Unlock your executive presence
Many chartered accountants aspire to be executives. While numerical skills and rigorous training come with the designation, many soft skills don’t. So just how do you build what’s known as executive presence?
In Brief
- The complexity of CFO roles is increasing and if you are keen to have more influence and create more impact with your work then executive presence is essential.
- It is about standing out from the crowd so others pay attention, and about articulating your expertise in an influential way.
- To create value for an organisation, the CFO needs to be inclusive, influential and inspirational.
By Sue Rosen FCA (ICAEW)
Illustration Neil Webb
As a chartered accountant I’ve spent most of my career leading finance teams in commerce and financial services. As an executive coach – I now coach, facilitate and write on subjects relating to leadership, particularly in relation to finance professionals – I now understand that technical brilliance is no longer enough.
To be successful as an executive, including a chief financial officer which many chartered accountants will become, you need what’s known as ‘executive presence’.
The complexity of CFO roles is increasing and if you are keen to have more influence and create more impact with your work then executive presence is essential.
What is executive presence?
The very term executive presence may sound rather nebulous and a bit intangible. Many of the leaders I work with tell me they need more of it – but what is it exactly?
The definition I work with is “an ability to inspire confidence in others in your capabilities and your potential, even under pressure”. It is about standing out from the crowd so others pay attention, and about articulating your expertise in an influential way.
I recently conducted a poll on LinkedIn, which asked my network: Would a lack of executive presence hold you back in your career? The question yielded a resounding yes from 100% of respondents. This was an even more emphatic response than a larger study of more than 400 C-suite leaders conducted by US, Georgia-based communications firm Sally Williamson and Associates, in which 78% of respondents replied yes to the question.
The good news is executive presence is not an innate character trait we are either born with or not; it is a trait that can be cultivated.
Why do I need it?
The role of the CFO is a critical one within every organisation. The CFO partners with the chief executive officer and the board to create value and deliver strategic input that results in moving the business forward and futureproofing the organisation.
The role is evolving. CFOs today have moved beyond the accounting and financial reporting role, with many responsible for digital transformation, investor relations, post-merger integration, procurement and board engagement, among other things.
If a CFO is going to be successful across a broad range of responsibilities, they have to exercise new capabilities, which are not based solely on their technical expertise.
From my experience of working with finance leaders the biggest challenges I see are not becoming isolated, ignored and invisible.
Some finance leaders lack confidence – especially when they take on new functional responsibilities outside their technical expertise. They undervalue their experience and are reluctant to speak up, thus rendering themselves invisible.
Others speak up but become frustrated when their voice is not truly heard. This may be because they are staying in their comfort zone, creating tables of numbers to provide information – or are so wedded to a need to be the expert they are unable to see other perspectives. Ultimately, they are ignored.
Others feel isolated because they are so focused on delivering tasks to deadlines they have overlooked the importance of building relationships to make things happen.
We can all find ourselves in these zones and they can be very situation dependent: different behaviours might arise out of specific environments or with particular people. I know I have moved between these zones at varying times in my career.
Articulating a vision
To create value for an organisation, the CFO needs to be inclusive, influential and inspirational.
When the CFO articulates their vision and purpose they will bring their team along on the journey, and if they are inclusive they will improve the team’s ability to collaborate and deliver on objectives.
In a complex world where no single person has all the answers, the CFO needs to be influential in working with their peers so the leadership team can collectively make better decisions.
CFOs have a critical role as change agents and the first step in change is for people to see the value of change. As CFO, it is essential to inspire confidence in internal and external stakeholders showing you have both the capability and character to deliver what is required and to remain calm under pressure.
And this is where executive presence becomes an invaluable attribute.
The role of the CFO has changed significantly over the years. The challenge is to step out of your comfort zone and build on your skills. There is no silver bullet for change: it takes time, commitment and energy. However, if you are willing to do the work, your executive presence will flourish.
How to cultivate executive presence
1. Create time and space for reflection
Leadership has to start from within so we need to start our move from invisible to inspirational with an exploration of ourselves. Executive presence starts with self-belief, a core confidence which comes from believing you have value to offer right now and which enables you to act in alignment with your values.
How? Take a strategic pause: Slow down so you can go faster. Take time to focus on your personal values and ask yourself what success looks like if you are living in alignment with your values.
2. Practise humility, see value in others
As much as executive presence starts within and requires confidence in ourselves, it is also created in our interactions with others. When we develop our ability to be compassionate with the people we work with and we listen deeply to their concerns, we increase our ability to work with the complexity of multiple perspectives.
How? Take steps to being more present in meetings such as turning off devices and asking more questions. Get curious about why your peers believe what they do and listen so you understand.
3. Embrace the strengths and skills of the people around you
If you can, you will create more opportunities to collaborate and drive progress. Connection is fundamental to human wellbeing and success, and it is only by working in relationship with others that we can achieve our shared objectives.
How? Create opportunities to engage with your stakeholders outside the leadership team meeting or boardroom, so you get to know them at a deeper human-to-human level.
C-suite presence in action
What does executive presence look like in the boardroom? Two senior chief financial officers share what they’ve learned. As told to Abigail Murison.
Pictured: Leanne Allen FCA
Leanne Allen FCA is chief financial officer of Adelaide property development company Commercial and General. She has a chartered accounting background and has been a CFO for 10 years.
“I think what surprised me the most when you move into an executive role, is that your technical skills and abilities are not questioned anymore. They’re a given. The focus moves to you as an individual and your broader ability. What else do you bring to the table? It might be your commercial acumen, your communication skills, or your contribution and track record.
“I think what surprised me the most when you move into an executive role, is that your technical skills and abilities are not questioned anymore. They’re a given. The focus moves to you as an individual and your broader ability.”
Executive presence is almost like that X factor. People may describe it differently, but you know it when you see it. It’s stepping up, having the courage to back yourself and speaking appropriately. What I mean by that is it’s being conscious of who your audience is, conscious of the message you’re trying to get across and asking questions in the right way.
If you have C-suite ambitions but lack executive presence, it will probably take you longer to get there. Not everyone has to be extroverted – being softly spoken is fine – but if you’re not confident to speak up, it’ll take you longer to be noticed.
If you’re in a middle management position and aspiring to climb the ladder, you need to take the opportunities given to you. You may feel a little out of your comfort zone. Lean into it. The more you do that, the less uncomfortable it becomes.
Leaders are never too old – or too senior – to learn. Those who want to demonstrate their executive presence should be open to feedback and actively look for areas of growth. We can’t assume that just because someone is in a senior role that they can manage people, for example.”
Pictured: Angela Wagland FCA
Angela Wagland FCA has been the chief financial officer of Sydney-based franchisor Foodco for 10 years. Before moving into a commercial role, she worked for ESV Accounting and Business Advisors.
“Communication is a key element of executive presence that some executives really struggle with. You have to be able to consider other people’s perspectives and anticipate what they are thinking and feeling.
“Communication is a key element of executive presence that some executives really struggle with. You have to be able to consider other people’s perspectives and anticipate what they are thinking and feeling.”
You’ve got to take the blinkers off. To me, that’s the difference between someone having a really strong executive presence and somebody who’s going to struggle to either transfer their skills to another business or continue to progress.
Spend some time thinking about who you want to be and how you want to be portrayed, and practise it actively. Do you want to be portrayed as somebody who is a calm, articulate leader? Are you happy with being a bit chaotic? How does that get perceived? You do need to really understand who you are as an individual.
Finance people can get very comfortable sitting behind a computer screen, but that doesn’t give the rest of the business confidence you know what is actually causing stress in their days. If you want that executive presence for a C-suite role, you have to be able to get out from behind the desk and show you have an interest in what people are doing and that you’re really trying to understand their pressure points.
Building teams where trust is two-way is important in any leadership role, particularly C-suite. Part of having executive presence – that confidence – is not being afraid to bring people into the team who complement your skills and challenge you.
I’ve seen a couple of executives over the years who have surrounded themselves with ‘yes’ people. They just do not want to be challenged. I don’t think you can sit in a seat at this level and not be challenged.”
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