The Personality Traits of a Business Partner

This article is co-written by Ole Lemvigh and Anders Liu-Lindberg

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The business partner role is growing in both importance and scope. The last few years have seen an evolution in the Finance Function, and many Finance professionals are seeing their roles morph from pure numbers towards a partnership model. The requirements for Finance professionals are changing too, with communication and relationship-building the order of the day.

In the new Finance Function, professionals aren't just doing technical accounting or analysis. Instead, they are using their experience and knowledge to help decision-makers gain better insight into the workings of their organization, and enabling those leaders to make better choices. The purview of the Finance professional is broadening - and this means the skillsets required of them are evolving alongside.

Many accountants and financial controllers are working hard to develop the new skills they need in order to succeed in a partner role. But this is challenging, in many cases because those professionals are being pushed outside their comfort zones. For many Finance practitioners, the new attributes they need do not come naturally.

To better understand this shift, and to explore how Finance professionals can adapt to the changing Finance Function landscape, we're going to look at the case of a controller, Sophie, who has recently seen her role transform from 'pure' Finance into that of a business partner. She is questioning whether she has the skills required to succeed in this role - and, indeed, whether it is the role she wants to play.

The key personality traits of a business partner

Our controller is, like many people in Finance roles, an introvert by nature. Traditionally, this has suited those in the profession well. As the nature of the Finance Function has changed, however, practitioners are being pushed further into tasks and activities that require a more extroverted outlook. In a business partner role, practitioners need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues in every part of their organization. The head-down work of pure analysis is now mixed with activities that require practitioners to have excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to think quickly and reflexively about their output and themselves.

Business partners also need to be adept at translating data into actionable insight. This requires not only a firm grasp of the information itself but also a degree of lateral and creative thinking to enable non-Finance specialists to understand and gain value from it.

In turn, this means that our controller has had to develop a deeper and more holistic understanding of the organization in which she works. She must take in information about many different aspects of the business, from sales and operations through to top-level strategy.

As well as understanding those other functions, she must also now take an active role in shaping them. She is expected to contribute not only to the production and analysis of financial data but also to its application. This requires her to develop collaborative and collegiate working practices, along with a broad knowledge of management techniques and business development.

Are you energized by partnering?

Clearly, the shift from 'pure' finance towards a new model of a business partnership is not for everyone. Our fictional controller has been fundamentally challenged by the new requirements and responsibilities placed on her.

The question of personality is fundamental here. The 'traditional', introverted Finance professional will come up against challenges. Instead, successful business partners tend to be those who are naturally curious, keen to engage with people, and willing to try new activities and practices that are outside their normal wheelhouse.

This mirrors the general trend in Finance, towards what I call Finance Function 4.0. In this new paradigm, Finance professionals are relied upon just as much for their insight and overall business impact as they are for their proficiency with numbers.

When considering the shift from pure Finance to a business partnering role, it's important to ask yourself: do you actually want to take that leap? Do you feel energized by the challenge, and are you excited at the prospect of involvement in new and unfamiliar activities and business functions?

In order to succeed in business partnering, these considerations are crucial. But it's also important to remember that it's not an overnight process. In my case, it took a decade to learn how to become a great business partner - something that I will explore in a later article in this series.

What are the alternatives?

But what if the business partnering role isn't for you? What options are there for Finance professionals who wish to stick to what they know?

This is becoming more challenging as the rise of automation eats away at technical accounting tasks. The reality is that many of the most common transactional or technical activities carried out by Finance professionals are now completed by machines.

That doesn't mean there's no space for traditional Finance workers - but it does mean that you will need to think more creatively about how you create value within your organization. In the new paradigm, Finance professionals are being called upon to support those organizations in new ways. Actionable insight and strategic support are increasingly important, and they are the new watchwords in the Finance Function whether or not you transition to a partner role.

Are you ready to move towards business partnering? Think about your personality, your natural attributes, and what energizes you - and make sure you subscribe to see the rest of this series focusing on personal development in Finance.

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If you want to hear from other business partners talking about their career journey and energizes them about business partnering then check out some of the interviews below.

An Audit Officer's Journey Towards Becoming A Business Partner

One Accountants Untraditional Route Through The Business To Business Partnering

What This Accountant Learned From A Stint In The Business

How An FP&A Director Provided Line Of Sight To Millions Of Dollars

A Note To Self From The Future From A Soon To Be Business Partner

Fast-track Your Career Path To Business Partnering Through Mentorship

Interview Guidance To Would-Be Business Partners From A Senior FP&A Manager

What Is Your Sales Pitch To Land A Business Partner Role?

How A Technology-driven Approach Elevated This Accountant To Be A Business Partner

To learn more about how to become a business partner you can read my ten-article series "Becoming a business partner" below.

The Accountants Journey Towards Becoming A Business Partner Unlocked

Your Career Path From Chartered Accountant To Business Partner Defined

Why Delivering Results Is A Key Priority For Would-Be Business Partners

The Resume That Will Surely Land You A Business Partner Role

The Cover Letter That Lands You The Business Partner Interview

What Senior Finance Leaders Look For In Business Partners

What To Do On Your First Day As A Business Partner

The 100-day Plan For Successful Business Partner

Are There Second Chances In Business Partnering

The Senior Finance Leader As A Business Partner

If you want to become a better business partner you should consider taking our online course "Business Partnering Explained - Value Creation Unlocked" to get a better handle on the role. It's accredited for 5.5 CPD hours.

You can read a lot more articles about FP&A, Business Partnering, and Finance Transformation below. It all start's with “Introducing The Finance Transformation Nine Box” where you set the ambition for your transformation. You should join the Finance Business Partner Forum which is part of the Business Partnering Institute's online community where we will continue to discuss this topic and you can click here to follow me on Twitter.

All Successful Business Partners Are "Leaders" (the last article in the series about our new capability model)

Should We Keep Talking About Business Partnering? (part of a 17-article series where we deep-dive on the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of business partnering by putting it on a formula)

Your Journey To Successful Business Partnering Explained

How To Create Value Through Business Partnering

Everyone Can Adopt A Business Partnering Mindset (part of a six-article series about FP&A Business Partnering)

From Business Partner To Working Within The Business (part of an article series where I interview finance professionals about their careers in FP&A and Business Partnering)

Is Your Product Optimized For Value Creation? (part of a toolbox series where we look at what tools FP&A professionals should leverage to drive value creation)

How Business Partners Turn Analysis To Insight (part of case study series where I interview business partners about how they drive value creation using real cases)

The Future Of FP&A: Two Ways To Take The Reins

What Is The Accounting Profession Paradox?

What Defines A Finance Master?

The New Career Path For Finance Professionals

How Finance People Can Be More Successful

The CFOs Roadmap To Transforming Finance

How To Become A Finance Business Partner

Financial Analyst vs. Finance Business Partner

Finance Business Partner Is A Bullshit Job

How Business Partners Keep A Plan On Track

Anders Liu-Lindberg is the co-founder, COO (Chief Operating Officer), and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at the Business Partnering Institute and owner of the largest group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering on LinkedIn with more than 9,000 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 57.500+ followers.