Adrienne on my team is an excellent example of this. She loves to solve problems and will work tirelessly to explore all potential options and develop the best solution. She does not cut corners because she knows that her final result will reflect on her. If Adrienne did not have this pride in her work, it would be a very different story.

Self-awareness

In my view, self-awareness is the single most important personality trait for a modern accountant to possess. You need to be aware of what you do not know.

I have seen countless examples in this industry where accountants have not been aware of their own shortcomings. Often, they have had a lot of accounting knowledge, but have struggled with the other side of being a cloud-based accountant—systems. They have failed to acknowledge that simply being an accountant, does not make them a good accountant in the cloud-based world.

Those without self-awareness do not look to improve, often because they do not think they need to. They do not know their own shortcomings so they don’t move forward, don’t reach out for help, and die a slow death.

Not having all the skills in modern accounting is OK. But you need to be aware of this, and be prepared to put in the effort. I see far too many accountants in denial.

But the most self-aware know that it is OK not to know the answer. They have found that elusive balance of being aware and comfortable with what they do not know, and being prepared to put in the effort to develop that knowledge and those skills (this too, requires an element of pride).

I encourage my team—especially new staff—to ask questions constantly. This shows me what they know, what they do not know, and how they are learning. If they are not asking questions, we can never figure out how effective our training is and how quickly they are developing.

Sarah on my team models this well. She asks great questions, learns from the answers she is given, and is aware of what she does and does not know. I know if I give a challenging project to Sarah that it will be completed correctly. She reaches out to the right people for answers, and she learns so that the next time she can own the project herself.

Everyone is confident in what they do know, but those who are equally confident and aware of what they need to work on are the accountants who thrive in cloud-based accounting.

Think about the best members of your team now. I am guessing that you can identify elements of all three of these personality traits in all of them. Anyone who is curious, self-aware, and takes pride in their work will be a force to be reckoned with. They will constantly be looking to improve themselves, develop quickly, work hard, and deliver outstanding service to your clients.

When hiring new staff, these are traits you should be on the lookout for. Remember the ubiquitous advice—hire for attitude train for skill.