go do it.’ How powerful when someone says, ‘Let’s!’”
- - Jim Rohn

20. Millennials & Women are looking for role models!
MENTORING IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT NOW because…..
Millennials & Women are looking for role models!

21. In The Accounting Profession…..
EVERYONE
is looking for role models!

22. Programs are not really working Often individualized
Mentoring Status - Accounting
Programs are not really working
Often individualized
Little Accountability
Must be more than a free lunch!
There is a need and a desire
Fear of losing people is driving firms to refocus on mentoring
Firms often make it too complicated & difficult

23. “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.”
- - Ralph Waldo Emerson

24. GOOD INTENTIONS NO IMPLEMENTATION
Why Formal Firm Programs Fail
GOOD
INTENTIONS 
NO IMPLEMENTATION

25. The Millennial Generation…
“…are looking for skill
development, they're looking
for mobility, they're looking
for opportunities to acquire
different skills and to move quickly from one part of an organization to another. How you manage that sort of talent and how you deal with their expectations is very different from what's been done in the past.”
- - Dennis Nally, Chairman PWC

26. WHAT IS IT? Most important of all career support activities
Valued by people in all walks of life
Foundation of the CPA profession
Competitive advantage
It is easy, it’s natural
The spirit and practice of mentoring may be difficult to define and even harder to instill but it may also be the most important of all career support activities.
Mentoring relationships are valued by people in every walk of life and yet there are few organizations where they are as critical as in a professional services firm like ours.
Strong role models and the continuous transfer of personal knowledge and experience is the foundation of the CPA profession.
Mentoring relationships bind people to an organization and very simply, in our profession, that is a significant competitive advantage.
Mentoring and a culture that gives rise to a spirit of helping others succeed, begins with you. Like most matters of the heart, it can’t be legislated and, though training programs may focus attention on its importance, the technique of mentoring comes very naturally to most people.

27. Why Is It Important? Shortage of Experienced People
Burnout at the Big Four
Hiring from the College Campus
Generational Understanding
Retention is a Major Issue
Change

28. Why Is It Important?
“The big advantage of mentoring is that it helps employees contribute faster. They understand how to get things done in the system.”
- - -Human Resources Executive Magazine

29. How to Get Them Up to Speed
Make it easy for people to see the opportunity for advancement
Develop and educate continually
Help every person build an internal social network
Communicate frankly and frequently
Provide a mentor

30. Millennials & Gen Z Technology – Affluent – Protected
Precious Cargo - Self Confident
Size rivals Boomers - Looking for role models

31. Young People in the Workplace
Searching for a counselor to help them achieve their goals
Want open, constant communication
Work easily with the Boomers
Looking for personal fulfillment in a job
Always searching to shed stress

32. “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”
- - Steven Spielberg

33. Reasons For a Mentoring Program
Transition from college to workforce
A way to reinforce the firm vision, values and performance standards
Helps our people develop greater commitment and accountability
The mentoring process helps our people develop the discipline required to accomplish their goals and to make continuous career improvements.

34. Retention and development of our best and brightest people….
The Most Important Reason
Retention and development of our best and brightest people….
Our Superstars

35. You Have 3 Performance Groups
Superstars
Middle Stars
Falling Stars

36. How do we
reward our
Superstars?

37. The Business Case for Mentoring
Attract and retain high performers
Upgrade employee skills and knowledge
Promote diversity of thought and style
Develop leadership talent
Strengthen firm culture
Develop business-getting skills
Develop a line of succession

38. It is a learning-focused Relationship Don’t make it difficult
Message to Mentors
Monitor for success
It is a learning-focused Relationship
Don’t make it difficult
Monitor for Success
Provide an evaluation process that will help your mentoring program to continually improve.
A Learning Organization
It’s fashionable right now to say your firm is a learning organization. The challenge to us, as CPA firm leaders, is to make it actually happen and not let it diminish in our firms.
Don’t make it difficult
If find that almost everything we do in a CPA firm – we complicate. We can take the simplest task or project and make it difficult. Keep it simple – much of it is simply listening.

39. It’s Not Difficult – It’s BASIC
“We’ve been working on the basics because, basically, we’ve been having trouble with the basics.” Bob Ojeda, Mets pitcher
SAY THIS BEFORE SHOWING SLIDE
Don’t think of your role in this new mentoring initative as something difficult, it should be a very natural and basic activity within your firm.

40. HOW HARD CAN IT BE?
HOT
COLD

41. What Should I Do? - Guidelines
Establish a positive atmosphere that invites participation
Clarify and confirm the agenda
Create an ongoing communication flow (listen and use questions)
Summarize, clarify and plan
RAK ASK: HOW WOULD YOU ESTABLISH A POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE?
Establish: Plan the discussion in advance. Take measures to prevent interruptions and ensure the mentee’s confidentiality
Clarify: Ask the mentee to define the agenda from his/her perspective.
Ask questions to clarify the mentee’s expectations and desires. Confirm with the mentee the direction the session will take before moving on.
Create: Use your listening skills. Ask questions. prove to the mentee you care about their ideas. Be sure you understand the mentee’s ideas and concerns.
Provide insight and clearly indicate where you agree, disagree and what was not fully explored.
Ask questions* TOOL
You may not gain full agreement. Have a goal of consensus whereby together there is an understanding
Summarize: Ask the mentee to summarize the session. This will clarify and confirm for you the mentee’s understanding and help determine the next step.
Ask the mentee to define the follow-up action steps. Determine who will do what, by when. Arrange follow-up discussions and progress checks.
you have a simple guideline – the session has ended and you have an action plan……

42. Elements of Follow-up Observe mentee Solve problems
Provide positive reinforcement
Record information and behaviors
Where? What? Why? How?
Following-up is more than simply checking to see how things are going. Here are some things for you to think about:
ObserveDetermine if the objectives, goals, strategies, etc. have changed Determine ways to keep on top of performance
Find opportunities for positive reinforcement and problem solving
Solve If necessary, re-establish priorities, goals, objectives.
Revise the action plan as needed.(change is good)
Determine ways to resolve problems both short term and long-term.
Reinforcement Reward positive performance often
Use positive reinforcement daily To build working relationships
To encourage continuous improvement
 Record Info Document changes in action plans
Document instances to be used in future discussions
Document observations
Where – where did it happen, the location or circumstance
What – what did you observe? How was it different from your expectation?
Why – Why is it worth noting? Any consequences?
How – How is the situation going to change? Commitments involved?

43. Mentoring Behaviors to Avoid
Quickly Giving Answers
Criticizing
Intimidation
Rescuing
Give answers: It can shift responsibility for making a decision from mentee to mentor and curtail growth. Don’t encouraged dependency. The mentee may return time and again to let the mentor solve the problem.
Researchers agree that there is no such thing as “constructive criticism”, no matter how helpful the giver’s intent. By definition, criticism is judgmental, and therefore, threatening. Most people resist listening to criticism. We’ll talk more about this
It is certainly appropriate to open a door for a mentee who shows talent. appropriate to inform of opportunity, or to help prepare for a desired engagement. But visible special treatment can tank your program. In a truly competitive arena, talent should win out.
Mentors sometimes build barriers without intending to, or even being aware that they are doing so. Attention Partners… being paired with you might be scary. Partner meeting behavior can be intimidating for someone who needs a relaxed, friendly environment in which to ask questions or take risks
The more the mentor likes the mentee, the more prone he or she may be to rescue the mentee inappropriately. Watch for patterns of mistakes. If the same mistakes are made over and over, perhaps you are doing too much rescuing.
SO, WHAT DO WE DO?

44. Qualifications of the Mentor
Success in their field.
A wide array of individuals in their network.
Diverse accumulated experience.
Substantial personal or positional power.
A history of developing their own team.
Broad organizational knowledge.
Success at managing a team.

45. What About the Mentees?
Able to take responsibility for learning and outcomes?
Non-defensive in response to feedback?
Interested in seeking opportunities to leverage their talent?
Committed to continuous self-assessment?
Willing to experiment, grow and teach others?
Clearly Innovative, creative or visionary? 6

46. What Does the Mentee Get?
Listening ear
Valuable direction
Gaps filled in
Doors opened
Different perspective

47. What’s in it for the Mentor?
Pass on successes
Practice interpersonal and leadership skills
Become recognized
Expand your horizons
Gain more than the mentee

48. What’s in it for the Mentor?
A REASON TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE

49. What’s in it for the Firm?
SURVIVAL!

50. The Ways to Mentor Have Changed
A new approach that’s more about commitment and learning than about chemistry and power.
Women have brought about the change, but guess what?
It also works for men

51. New Rules For Mentoring
A Handout….
New Rules For Mentoring

52. Identifying A Mentor Can they…. Are they… Tell their story?
Ask great questions?
Learn from others?
Apply a sense of humor?
Are they…
Sensitive to diversity?
Savvy about the business?
Development-minded?
Emotionally open?

53. Expectations for the Mentee
Commitment to learning
Genuine interest
Active listening skills
Receptive to feedback
Willingness to take risks
Desire for career growth
Desire to develop a personal vision
What makes a great mentee candidate? They must take a huge ownership role in the entire process.
In your hand-outs is a page listing the Mentees’ responsibilities.

54. Wall Street Rule for the #MeToo Era: Avoid Women at All Cost
Bloomberg Headline
Wall Street Rule for the #MeToo Era: Avoid Women at All Cost

55. Suggestions for Men
You can’t have different rules for men and women. You might prefer public spaces or coffee shops for mentoring conversations. If you take male mentees to sporting events, you must include female mentees.
Establish trust from the start. Be willing to listen to hard feedback about company culture.
Focus on goals and skills. Make the relationship development specific to the business.

56. Keep It Simple Sweetheart
Mentoring…….
Keep It Simple Sweetheart
Rita’s Advice:
Listen
Ask Questions

57. ”If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
- - John Quincy Adams

58. Handouts
New Rules For Mentoring
Five Questions Every Mentor Must Ask
Common Mentor Skills & Activities
Mentoring Readiness Checklist

59. “Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.”
- Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead

60. Blog:
Phone:
Website:

61. Rita Keller Bio
Rita Keller is an award-winning and widely respected voice to CPA firm management. She is nationally known as a CPA firm management consultant, speaker and author. She is a former shareholder and Chief Operating Officer of a successful, regional CPA firm and has over 30 years’ hands-on experience in the management, marketing, technology and administration of a successful, multi-office firm. She works with firms nationwide on strategic, management and operational issues.
As a facilitator and speaker, Rita has been featured at almost all major CPA management conferences. As an author, her articles appear in numerous CPA publications and her popular, award-winning daily blog has become a resource for many in the CPA profession.
She has been repeatedly named to Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting and Inside Public Accounting’s list of Most Powerful Women In Accounting. Keller’s article, Make the Most of Mentoring, was published in the Journal of Accountancy and she has been featured in the Journal on six other occasions. Rita is Past Chair of the AICPA Practitioners Symposium, past-national President of The CPA Firm Management Association and is a recipient of the Everest Award from Management Summit in recognition of sustained, significant contribution to the accounting profession.