You Teach As You Were Taught

As you grow older and are able to reflect on your working life, I believe that you can “store up” certain working practices and beliefs. One aspect of my own, which I find myself regularly referring to, is my theory that ‘You Teach as You Were Taught’. For sure this can only be a generalisation, but so often I see it demonstrated when talking to clients or business colleagues.

            I was fortunate to have a really super first boss, Tony Marshall, when I was articled (and that dates me), to the international chartered accountants Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC). I had 7 very happy years with “Mr” Marshall as I knew him initially, and I had a huge respect for him personally and for the way he ran the office during the time I worked for him. In this time, he had to oversee the transformation of what was essentially a provincial office into something more in akin with the international environment of Coopers & Lybrand.  I worked with numerous partners and senior managers from other offices, but in my opinion no one got close to the way he conducted himself in dealing with staff relationships.

            When I take a step back and look at how I run the Bedford office of KSK, I clearly have adopted many of the principles which Tony Marshall used. OK, 40 years on times have changed tremendously, but I do believe that, whilst you will always put your own “stamp” on how you operate, in the background will be the environment which you experienced during the early years of your working career.

            As I took on a managerial role with Tony Marshall, so he drummed into me one of his overriding principles which was that, if you make a good living out of your home town, always make sure you put a bit back. With him this took various forms: playing a role in the local community, taking on work for charities at a discounted fee, supporting local business initiatives and generally involving his firm in improving what our town has to offer. I certainly embrace all these areas and am very proud to do so and I should like to think I have made a difference by doing so.

Whilst I feel I was fortunate in the early years of my working life, there are clearly those who were not. I remember recently interviewing a second year student who I really wanted to join us, who told me that where he worked he really had no idea who his boss actually was! Other students who I have interviewed have often expressed the view that there was practically no relationship between themselves and their bosses…how sad! You then have to wonder how in future years they will treat their students when they have not had the benefit of the kind of relationship which I enjoyed.

            During my time in the profession, whilst working at clients I have witnessed a whole range of directors and managers who have so differed in how they treat their staff and my own when my staff have been carrying out audit or accountancy duties. Not so much now but in the 1990s there were many occasions when I had to confront senior officials who were very unhelpful and at times blatantly rude to my staff. When doing so I could almost sense that they were only repeating the working environment in which they had grown up.

            I would be interested to learn from readers of this article if I have an accord with their early working experiences and how they now conduct themselves. Looking ahead to the future, it is my greatest wish that in the future my successors who now work with me here at KSK Bedford, will in some ways continue to contribute to and play a part in our local community.