‘The role of CFO should be to enable a conversation about the right way forward with people who are experts in their field’. Kay Smith, Group CFO, Amwins Global Risk
The Connected Influencer thrives on engagement. They act as a partner to the CEO, actively interacting with all members of the Executive Committee and keeping a pulse on the organisation to challenge and influence decisions on how to maximise value delivery.
Interaction with the Executive Committee (ExCo) is at an all-time high with finance leaders needing to act as co-pilot of the business, partnering with the CEO.
... Nine out of the 11 finance leaders we interviewed said their interaction with their peers in the executive team had increased as a result of the pandemic,
with many reporting that their primary touchpoints have changed. According to a study by EY, 80% of HR and financial professionals interviewed said that their roles had become increasingly collaborative over the previous three years.4 Speaking with the leaders we interviewed, almost all of them reported an increasingly collaborative relationship with HR, particularly in the search for future finance talent.
Overwhelmingly though, our finance leaders reported their closest relationship was with the chief information officer and chief risk officer, with many also having accountability for the risk function. Given the digital transformation agenda and highly regulated environment, this probably comes as little surprise; however, what has changed is that
... the CFO is increasingly operating in partnership with the CIO, helping to influence the strategy and tell the story around how technology enables the vision.
To develop and maintain a high degree of influence in a virtual world, connectivity becomes critical — not just at the ExCo but all the way through the organisation. Whilst many of the finance leaders surveyed referenced a degree of democratisation through remote working, emotional intelligence has become an increasingly valued skill, impacting the way leaders connect and influence. All our leaders reported having to be more deliberate about connecting with their teams through skip-level meetings (where a leader meets with a direct report of someone they manage) and more frequent team meetings to check the pulse of the organisation. Keeping a finger on the pulse is critical to enable finance leaders to act as a catalyst for change, influencing decisions across the business.
... Increasingly, the most important communication skill for finance leaders is the ability to listen.
Our CFOs noted that they are having to listen more than ever before, ask the right questions, and be genuinely interested in the answers. As Gary Bischoping notes, ‘if you get the listening right, a lot of things will follow’.
With CFOs reporting that the move to virtual working has meant more people are involved in decision-making, being an effective influencer has never been more critical. Considering the role of the Finance Business Partner, establishing credibility to influence business decisions requires deep business acumen. This becomes even more evident at the finance leadership level, where influencing Board-level decisions can only be achieved with pre-established trust and credibility.
4 Partnering for Performance: Part 2: The CFO and HR. EY 2014
Practical tips for the Connected Influencer:
Consider the breadth and depth of your network. Establish connections with more people across the finance function through regular skip-level meetings, speed coffees, and other informal mechanisms to conduct a regular pulse check.
Offer to mentor high-performing talent from outside of finance. This not only supports rising talent but helps create an informal channel of information, providing a diversity of thought and expanding your network and potential resource pool.
Focus on demonstrating active listening to make people feel valued and an important part of the team. Giving people this recognition and security allows them to perform at their best, ultimately providing leaders with more influence.
Ask questions as a way of checking your understanding and demonstrating that you are listening.
Do not let the same few people dominate discussions. Ask others for their opinions. How comfortable are you and your peers with disagreement? If the answer is ‘not very’, the chances are you will only hear one idea, and everyone will go along with it. Demonstrate that all ideas and opinions are valued even if they are not used. They may result in another new idea.