As Founder and Managing Director of Urdarov Accountants, Larry Urdarov has created a progressive accounting and business services firm that serves the Hunter Region.
Larry is a leader who values others who ‘walk the talk’ and works to ensure he is a democratic leader. His style of leadership leads to creative solutions, higher productivity and new and improved goals.
- What tricks do you have to manage your priorities and your time?
Each morning I begin my day with a swim in the ocean. I early arrive (usually by 6:30am) when the office is very quiet – it gives me an hour to reflect on what my priorities and focus should be for the day.
I practice time management skills by scheduling most of my appointments for the afternoon so that matters of urgency are attended to first thing in the morning.
- How do you define the difference between a Manager and a Leader?
A manager is someone who manages “things” – materialistic and tangible. A manager focus on the task at hand and how to complete it. This focus is so goal driven that the people skills involved are sometimes overlooked.
A leader is always looking to improve the process, while motivating people towards the long term goal. Leaders anticipate and thrive on challenges.
Managers require clear direction and vision. Leaders take risks. Managers avoid risks unless specifically directed by a Leader to take one.
- What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
The War on Talent is a Leader’s greatest challenge today.
Hiring the right people is incredibly challenging in today’s workforce. With social pressures, increasing competition and the overall cost of doing business, you must select the right person for the job. Having a staff that reacts to technological advances, copes with the rate of change and complexity can increase both productivity and efficiency and saves the Leader money in the long term.
- What leadership style do you use?
I would like to describe my leadership style as democratic, by practicing social equality. We are all on the same team and my team is confident in promoting their interests and ideas. I have full trust in my staff’s ability to be honest, competent, broad-minded, imaginative and courageous. This style of leadership leads to creative solutions, higher productivity and new and improved goals. This infectious attribute is spread throughout and creates a work environment that is vibrant, alive and full of opportunities.
- What is one mistake you witness leaders making more frequently than others?
One mistake I have witnessed is leaders talking the talk but not walking the walk.
As a leader you must always remember that you are a role model for your team. If your employee is working late on a Friday night, so should you be working late on a Friday night. If you are a negative person, this negativity will resonate to your team as well. Always remember your team is watching you, admiring you and emulating you. If you want to shape their behaviour, start with your own.
- What local businessperson do you find inspiring?
I find Bruce White, Director, Minebay to be an inspiration of what hard work and perseverance really is. Bruce is an innovated thinker that after years of working in the mining industry, opened his own company. His creative thoughts were put to paper and he has patented two products of great value to the mining community, OHS and the environment.
Uneeko is an underground state-of-the-art, combined toilet and sewage processing plant totally powered by compressed air. This toilet has an above ground variant known as Suneeko which is completely solar powered.
Minebay also supplies a multi-functional high polymer flocculent known as Poly Glu. Poly Glu has both organic and inorganic characteristics used for the purification of contaminated waste water. This product will be paramount in the water purification and recycling environmental efforts.
Bruce’s ingenuity and tireless efforts in research and development has been instrumental in the creation of these two important products. He is a true inspiration of what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.
