Finance professionals aren't numbers people anymore - we're "people people"
Anders Liu-Lindberg
Leading advisor to senior Finance and FP&A leaders on creating impact through business partnering | Interim | VP Finance | Business Finance
Teaser: Tools and frameworks can help us communicate better, make our voices heard, and deliver value for our organizations. Use these three tools today to communicate more effectively - instantly.
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Finance has changed, and the skills we need are changing too. It's not enough to just have mastery of the numbers. Today, it's just as important that we learn how to communicate and interact with other people.
Numbers are the foundation, now we build
Nobody is suggesting that hard numbers and technical skills are no longer important in the finance profession. What is very clear, however, is that these competencies alone are no longer enough to justify our jobs.
As software does more and more of the traditional work of Finance, our job is changing. We're moving up the value chain, and are now responsible not primarily for reporting or gathering data, but rather for telling stories and communicating information.
Our role is to provide stakeholders with the information they need to make informed decisions - and, ultimately, to influence those decisions ourselves.
To do this, we need to become "people people".
Soft skills rule
Many finance professionals are not extroverted by nature. They may not have had the reason or inclination to focus on "soft skills" such as communication and collaboration.
But in the new world of Finance, these skills are absolutely crucial. We need to be able to produce and disseminate insight and information in a way that is easily digestible by non-specialists. We need to be able to tell stories about the finances and the business as a whole, understanding how our work sits within the broader priorities of the organization and what we can do to produce better real-world outcomes.
To do all this, we need to be able to communicate and collaborate. In the previous article in this series, we looked at some of the tools and frameworks we can use to help us speak the language of business, not just the language of Finance. Now let's look at three more tools that can help us influence, inform, and implement change - regardless of the discipline or function we are collaborating with.
Three tools to use now
Customer Value Action Plan. We designed the Customer Value Action Plan here at the Business Partnering Institute. It provides a framework by which we can effectively manage customer relationships and continuously deliver the greatest possible value to those customers. By "customer" we mean any stakeholder that might be using the information or insight we are delivering - so this is just as likely to be internal as it is external.
The action plan formalizes what can otherwise be ad hoc relationships - and that ad hoc nature can cause problems, particularly for those who need processes to help them manage work. By codifying what our customers need, how we're delivering it, and how we are continuously monitoring satisfaction, we aim to introduce a degree of specificity into those relationships.
SCQA. This is a framework designed to help you structure information. It's part of a broader suite of tools to help us tell compelling business stories and can be thought of as similar to a narrative arc in fiction. First, we define the Situation. Then we introduce the Complication - what is it that we are trying to solve? Next, comes the question - what if we did this? And finally, the Answer. By adopting the tropes and structures of stories, we can make information digestible and persuasive.
DISC. The DISC model is a useful way of examining personality traits to help us understand how our stakeholders might receive or deal with information we want or need to impart. It splits work personalities into four quadrants: Dominant, Influential, Steady, and Compliant. Within those quadrants, we can drill down into expected behaviors and traits, with a view to moderating or attenuating our own actions accordingly.
See the difference
To give an example of the benefits of these systems, let's look particularly at SCQA.
Most of the time, finance professionals (along with other specialist business functions) present too many details, ignore the broader business narrative, and fail to make a recommendation to solve the issue at hand.
The SCQA model quickly helps you to avoid these pitfalls. Look at the two emails I've screengrabbed below. Which one is more compelling to you? Try writing your own - it will change the way you communicate instantly.
How are you managing the transition from a numbers person to a people person? It's certainly not an easy change and you'll likely need help along the way. Make sure you surround yourself with role models who've already made the change. They will show you the way!
This was the sixth article in our new series "Future-proofing the finance professional". You can the previous article below.
领英推荐
Also, check out our latest series "The Finance Function of the Future". You can read all the articles below.
Continue reading below for more articles about trends in finance and accounting.
Anders Liu-Lindberg ?is the co-founder and a partner at?Business Partnering Institute ?and the owner of the largest?group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering ?on LinkedIn with more than 11,000 members. I have ten years of experience as a business partner at the global transport and logistics company?Maersk . I am the co-author of the book “Create Value as a Finance Business Partner ” and a?long-time Finance Blogger ?on LinkedIn with 150,000+ followers and more than 225,000 subscribers to my blog. I am also an advisory board member at?Born Capital ?where I help identify and grow the next big thing in?#CFOTech . Finally, I'm a member of the board of directors at?PACE - Profitability Analytics Center of Excellence ?where I support the development of new analytics frameworks that can improve profitability in companies around the world.
AML | Compliance | Financial Crimes | FP&A | Financial Strategy | Data Analytics | Leading High-Performing Teams | Expertise in: Banking, P&C Insurance & Manufacturing Finance
1 年As a FP&A manager, that doesn't manage a team, I would agree I am working with people more and more! I am working on cross-functional projects, reporting results to the team and leaders, working on process improvement initiatives and I didn't do much of this even 5-6 years ago! I still work with numbers quite a bit--working on forecasts, models, analyzing data, manipulating data/cleaning data, occasionally helping with accounting etc. (but def less of this compared to even 5 years ago!) I think it also depends what role you pay in finance! Maybe retail bankers are seeing more automation these days? (BUT don't hold me to this folks lol! I have not been a retail banker in some time! I am #opentoconnect with wonderful #financeprofessionals like yourselves! Please let me know we met through this article!!! Have a great day folks!!
Division Supervisor/Master's Degree Lancaster University/Linkedin Content Contributor
1 年It seems that the finance function is in the process of tranforming and hopefully better results are round the corner.
Group CFO at Fura Gems | Ex Deloitte | Ex Baxter Healthcare| Ex d.light Solar
1 年I couldn't agree more Anders Liu-Lindberg! The finance profession is evolving rapidly and the skills required to succeed are changing as well. While financial mastery is still important, being able to effectively communicate and build relationships with others is becoming increasingly vital. To truly make an impact, we must also be able to influence those decisions by effectively engaging and connecting with people. Becoming "people people" is essential to success in the modern finance world, and I applaud your insights on this topic.
Finance Professional with 10+ experience in Finance, FP&A, Financial reporting, Managerial accounting, Management, Banking, FinTech, E-commerce, B2B, IFRS, KPI, Budgeting, Controlling
1 年Finance professionals are people who help other people, business owners and top managers, manage their money more efficiently. Therefore, in any case, we are "people people". As the volume of financial information grew, finance experts had to learn to move from dry & boring spreadsheets with numbers to visualization of their rationale and conclusions. So they moved from "numbers people" to "numbers/people people" ?? With the development of automation and AI, it`s time for the next transition to convince stakeholders of the correctness and profitability of scenarios and strategies based on financial calculations. So finance professionals moved to next "people people" stage. ?? Role of soft skills increase significantly as well as the ability to use AI and software
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1 年Anders, you're so right! Finance is evolving, and we've got to keep up! ??♀??? The age of the number-crunching, spreadsheet-loving finance guru is slowly giving way to the more versatile finance professional. ???? In this brave new world, soft skills are just as important as the hard ones. ??♂??? So how do we adapt and become those "people people"? Here are some tips: 1?? Brush up on your storytelling skills ????♀? – Being able to convey complex financial concepts in a way that's engaging and easy to understand is crucial. After all, nobody wants to listen to a boring presentation full of jargon! ???? 2?? Empathy is key ???? – Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. What do they need to know? Be their financial guardian angel! ???? 3?? Embrace collaboration ???? – No (wo)man is an island. Build strong relationships with your colleagues and learn from each other. You never know when you'll need that marketing buddy's help to make your financial report shine! ???? 4?? Keep learning and growing ???? – Stay updated on the latest industry trends, technologies, and best practices. Be the finance professional that others look up to! ????