Speaker Q&A: Lee Chambers

Lee Chambers is a respected psychologist and founder of Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing. After a diverse career, including time in corporate finance, elite sports and scaling and exiting a videogame business, Chambers decided to launch Essentialise in 2020, to support businesses in making wellbeing effective and provide value on investment.

How did you get into the profession?

I studied business and psychology at university, and actually started my career on a corporate finance graduate scheme. I lost this position in the reccession in 2008, and with it my professional training. Fifteen years later, having sold one business and built another, I’m now returning into the field with my clients, not as an accountant, but a consultant who supports in the area of wellbeing and inclusion. From the big four to boutique to practitioners, I might not have become the accountant I expected to be, but I now have clients that I once dreamed of working for, which is an privilege and just shows what is possible.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?

So much of my work is about empowering others, fostering relationships and collaboration, and making businesses better, for the planet, people and the communities they reside within. I get to make a positive impact every day, have variety in my work, and get to share best practices in my field on stages such as this. I get a lot of joy out of optimising and evolving organisational cultures, and with the nature of my role, I get to satisfy my childlike curiosity and am always learning.

What one piece of advice would you give to accountants who want to be successful?

The accountant of the future will be valuable to their clients beyond the figures, fostering relationships, being a sounding board and critical friend, and will be focused less on perfection and more on people. They will also leverage technology, mastering it rather than being fearful, and be clear on the accountant they are, purpose, personality and all.

What are you most looking forward to at Accountex?

Meeting a whole range of individuals who I’ve not had the chance yet to meet in person, and taking to the stage to share some insights and bring wellbeing right to the heart of a conference of learning and understanding.

What do you want visitors to take away from your sessions?

An appreciation for how valuable and important wellbeing is to accounting professionals and the organisations they sit within, and those they support. And on top of that awareness, practical actions and cutting-edge insights to take away and apply when they return to the everyday.

Lee is hosting the talk ‘Accounting for wellbeing, or wellbeing for accounting?‘ at 2-2.45pm on the Main Stage on the 10 May. 

You can register for a free ticket here. 

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