That's where intrinsic motivators like ownership and job satisfaction come in to play.

Sure, you might get out of bed in the morning for financial reasons, but your performance is also driven by satisfaction. Both personal recognition and the team's success are powerful motivators.

In accounting firms with entrepreneurial mindsets, people tend to be given a lot more freedom in their roles. The concept of the ‘entrepreneurial gap’ is where you give people more accountability than they have direct resources to accomplish.

The entrepreneurial gap is commonly coupled with an incentive system—perhaps a cash bonus, or simply the emotional incentive of social currency. It creates conditions where employees are challenged to find a way to meet their goals outside of what may be within their ‘span of control’.

Helped by greater visibility within the firm, it encourages a healthy, collaborative and supportive environment where individuals and teams can thrive.

For the entrepreneurial gap to work well, the goals of the team need to be aligned. The problem in many accounting firms today is that team goals, like billable hours, do not align with the client’s perception of value.

Accountants could challenge themselves to go above and beyond by managing feedback from clients with the aim of achieving total client satisfaction. They could also be inspired by opportunities to grow in their roles through continued education.

A strong vision for what the firm wants to achieve is critical to motivate people to ‘own’ their roles, as well as work with others across the firm to achieve results.

4. Align your goals

You may have heard the story of the NASA janitor who, when asked what he was doing by President Kennedy during a visit to the space center in 1962, replied “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”

An employee can take ownership of an individual role in a way that aligns with the bigger picture. NASA’s culture positioned all employees as holding an integral role in what they wanted to achieve. The collective ownership of this lofty goal spurred the creativity and innovation that made the Apollo space program a success.

The message is clear: having collective ownership will motivate and inspire teams to work together to achieve greater success for your firm. When you’re aligned, you’ll have more confidence in your colleagues and staff, creating a more positive work environment where teams are inclined to work together to keep deadlines and keep clients happy.

Welcome greatness

You can achieve big things with shared goals and an open collaborative culture.

They key to making this scenario a reality is visibility of ownership.

With a clear view of task owners across projects, each individual feels more accountable for their work, and sees how and when the pieces fit together. This way accountants can organize themselves to be more valuable, feel more energized and make better progress as a team.