How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm

3Leadership

Leadership is the capacity to influence others through inspiration motivated by passion, generated by vision, produced by a conviction, ignited by purpose.

—Myles Munroe, Power of Character in Leadership: How Values, Morals, Ethics, and Principles Affect Leaders

Leadership is more critically important in today's professional services companies than it has ever been. Yet professional service firms struggle in this aspect more than any other type of business. Why? Because leadership can only happen once the proper foundation is established.

In a professional services firm with a strong brand foundation, leaders inspire their teams with purpose, values, and story. In Chapter 2, we discussed how leaders begin their business transformation through culture. Now we are going to explore how leaders infuse their leadership style with the Three Keys so they can inspire their teams to achieve a common goal.

What Is Leadership?

• How can I effectively lead others to success?
• How do I identify future leaders?
• How are values tied to me as a leader?

Webster defines leadership as “the act or instance to direct on a course or in a direction.” Legendary management consultant Peter Drucker was blunt in “Your Leadership Is Unique”¹ when he wrote, “Leadership, then, is a process of social influence that maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a goal. It has nothing to do with seniority or one's position or title in the hierarchy of a company, nor personal attributes.” ...