West Indies Project #1 Safiya Noel

If you are reading this, then you have decided to join me in my journey to giving a voice to the finance professionals from the Caribbean.

Welcome to the West Indies Project!

I felt it was fitting to write on someone who I believe to be a rare individual. Someone who has made strides in the finance industry mixing financial, analytical, and real-world skills with astute leadership. I have invited none other than Safiya Noel MSc, F.C.C.A.

Just briefly, Safiya Noel is the Managing Director of Safiya Group Limited, a leadership development start-up agency that works with leaders to raise awareness and stimulate growth. Safiya holds over 20 years’ experience and has a wealth of experience in strategic management and people development in both the public and private sectors. Her work over the years has also allowed her to capture so many titles and just to name a few but not limited to: country representative, CFO, CEO, board member, lecturer and most recently start-up founder.

Aliyyah: Safiya thanks for joining us today, what do you believe drew you to the finance field?

 Safiya: Well, I always had a knack for numbers, and I loved Math. I also loved business and anything entrepreneurial. Naturally, when I was exposed to Accounting in secondary school, it seemed to bring together numbers in a useful way in business. From there, I just continued climbing until I completed ACCA back in 2002.

Aliyyah: How has your experience been as a finance professional in the private and public sector? And what skillsets do you believe are necessary to achieve success?

 Safiya: Practicing finance and accounting in private and public sectors was pretty much quite similar, however, the environments and frameworks were dramatically different. For example, you must observe all the tenets of a grounded, ethical finance professional and prepare your financials in accordance with the established IFRSs. However, in the private sector, the focus was on maximising profitability. In the public sector, the focus is on maximising service to the public or accomplishment of a specific mandate. They were both rewarding experiences.

 A power skill for me was my adaptability while uncompromising on my ethics and technical standards. I always sought to understand my organisation and what were its key success factors and brought my value, as a finance professional, to bear upon those efforts. I strived to be relevant, not just to my department or to the tasks for which I was assigned, but to my organisation as a whole.

 Another power skill was that I genuinely believed (and still believe) in people and teams so I became a serious team player and again seeing the entire organisation as my team – not just my department or section. This caused me to be more integrated within the organisation thereby deepening my understanding of all other departments and their contribution to the organisation’s success. Inevitably, this increased my effectiveness in supporting the rest of the organisation.

Aliyyah: Tell me about your experience as a leader since you run this agency? What is your best lesson or story on leadership?

 Leadership has been chasing me since I was a child in primary school as I was selected to captain teams and other groups. This followed me all through my life to today. Honestly, I am quite shy and was very content being in the background. There came a time, however, when I had to embrace who I was. That was tremendously freeing and scary at the same time.

 If there was one story I would like to share, it would be my story of rising to the CEO position at one of my previous employers.

 When I first got the opportunity to apply for this position, I went through a lot of mental turmoil wondering if I had what it takes. There were large shoes to fill and the former CEO had an amazing track record. The primary business did not align with my primary qualifications, but I applied because I recognised the organisation was missing a leader who could connect with people.

 We had made so many accomplishments that we had subtly lost the team element. People were burnt out and staff morale was at an all-time low. Now we had come to a point where we needed to work on our staff engagement and build strong relationships and not just directly focus on the results. I also knew that highly engaged staff would bring home the results and be happy doing it. The quirky thing is that finance professionals are not necessarily known for relationship building.

 I told myself I had what it takes even though I believed I was the underdog. Everyone else who applied for the position appeared to be more experienced than I was and had more letters behind their names, yet I was successful. Only when I assumed the position did I realise how deeply impacted the people were. I knew I needed a plan to transform the culture that pervaded at the time.

To prepare myself for the role, I knew I needed to build trust with the team. Now, in order to be an effective leader, people must trust your character and your competence. Its surely the fastest way to build trust. I believed in my character, but the people didn’t know me so I met with every department, and every person, in an organisation that had well over 125 people (at that time). The goal was to truly see them and allow them to see me – my personality, my perspective, my vision. I sought to be visible as a leader to all the departments and got to know the teams well. I also started consuming a lot of material on my firm to build on my knowledge where I knew I had gaps. Once I did this, I became the go-to person for many stakeholders and key leaders within the organisation.

 For me this was one of my biggest leadership challenges and biggest turnarounds. It proved to me that I had exactly the skills and style that the organisation needed and it was evidenced by the overwhelming support, commitment and high productivity that resulted. It just goes to show, you need to believe in you. You have what it takes! Being a first time CEO, this experience remains one of my best stories. 

Thanks for sharing Safiya, the current demands are high for CFO’s and managers yet you have made it appear easy, in your opinion, what’s the most needed skill for leaders to succeed?

I appreciate your sentiments, Aliyyah! It is all about being relevant – environmentally relevant. The accounting and finance profession is required in every business, but it is that universality that may give rise to a cookie-cutter approach to the practice. We, as finance professionals, should not force persons to come into our world of numbers, spreadsheets, and confusing jargon. Instead, we should cross over into their worlds and use our knowledge to benefit organisations and other professionals – but based on their unique needs and goals.

 Congratulations on forming your business, what motivated you to want to do this?

 I have always had an appreciation for entrepreneurship, and I see business opportunities everywhere. I came to a point where I decided not to live another day without seeking to fulfil all that is inside me and share with the world.

 How is the transition going? And what advice you would like to share from your experience thus far for anyone wishing to go from employment to self-employment?

 So far, so good! There are always bumps here and there but for the most part, the transition is going well. My advice to persons wishing to make that transition:

(1)   You must be self-motivated and a strong self-manager. There is no one looking over your shoulder to ensure that you get it done.

(2)   Do not transition simply because you are running from your workplace and do not allow your emotions to force you into rash decisions. Make the jump when the time is right for you.

(3)   Have some funds as a buffer as everything takes time to grow. Even with the best product, you will need some time to build your foundation and you need to continue to live during that period.

Should one receive training when starting their own business to make an even easier transition?

 More than training, you should have a mentor. You need someone who you trust – who is experienced and wise – to help you through the transition period. You also need to connect with key professionals to assist with areas where you may not be strong enough.

 Were your surprised with Covid 19? And how do you view the Next Normal in the months coming up ahead?

I am rarely surprised because I generally take things for what they are. Life is unpredictable and it would surprise me if it wasn’t. Covid-19 eliminated a lot of excuses for resisting change, especially technologically. As with any other situation of this magnitude, Covid-19 produced significant opportunities for some businesses while posing crippling threats to others. For some, the threats were, or can be, surmounted with radical change. For others, this may be end of this version of the business.

I don’t think that the Next Normal will be as catastrophic or different as some expect. I believe we had a major disruption and a new equilibrium will be found and it may look more familiar than we think. After all, we are creatures of habit.

 However, I will say that we should seek to sustain as many profitable changes as possible in the New Normal, instead of just bouncing back like a rubber band.

Aliyyah: I had many take-aways from this interview and I hope you can extract some lessons as well. Just to summarise:

·        Have an emphasis on strong results and be passionate about people and building relationships

·        Come out of your comfort zone to achieve your full potential

·        Focus on ethical leadership as an effective tool for buy-in from teams.

 Thanks for joining us Safiya!