Why We Must Change The Way We Lead The Finance Function

This article is co-written by Talita Ferreira and Anders Liu-Lindberg

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Last week we explored the history of Finance Transformation. We identified that something is missing in the transformation. What’s missing is the transformation of how we lead the finance function. We can transform systems, processes, and individuals all we want, but if we don’t transform the leaders too, we will never realise the full potential of the transformation. The way leaders lead in Finance must be transformed, and it will not be an easy journey

In fact, it might be the hardest part of the transformation. However, it need not be complex. We’ll introduce you to a model of how to transform leadership in the finance function. Before we do that though, we’ll dig deeper into why the current leadership model is challenged. 

The world is changing but has our leadership style changed? 

Traditionally, as finance leaders, we have embraced the more analytical right brain activities, the trusted analysis; after all the numbers don’t lie. However, we mentioned in our first article that there are new skills that are required like creativity, emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility to cope with the challenges of the future and that creativity, collaboration, persuasion, time management and adaptability are the skills that companies are hiring for.

We know that there are already five different generations of employees in the workplace that want and need to be inspired differently. It is our job as leaders to inspire, engage and bring out the best in every individual that works for us, no matter how different they are to us or how difficult that might seem. 

But where are we today and what do we see? 

Source: ‘The Authenticity Dilemma Resolved?’ by Talita Ferreira

Leaders are normally very focused on themselves; on their careers and their achievements. We observe a lot of ego-based behaviours; wanting to be right or looking who was to blame when something goes wrong, instead of just taking responsibility as the leader and attempting to do better next time.

Sometimes we are driven by our limiting self-beliefs, which we so carefully have hidden from the world. We might not feel like we can do a new job effectively, or that we always have the right answers but instead of asking for help or brainstorming with other people, we try to hide the feelings or control situations because we don’t want to be caught out.

Sometimes we have a very competitive nature as finance leaders and want to make sure we can control or plan for every possible scenario - again that we won’t look bad or stand out. We call this state of behaviours “the state of doing”. It can sometimes create this feeling that something is missing, and we live from one holiday to the next. Or we are held back from truly connecting with our business partners and creating relationships based on mutual trust. 

Is that really a way to lead? 

None of these behaviours are particularly good for leading in today's world and while we likely can’t change our natural tendencies we can certainly manage them in a better way. We need our fuel for leading to come from a different place. We need to be motivated by something else.

If we don’t change we will fail in our leadership and the performance of our teams will suffer. The team will lack engagement as do most teams today and value will be left on the table. That’s why we must dig deeper into how to lead the finance function into the future. Next week we’ll introduce you to the “state of being” model that’ll show us a new path for leading the finance function.

Are you with us so far? Do you believe in the case for change or you think we’re fine the way things are now? We truly encourage discussion on this topic that’s so important for the future of Finance!

This was the second article in the series about leadership transformation in the finance function. You can read previous and other articles below.

A History Of Finance Transformation. Are We There Yet?

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.

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

You’re A Finance Business Partner, Now What?

Building A Team Of Finance Business Partners

Anders Liu-Lindberg is a Senior Finance Business Partner at Maersk supporting our largest product and I have more than 10 years of experience working with Finance at Maersk both in Denmark and abroad. I am also the co-founder of the Business Partnering Institute and owner of the largest group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering on LinkedIn with more than 7,000 members. My main goal at Maersk is to show how to be successful with business partnering and drive value creation as a trusted partner. I am the co-author of the book “Create Value as a Finance Business Partner” and a long-time Finance Blogger with 32.000+ followers.