By David Parmenter
Never before has the role of the CFO been more complex, multi faceted and rewarding. The CFO is now juggling more balls in the air than ever before, in front of an audience that is more demanding and knowledgeable.
What makes the difference from average to good and from good to great performance?
In this article I will attempt to shed some light on why you may not be scoring the goals you should, save training drills and suggestions. Please note that I am not writing this from personal success. I have never been a CFO, nor was I a good corporate accountant. I am basing this article on countless years of benchmarking CFO’s from all sectors and whose success varied from poor to great.
Five foundation stones of a winning CFO
In order to succeed as a leader, you need five foundation stones in place. These have been derived from my observations of some very good CFOs.
- Foundation stone 1: Self-belief with a vision of goals and legacy
- Foundation stone 2: Integrity, perseverance and commitment
- Foundation stone 3: Master of communication and selling change
- Foundation stone 4: Acquire a mentor
- Foundation stone 5: Focus on continual learning and innovation
10+ traits of successful CFOs
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Minimizing one’s personal baggage
- Being an effective leader
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The art of negotiation and persuasion
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Mastering time management
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Develop and maintain relationships
To continue reading please view Mastering the traits of a winning CFO here. (PDF: 250KB)
Next steps
Buy one or more of the following toolkits to help you on your journey
Lean Practices to Transform Your Finance Team – Toolkit (120 page Whitepaper + electronic templates)
One-Page Finance Team Reporting Templates (90 page Whitepaper + electronic templates)
20+ System Improvements for the Finance Team – Toolkit (100 page Whitepaper + electronic templates)