For years, the accounting profession has focused on becoming more efficient. Don’t get me wrong, efficiency matters. Technology is helping us automate work, analyze information and do more in less time. But efficiency alone isn’t going to build the firms we want for the future.

The real advantage will come from what our people can do with all that technology gives us.

Can they ask better questions? Build trust with a client? Develop someone on their team? Have the difficult conversation? Recognize an opportunity? Make a decision when there isn’t a perfect answer? Lead people through change?

These have often been called “soft skills.” I think that undersells them. These are professional skills. And they are business skills. They drive client loyalty, strengthen teams, equip future leaders, help firms adapt, and they allow technical expertise to have a greater impact.

So what does that mean for firm leaders? Don’t wait until someone becomes a manager or partner to start developing these skills. Build them into your firm’s development conversations now.

Identify the professional skills your future leaders will need and give them opportunities to practice them. Coach your people through the moments that challenge them. And recognize that development isn’t something that happens once a year in a training session, it happens in the work itself.

Technology will continue to change what accountants do. Our opportunity is to make sure our people are developing the skills to do what technology can’t.

The competitive advantage is human.