Russell Bedford Managers and Young Partners Meeting held online on days 23-24 November 2020 In a two-day meeting, addressed to managers, senior managers, co-workers and younger partners, took part over 150 delegates representing all regions.
The aim of this cyclical meeting is to enable participants to develop leadership skills, establish contacts and establish relationships and gain insight into culture in different parts of the world, while familiarising themselves with the objective and strategy of the international RB network.
Russell Bedford's CEO, Stephen Hamlet, opened the meeting, praising the high level of involvement of members and admitting that this year the network reached more people from Russell Bedford's membership companies worldwide, by developing a comprehensive schedule of online events.
The author, coach and director in a group of leaders and training Kataholos, Michael Quigley, joined to share important tools useful for motivating themselves and their teams.
Michael shared practical strategies, such as identifying issues that are most important to our delegates, and then combining them with motivation to help them keep pace, especially in difficult times.
Michael finished the session with a workshop on building communication skills that help to understand and be understood, while sharing highly effective communication techniques.
Day first ended with an open discussion at a forum led by Stephen Hamlet, during which participants could share their thoughts about the past year and hopes and goals on 2021. Stephen then opened second meeting day since global network update Russell Bedford. He presented a summary of what was happening online in the year 2020, including a new professional development programme, a comprehensive online event schedule and shared impressive data on network growth.
Then corporate coach Angus Farr, with Training Counts led the sessions second on the day, starting with the topic: ‘Make more in a shorter time: personal efficiency for successful accountants’.
Opening his session, Angus warned against relying on purely technical knowledge to achieve professional success because, as in all roles, self-management skills, people and customers are crucial to managers who want to succeed as future leaders.
Angus discussed the importance of good time planning, balanced by effective human management and improved productivity, reinforced by the relevant delegation.
He also discussed the relationship between the importance of the task and its urgency and how the management of interruptions and the team could be the key to achieving important objectives, completing critical actions and ultimately achieving maximum productivity or "flow".
The delegates had the opportunity to use their knowledge in practice, working together in meeting rooms, sharing their own experiences and listening to the guidance of peers. Many have shared examples of their own challenges, such as time-consuming and inefficient meetings, as well as maximum use of the working day.
The meeting ended with the Happy Hour networking session led by Stephen Hamlet. As in the less formal part of the meeting, the participants were asked lighter, fun questions. To ask what their object would be on a deserted island, 67% participants stated that they could not live without a phone.
As an alternative to the accounting profession, 19% stated that it would prefer to become a professional sports player, 18% He would prefer to be a chef, and several admitted that their culinary skills improved during the lockdown.
And given the possibility of living anywhere in the world, 35% participants would choose to live in Australia or New Zealand, and 2% They would like to escape completely, expressing interest in spending time on another planet!
Luis Guerra, a delegate from Russell Bedford, Mexico, said: “It was a really wonderful meeting with everyone and giving a face name. Although the meetings still have to be virtual, the interaction is extremely valuable. These opportunities give greater confidence in getting new customers in the future. ”
President Russell Bedford, Stephen Hamlet, said: “It was another wonderful opportunity to strengthen ties and learn at this year’s meeting of managers and young partners.
I have to say that the caliber and diversity of our events programmes this year have not been equal and it has been wonderful to see so many people from our companies around the world.
I always go out with something new to think about from one of our speakers or a new way of dealing with the challenges arising from discussions with our members. ” He added: “We all look forward to returning to our typical physical schedule.
However, we have learned that there is a great desire for a permanent connection that we have achieved thanks to our online schedule this year, and that is why we will assess how best to integrate such online experiences with our physical events, also in the future. ”