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Copyright © 2020 McCracken Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Overview

Every organization develops unique strategies to accomplish their mission. Executing those

strategies requires the right structure and the right team. Maintaining the right team requires continous

leadership development.

The implementation of a Finance Team Leadership Program includes both individual and team invovlement. Through a well-designed program, each team member is introduced to the framework that underpins the o�ce of the CFO. Every team member gains an understanding of the role they play in supporting the finance function. Each individual’s leadership development is best accomplished in a team orientation to support relationships and team synergy.

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The Finance Team Leadership Program process begins with an understanding of the company’s business strategy and how the finance structure (processes, systems, people) can best support the organization’s objectives. Companies can then identify the competencies needed to perform the requirements of their function.

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Building and maintaining a strong finance team is one of the principal responsibilities of the CFO. When done correctly, the finance team becomes a more synchronous unit, employee retention is optimized, and individuals feel highly accomplished and appreciated.

This is accomplished by having a strong O�ce of Finance Team Leadership Program.

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These pillars are further broken down into sub-pillars that are used as part of the McCracken Institute Guidance Framework. Using this framework, all finance team members create Individual Leadership Development Plans (ILDPs). These ILDPs help shape their career path within the company and give them the tools needed to analyze their development from a technical and behavioral perspective.

������������������������������������������������� ��������The requirements of the o�ce of the CFO encompass the Ten Pillars of Finance. A successful finance team will need a development plan that covers the entire scope of the o�ce of the CFO. The McCracken Institute uses these pillars as the framework for guiding finance professionals as they navigate to higher level roles.

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We will meet with you and other team leaders you deem appropriate to create a tailored approach to establishing your FTLP. This includes gaining an understanding of the company’s strategy and how finance is structured to align with that strategy.

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We will identify the current team members considered part of the financial management team, those anticipated to one day be part of the management team, those you are positioning for broader finance roles over time, and those you desire to have a faster progression path. We will also discuss the cultural aspects of your operations, relationship protocols, and any unique team characteristics. Using this information, we will create the leadership development objectives for your team and gain buy-in into the process.

Although participating in the program can be beneficial to every professional whom you feel is aspiring for high level roles, you have the option of limiting the number of participants in a natural segmentation based upon your company culture.

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From the Assessment Meeting, we will create a plan of action for introducing the FTLP to your team. Based upon your input on how you manage the team, we will consider together the number of sessions and attendees for each session to introduce them to the program. We recommend group sessions of up to 15 participants to encourage greater discussion among team members.

We will help you develop your communications plan to your team. This may include informal one-on-one conversations you have with key finance leaders to gauge their input and buy-in to the process, or a brief insightful letter from the CFO announcing the plan and its focus to support individual growth aligned with company success.

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�������To help establish a foundation for growth of all the professionals on a team, the Finance Team Leadership Program (FTLP) entails the following process which can be tailored to fit any company’s circumstances:

Every team member needs to be given the tools to develop themselves technically and behaviorally. Part 1 begins by equipping each member with these capabilities in group fashion. This part of the FTLP is all about creating personal & team understanding, while promoting future growth and aspirations.

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We will hold half-day group sessions (recommended up to 15 team members each) at your location. This session kicks o� the program and lays the foundations for future growth and advancement insights. These sessions begin with linking the FTLP to the overall mission/vision/values of the Company, showing how the FTLP supports both individual growth and the achievement of company objectives. Key underlying concepts are introduced including the importance of operating with the mindset of a businessperson, engaging in critical thinking, and other key foundations to becoming an e�ective leader. Integrated into this session is the framework for development and tools and methods to support individual and team growth.

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Following the completion of the online assessments, we will hold half-day group debrief workshops on the Multi-dimensional Leader. Here we will un-bundle the individual assessments in group format and learn how to interpret the results and apply them to real life circumstances.

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Leading a team requires unique management skills such as being a clear communicator, e�ective delegator, and convincing negotiator. Leaders on the finance team will meet in a group session to learn some of the foundations of leadership and key coaching competencies. As they work with their teams, they can hone these skills to become more e�ective leaders and become role models of great leadership.

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Each team member will be requested to complete their own individual development plans that will have been discussed in each of the group sessions. These plans will be aligned with the company’s objectives and planned use of each person’s talents. The Institute ILDP form can be comfortably tailored to the company’s leadership development strategy under your direction.

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Individual coaching sessions will be made available for each team member for a deeper dive to answer any individual or specific questions a team member may have about their own management style, as well as encourage the completion of the ILDP and to lend assistance where needed.

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Each participant will then take the Multi-Dimensional Leader online assessment.

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By now we will have a su�cient understanding of the company’s mission, strategy, and structure of the finance team. We can now dive deeper into the structure of the finance team and evaluate how di�erent roles support the requirements of finance in the organization. From there we can outline the required competencies of each role and create a curriculum for individuals to follow that support those competencies.

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As we mentioned earlier, not every role is the same. It is the combination and distribution of duties that allow a finance team to operate most e�ciently. The functionality of a given role is the way in which that role supports the entire team. In other words, functionality answers the question, “How does my work make a di�erence in my organization?” Having an understanding of each role’s function let’s us see clearly the required competencies to accomplish that role.

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In order to e�ectively perform, each team member needs to be su�ciently competent to complete the requirements laid before them. Competency can relate to both technical and behavioral skills. Some of these skills are more easily developed and others require a natural aptitude to perform at a high level.

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Not every role is finite. Some team members may repeat the same function of their job on a daily basis with little variation, and others may be constantly tackling new problems with little repitition. Having a deep understanding of the function of each role and the competencies required to perform it help us develop the right curriculum for continued learning.

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E�cient and e�ective technical performance of a team requires certain competencies. Every team member should understand the interrelationship within the team and how they fit into the broader successful execution of the requirements of the O�ce of the CFO. Initial technical competencies have been evaluated during the hiring process when placing professionals in desired roles and assigning them responsibilities. As roles change and requirements of positions expand, additional competencies become important to assure e�ective execution. It is important to define and document the core competencies of each role within the finance team which lays the foundation for e�ective candidate selection and positioning team growth as individuals engage in broader roles. These competencies are developed through the summation of education and training, leadership development and on-the-job experience in roles and serving on projects.

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Similar to technical competencies, team members should understand that the behavioral attributes required to operate as an e�ective team member vary from role to role. While some members of the team may find a natural aptitude for certain behavioral traits, there is still much emphasis that should be placed on behavioral development. The focus is to become a Multi-Dimensional Leader over time inclusive of getting results, developing others, building trust, and emotional agility. These traits are best developed by first understanding them and subsequently putting them into action with periodic reviews.

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Finally, once the function of each role is understood and we have documented the required competencies to accomplish it, we can develop an e�ective curriculum to support those competencies. A curriculum is a path of learning for each team member that will help them achieve higher performance in their current and future roles. The curriculum can include learning from special projects, cross-functional engagements, external & internal education, and more. With the finished curriculum for the finance team, every team member has real, actionable items to work towards on a daily basis.

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������������������������For Advanced Learning in Finance

• Aligning the strategy of finance with the financial structure needed to accomplish the strategy

• Creating a tailored finance-specific leadership development plan for the entire team

• Establishing Individual Leadership Development Plans (ILDPs) that provide direction for personal development that leads to better teamwork and better leadership capability

• Understand the Pillars of Finance that underpin the entire finance structure

• Understand the Foundations of Progression and Cornerstones of Advanced Learning in Finance

• Individual feedback using the Multidimensional Behavioral Assessment

• Understand unique talents of each team member

• Insight into team’s strengths and possible blind spots to overcome barriers

• Enhance team’s ability to work cohesively toward set goals

• Increase awareness of individual di�erences and team dynamics to optimize team e�ectiveness.

• Commitment to Action Items by each individual to improve his/her contribution to the team.

• Understand natural strengths for leadership – Relationships or Results oriented behavior

• Understand Emotional Intelligence

• Understand how to receive feedback and use it for personal development

• Understand how others experience their leadership

• Apply this information to improve leadership

• Create an ongoing culture of self-responsibility for future career progression

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Participants will gain an understanding of Emotional Intelligence and how to handle team synergy. The team will see an increase productivity and employee retention. Participants will learn Best Practices in the four categories of Leadership: Results, Relationships, EQ and Trust.

Each leader will acquire a more accurate understanding of their leadership strengths and struggles and then lay out their personal Individual Leadership Development Plan (ILDP) with action items for personal growth as a leader and contributor to the team.

Overall your team will see an increase in productivity, a reduction in conflict, and improved relationships among the team member as they employ the elements learned by being involved in the program. Each team member will have increased clarity on how important their contribution is to the overall e�ort as well as a logical path for future development.

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You can send selected manager-level and above professionals to Leadership Finance which is a program inclusive of a series of 8 monthly sessions providing advanced leadership training supported by the local business community and academia.

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You can send selected higher-level finance professionals to the LOCFO program which is o�ered periodically in Atlanta sponsored by Georgia State University and CFO leaders in the Atlanta area. This program covers the 10 Pillars of Finance taught from a foundation and execution perspective by CFOs and by other leading experts.

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You can include your manager level and above team members in the Georgia State University Financial Leadership Network. This network is rich with periodic leading-edge topical content discussions on emerging areas impacting a company’s business and finance. The series of events each year include quarterly topical meetings by leading experts, peer networking, CFO Inner Circle Dinner, FLY Awards, financial leadership receptions, etc.

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Executive Coaching is available for all executive level finance professionals. Executive Coaching assists executives and directors in preparing for current and future financial leadership roles. Coaching provides a base line evaluation of the current state, a vision for the future success of a role and a plan and direction to achieve success. Coaching enables leaders to unlock their potential to bring greater leadership value to their company. This includes self-development as well as the development and leadership of a group in a team environment. MI can provide a leading finance-specific executive coach using our single point-of-contact and a uniform coaching regimen to best position key finance leaders for their current and advancing roles in finance. We utilize our 360 review as a foundation measurement tool supplemented for the circumstances by direct observation, personality assessments and cognitive assessments.

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Selecting the right candidate for an executive level role aligned with the capability needs and cultural fit is critical to e�ective candidate selection. Our leadership development professionals utilize the most beneficial assessment tools mentioned above to support the hiring evaluation process to assure candidates have the leadership qualities and capabilities to drive performance and shareholder value.

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���������������For more information please contact:

julie.mccracken@mccrackenalliance.com404-580-9511

������������������������For Advanced Learning in Finance