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Women in finance: develop your soft skills

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Leadership

Leadership Books, articles, guides and links on leadership, developing your skills as a leader and leadership styles
Women in business A collection of books, articles and guides on topics of interest to women working in business and accountancy.
Women in Leadership (WiL) WIL supports women working across practice, industry and public sectors who are in senior management, partner or board roles. The programme has a strong personal development focus, and seeks to refine and craft your individual leadership style.
Useful links A selection of links signposting networks and support from ICAEW, caba and other organisations.

Teamwork and people skills

Why Leaders Use Business Coaches
  • Article
  • 12 Sep 2024
  • Richard Gourlay
Having a business coach a few years ago was unusual, the sign that someone was struggling, but today around 20% of small business entrepreneurs use coaches as part of their business team.
heather cowell olympian lead image
ICAEW accountant stars in Team GB Olympic rugby
  • Article
  • 14 Aug 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Heather Cowell, Team GB rugby sevens forward and ICAEW Chartered Accountant, explains how playing hard and working smart paved the way for her success both on and off the field.
How to move from a CFO to a CEO mindset
  • Article
  • 04 Jan 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Having a strong financial background is invaluable when becoming a CEO, but you also need the right leadership mindset and skills, says author Ben Renshaw.
Why humour is a valuable workplace tool
  • Article
  • 24 Aug 2023
  • ICAEW Insights
From recruitment and retention to team spirit and relieving stress, laughter is a seriously powerful motivator, says communication expert and comedian Neil Mullarkey.
Six essential skills for new and aspiring managers
  • Article
  • 06 Jul 2023
  • Chris Paterson
If you’ve just been promoted to management, or you’re looking to take that next step, ICAEW trainer and executive coach Chris Paterson shares his tips for leading a high-performing finance team.
Managing mental wellbeing in remote teams
  • Article
  • 15 Jun 2023
  • ICAEW Insights
With one in eight people now working exclusively from home, the director of one fully remote business shares his tips for prioritising wellbeing for remote teams.
David Beniam
Exclusive Teams Premium: Add-on with better meeting functionality
  • Article
  • 05 Apr 2023
  • David Benaim
Workplace staple Microsoft teams has now released a paid tier which has additional meeting features. In this blog I explain through written, image and video which additional features the paid tier gets you.
What’s your office personality?
  • Article
  • 12 Jan 2023
  • ICAEW Insights
Always fall into the same career ruts? Kickstart your accountancy career with New Year’s resolutions from careers coaches at Henley Business School.

Ways of working - workplace wellbeing

Female in smart attire working on her laptop
The headhunter’s view: the downside to remote working
  • Article
  • 22 Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Want to get ahead? Get into the office, says Mark Freebairn.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
How to be a family-friendly employer
  • Article
  • 11 Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Making it easy for your staff to juggle family commitment alongside their jobs will reap rewards. In this National Work Life Week, we offer tips on meaningful family-friendly strategies that should be on your radar.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
Prioritising mental health at work
  • Article
  • 10 Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
On today’s World Mental Health Day, caba – the occupational charity for ICAEW members and their families – offers tips to help improve your well-being in the workplace.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
ICAEW reaffirms commitment to gender balance
  • Article
  • 01 Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
The number of women in senior roles at ICAEW continues to increase, as the institute delivers on its pledge for a gender balance across financial services.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
Breaking down social barriers together
  • Article
  • 23 Sep 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
As we celebrate National Inclusion Week (23-29 September), opportunities for ICAEW members to help remove social barriers to success are plentiful, working together as a profession to have a greater impact.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
Caba signals rise in mental health support queries
  • Article
  • 17 Sep 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
New data from the occupational charity for ICAEW members suggests growing awareness of the need to look after our mental health.
young woman employee working in an office smiling looking at mobile phone laptop desk
A helping hand: 5 reasons to make use of caba
  • Article
  • 30 Aug 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
caba is the charity exclusively for ACA students and ICAEW members, offering advice and support for your mental and physical wellbeing, financial health and more. Find out how it can help you now, and as you progress in your career.
Female in smart attire working on her laptop
Is the opportunity for remote working becoming more…remote?
  • Article
  • 28 Jun 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
New data shows there are fewer opportunities for fully remote roles. But what does this mean for a return to the office in the accountancy profession?

Communicate with confidence

Access resources to help you meet ICAEW CPD requirements
Free CPD: soft skills for leaders
  • Article
  • 13 Nov 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
If you’re in a leadership role, an aspiring CFO, or even a CFO looking to become CEO, having strong people skills is a top priority. ICAEW has a range of resources to boost your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours while raising your EQ.
Access resources to help you meet ICAEW CPD requirements
Free CPD: essential skills for people managers
  • Article
  • 13 Nov 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
People skills, such as the communication, empathy, flexibility and active listening, are essential for line managers wishing to lead happy, productive teams. Brush up on your soft skills with these free Continuous Professional Development (CPD) resources.
Access resources to help you meet ICAEW CPD requirements
Free CPD: communication and influencing skills
  • Article
  • 13 Nov 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
A recent survey revealed that nine out of 10 global executives believe soft skills to be more important than ever, with communication topping the list of sought-after skills for 2024. Use your Continued Professional Development (CPD) hours to build your communication confidence.
How to tell a good ESG story
  • Article
  • 30 May 2023
  • ICAEW Insights
Effective communication of ESG progress is an increasingly vital part of companies’ efforts to secure investment. Experts discuss the hallmarks of a robust narrative.
How to maximise your virtual impact
  • Article
  • 24 Aug 2022
  • ICAEW Insights
Virtual meetings are here to stay, but this can be a more challenging environment in which to communicate and connect.
Exclusive How to be a star of the meeting
  • Article
  • 15 Sep 2021
  • Max Dickins
Tips on how to break the ice and get the ball rolling
Peter Margaritis, author of ‘The Accidental Accountant’
Don’t make accounting a foreign language
  • Article
  • 30 Apr 2021
  • ICAEW Insights
As chartered accountants increasingly help colleagues or clients, they must to learn to become better communicators, argues Peter Margaritis, author of ‘The Accidental Accountant’.
Why accountants must learn to speak and present effectively
  • Article
  • 08 Feb 2021
10 February 2021: Author and practice owner Della Hudson outlines why strong communication skills are more vital than ever for the modern accountant.

Networking

two men manager employee colleagues smiling looking at a laptop on a desk in an open office
How to shine in your first 3 months
  • Article
  • 30 Aug 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Starting out as an accounting trainee can be both exciting and daunting. Our top 10 tips will help you lay a strong foundation as you begin your career.
Jas Rayat and Kim Kreutle, ISC chair and vice chair Two young women corporate portraits on green background
Meet your ICAEW Student Council (ISC) Chair and Vice Chair, 2024-2025
  • Article
  • 02 May 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Jas Rayat and Kim Kreutle are this year’s ISC Chair and Vice Chair. They tell us about themselves, what they get out of volunteering, and what they hope to achieve in their new roles.
5 ways to be a confident networker graphic teal orange ICAEW student accountants
Skills for Success: 5 ways to be a confident networker
  • Video
  • 04 Mar 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Our new Skills for Success series shares quick tips to build your professional skills. First, we learn how to network, whether online or in-person, with confidence.
Dominic Buttery and Jas Rayat young people students chair and vice chair ICAEW
Meet your Student Council Chair and Vice Chair, 2023-2024
  • Article
  • 30 May 2023
  • ICAEW Insights
Dominic Buttery and Jas Rayat are the ICAEW Student Council Chair and Vice Chair for 2023-2024. They tell us about their plans and priorities for the coming year.
ICAEW Students networking work office meeting group people men women
Meeting expectations: your guide to networking
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2022
  • ICAEW Insights
A room full of fresh faces doesn’t need to fill you with fear. With just a few top tips, you can be prepared to enter any event (real or virtual) with confidence.
Sustainability in the public sector: building resilience
  • Article
  • 19 Apr 2022
  • ICAEW Insights
ICAEW recently hosted a networking event on sustainability in the public sector featuring expert contributions on how to improve resilience. The importance of assessing and reporting on risk was a key theme.
Exclusive Networking through the screen – How to stay on people’s radar
  • Article
  • 06 Oct 2021
  • Heather White
For more years than I care to admit, I’ve been training and coaching a wide range of professionals, from senior executives to MBA graduates in the subtle art of networking – and of course, since March 2020, this has all been virtual! The most frequent question I’ve been asked is how to network remotely, implying that networking in the ‘new normal’ is somehow materially different to life pre-COVID 19.
Online learning: Get the job you want
  • Webinar
  • 14 Sep 2021
  • Chris Burton
This webinar from the Business and Management Faculty and CABA will explore networking and how to develop a personal brand.

Industry press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Busting myths about women in the workplace
  • Article
  • 25 Jan 2024
  • Alexis Krivkovich, Lareina Yee
This article challenges three common myths about women in the workplace. It reveals that women's ambition has actually increased during the pandemic, with a majority desiring promotions. It also dispels the notion that workplace flexibility is primarily desired by women, as both men and women see it as beneficial. The article also addresses the specific challenges faced by women of colour and the negative impact of microaggressions on women's careers. The authors encourage leaders to take action and advise young women to persist and challenge structural obstacles.
Exclusive Women in accounting: Practical tips for leadership advancement
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2024
  • Christine A.Funkhouser, Gergana Lipidakova
Advice on how women in the accounting profession can promote their personal brand and leadership persona. Topics include prioritizing education, advocating for oneself and increasing your visibility within your organization.
Exclusive Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc says sexism is 'amplified' in finance
  • Article
  • 13 Dec 2023
  • Olivia Konotey-Ahulu
Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc has testified before British lawmakers about the prevalence of sexism in the financial services sector, stating that it is worse than in wider society. She shared testimonies she received, ranging from sexual harassment to women being excluded from key meetings. Blanc and Nishma Gosrani, a financial services partner at consultancy Bain & Company, discussed the Women in Finance Charter, a voluntary initiative aimed at promoting gender diversity in the industry.
Exclusive Women trust employers less than men
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2023
  • Wenny Katzenstein, Ashley Reichheld, Emily Werner
The article discusses the reasons that women employees tend to trust the company they work for less than their male counterparts. The authors relate various ways in which women are treated differently than their male colleagues, even when it comes to equity and inclusion programs designed to redress such inequities. They outline three strategies that may help increase trust in female employees.
Exclusive Investment and career insights from women in asset management
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2023
  • Erin Allen, Samantha Cleyn, Shannon Lewis, Bonnie Li, Asma Panjwani
Five women from BMO's Global Asset Management team provide insights from their paths into a career in asset management. Although they come from different career backgrounds, they have a mutual love of the pace, excitement and learning opportunities the industry offers. Here they share their top tips for success in asset management.
Exclusive JPMorgan exec says 'Wall Street 2.0' will be better for women
  • Article
  • 04 Oct 2023
  • Kyle Campbell
Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of asset and wealth management at JPMorgan, delivered a keynote speech reflecting on her career in finance at American Banker's 'Most Powerful Women in Banking' Conference 2023. The article gives quotes from her talk, which discussed the advantages of remote working for women in the workplace, as well as the importance of being curious and becoming a subject matter expert.
Exclusive Tailored flexibility
  • Article
  • 01 Oct 2023
  • Danielle Lee
There is no one blueprint for cultivating a female-friendly workplace, as the top firms on Accounting Today's 2023 Best Firms for Women list emphasize, but as accounting practices attempt to sketch out a better culture for attracting, retaining and advancing women, lessons can be learned from the list's winners. The article features quotes from the top three ranked firms from the 2023 Best Firms for Women list, providing insights into how they are successfully fostering an inclusive workplace for women.
Exclusive Fortune's Most Powerful Women in business (MPW) 2023
  • Article
  • 01 Oct 2023
  • Maria Aspan
Article celebrating the top 100 women in business in 2023. The list's new global scope and bigger scale recognize the international nature of top executives' work - as well as the near-record number of women who are leading companies in the US Fortune 500 and the Fortune Global 500, the largest companies in the world.
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Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on leadership skills. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Game of thrones on business: strategy, morality and leadership lessons from the world's most talked about TV show
  • Library book
  • 2015
  • Tim Phillips, Rebecca Clare
  • Oxford: Infinite Ideas Limited
Encouraging their readers to learn through stories, the authors have drawn parallels between Game of Thrones and today's business world. The authors also use examples from the series to breathe life into management theory.
Why should anyone be led by you? What it takes to be an authentic leader
  • Library book
  • 2015
  • R.Goffee, G.Jones
  • Harvard Business Review Press
The authors show how great leaders essentially act as 'authentic chameleons', consistently displaying their true selves throughout the changes of context that require them to play a variety of roles. They illustrate authentic leadership in action and provide practical advice on how both experienced and aspiring leaders can become more authentic - and more successful.
Act like a leader, think like a leader
  • Library book
  • 2015
  • H.Ibarra
  • Harvard Business Review Press
This book "offers advice to help you: redefine your job in order to make more strategic contributions; diversify your network so that you connect to, and learn from, a bigger range of stakeholders; and become more playful with your self-concept, allowing your familiar- and possibly outdated- leadership style to evolve."
Lean in: women, work and the will to lead
  • Library book
  • 2013
  • S.Sandberg
  • W H Allen
Examines why women's progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential. Sheryl Sandberg is a former Chief Operating Officer of Facebook/Meta.
The essential manager: 30 core elements of leadership
  • Library book
  • 2013
  • E.Larkin
  • Dublin : Chartered Accountants Ireland
Aims to encourage the reader to reflect upon, and perhaps consider changing, how they currently respond to some common trials and tribulations of managerial life. Divides "the 30 essential building blocks for management success" into three parts: about you; about employees; and about business.
Management in 10 words
  • Library book
  • 2012
  • Terry Leahy
  • Random House Business
Written by the former CEO of Tesco, this book draws on the author's experience and expertise to pinpoint the ten vital attributes that make successful managers and underlie great organisations. Chapters are headed: truth; loyalty; courage; values; act; balance; simple; lean; compete; and trust.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

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caba

caba is the charity for Chartered Accountants, supporting past and present ICAEW members, ACA students and their close families from across the globe through everyday situations to exceptional life-changing circumstances.

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