There’s a significant leap between being an accountant and being a partner.

Imagine just for a moment that you are a highly-trained, experienced airline pilot and, suddenly, you are asked to run the airline. It’s obvious that the move from cockpit to boardroom requires a different set of abilities and would not suit many pilots. Yet, in accounting, such a leap is a natural career progression.

A new partner is expected to be an influential ambassador, developing strong teams and capitalising upon opportunities to develop the business through networking and presentations ­ but how do you make that transition?

Improve your odds

Recent research by ACCA indicates that nearly 70% of accountants believe luck has a large part to play in achieving a leadership position, but as Arnold Palmer famously said, ‘The more I practice the luckier I get’. There are many ways that accountants can more pro-actively improve their odds.

It is often recognised that some individuals need to begin to behave, and even think, in a completely different way to succeed, which can be a daunting challenge to face.

There is a big difference between analysing a spreadsheet and transforming that analysis into an engaging and powerful presentation and this is the bridge that any ambitious accountant must cross to reach partner level.

Directors and senior managers may have experience of presenting and managing others, but these skills could be a long way from the ‘dark art’ of delivering powerful, engaging and inspirational communications, all of which are learnable talents ­ contrary to popular belief.

The two most common requests for development that I receive are, ‘how can I gain more gravitas?’ and ‘how can I be more influential?’

Gaining ‘gravitas’

According to the dictionary ‘gravitas’ is a solemn demeanour, a seriousness, a quality of substance or depth of personality. But if someone is sitting next to you right now with gravitas; how do you know? What are they doing? Can you describe that behaviour? A typical description would be something like: A quick thinking extrovert who is confident and always right. But let’s dispel a few myths:

• Being quick ­ It’s not a necessity, a slower, more considered response can carry more weight than the knee jerk reaction;

• Being extrovert ­ Not essential either, some extroverts are ignored and introverts’ more infrequent comments are often more valued;

• Confidence ­ This is easier to attain than people think. It’s the absence of self doubt; stopping any self-attributed, negative thoughts will leave a naturally confident state;

• Always being right - An unachievable objective, defending a weak position is a mistake, as is withholding your contribution for fear of being wrong is psychologically crippling.

A key thing to consider is whether your attention inward or outward? Ask yourself: When you meet someone for the first time are you thinking, ‘what do I think of them?’ or are you thinking ‘what do they think of me?’? Being ‘self conscious’ is exactly that. So turn your attention outwards, set observational tasks, listen more carefully and be more aware of the world surrounding you.

It is suggested that 55% of meaning comes from our body language, so it’s a very powerful and often overlooked communications tool. Does your body language match what you are saying? When it matches it’s clear that you are congruent with your message, that you believe it.

Inspiring influence

As for the question, ‘what is influence?’ misguided answers include: ‘Being an expert on your subject’, ‘having a well-prepared, strong argument’, and ‘being in an influential position within an organisation’. There are some un-influential individuals that fit those descriptions and some influential individuals that do not.

The dynamic of influence is surprisingly simple ­ it’s agreement. The influential suggestions need to be agreeable and the other party needs to be thinking ‘yes’. It is not possible to influence someone who is thinking ‘no’, no matter how strong or correct your argument.

So to influence and communicate in such a way that your suggestions are easy to agree with from the perspective of the other person. Be mindful of their perspective (how does it affect them? what do they get from it?) and then put your message across making it easy for them to buy-in. One-sided communication is not influential from the other perspective. ‘Telling’ provokes resistance, ‘asking/discussing’ provokes engagement. There are many techniques you can learn to achieve this.

Setting your path for partnership

So if partnership is your goal, start paying attention to this now. It takes time to develop and refine powerful communication skills, and feedback from real experience is the only real teacher. To make partner you need to be skilful in your communications so that you can develop new business, artfully negotiate, influence decision makers, and present confidently ­ these are the qualities that will set you apart as top talent in this fast-paced business world.

Daryll Scott is joint MD for personal development consultancy Use Your Noggin