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What changes when you step into a CFO role for the first time · The Diary of a CFO

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The path to the C -suite is rarely linear, and
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the challenges don't stop once you get there.
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I'm Wasiyah Camon, and I'm taking you with me
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on my journey as a newly appointed CFO, sharing
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the hidden challenges, unspoken rules, and lessons
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I wish I had known. So whether you're in finance,
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work in finance, or just trying to get your budget
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approved faster, there's something here for you.
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The purpose of this podcast is to make better
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leaders and help leaders be better at life. Welcome
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to the Diary of a CFO. Hello and welcome back
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to another episode of the Diary of a CFO. I'm
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super excited today to kick off a new series
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titled What They Don't Tell You About Becoming
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a CFO. It'll be in three parts. The first part
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we'll kick off today is about something that...
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I realized early in my career, but that became
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very obvious as I climbed up the corporate ladder.
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And that is that you will never be hired to keep
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the status quo. If you're hired and you get into
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a role and they're like, Oh yeah, we want you
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to do exactly what your predecessor did. But
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I can tell you, you just landed a dead end job
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because most of the time when you step into a
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role, people want to see improvement. People
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want to see change. And when it comes to the
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actual role of the CFO, you have to remember,
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what are the top reasons why companies will go
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out and hire CFO? The number one reason is because
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of strategic growth. They need someone that will
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come in and help them go through some kind of
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acquisition, market expansion. They need someone
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that will help them through the financial complexities
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during growth or M &A. That's the number one
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reason why a company will go out and hire a CFO.
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So for a startup, for example, or a company that
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has been at one level, let's say for the past
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couple years, they've always been at X million
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dollars in revenue, and they want to grow substantially
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in the next three years. And it's in their strategic
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plan. And they realize that maybe the persons
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they have or the finance structure they have
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today, is not going to help them through that
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growth. So that's when a company will go out
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and hire a CFO to support them in that strategic
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growth. And that in itself means that the person
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coming in is not coming to keep the status quo.
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They're coming to lead effective change. Same
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thing for the second reason that company visually
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go and hire a CFO is to improve their financial
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performance. How can someone come in and identify
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some cost saving opportunities or help them optimize?
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their profitability while minimizing the risks.
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And again, in this scenario, it's about change,
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not keeping the status quo. It's about coming
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in with a fresh set of eyes and see, hmm, what
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are some things we could be missing? What are
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some things we could do better, especially from
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a finance standpoint? And that's why they will
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look for a CFO. So of course that person coming
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in is definitely not hired to keep that status
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quo, but they're here to lead, again, change.
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And the third top reason a company will go out
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and hire a CFO is because the current CFO left,
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whether voluntary or not. And whenever they bring
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in someone new, they want you to do better. They
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want you to, again, come with that fresh perspective
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because they see it as valuable. They see it
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as valuable. They want positive change. So no
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matter which reason the company bring you in,
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especially as a CFO, especially as a finance
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leader, it's for you to change things, help things
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be better. Because of that, how you approach
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the role is different, has to be different. When
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you broaden to lead change and you step into
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a role, especially as a CFO, there are two things
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that you have to learn to do very, very quickly.
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And that is one, being able to build trust. And
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the second one, to learn the business and not
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just the financials. Let's dive in. When you
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step into a new role where people expect you
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to build change, your number one focus should
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be how you're going to build trust in order to
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get the buy -in and the insights you will need
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to lead effective change. Because people will
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not buy into your vision, they do not trust you
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if they do not see you as credible. Now, no one
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will teach you how you can walk into a leadership
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role and immediately earn the trust of your team
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and your peers. You will have to figure that
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out and demonstrate your value very quickly.
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Just because you come in with a new title, Chief
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Financial Officer or VP of so -and -so, your
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title alone doesn't mean that you have the trust
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immediately. Your title doesn't mean that you
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have influence. So you have to come in. and really
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come up with a plan and be intentional about
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how you're going to build that trust the minute
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you walk in the door. And you have to realize
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when you walk into a role like that, there are
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apprehension, because again, you're trying to
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build trust, you're trying to talk to people
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and say, hey, I'm so -and -so, I'm here to help.
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But your title carries so much weight. Naturally,
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your subordinate or anybody that's not at your
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level will feel very careful about opening up
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to you. And when you come in finance and there's
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any rumors of cutting costs, that's even worse.
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You're not going to get that immediate, oh, let's
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open up, kumbaya, let me tell you what's going
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on. You kind of have to pull things out of people.
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And for it to be easy, again, it will have to
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be how you build that trust. How do you build
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that trust almost instantly? How is it that people
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will come in, meet you, feel comfortable and
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be like, yeah, I like this person and I think
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they're competent. I think that they will really
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bring something different to the table. And yes,
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I'm willing to try, try some of the things that
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they will suggest, try some of their ideas. And
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that's the thing too, with coming into a CFO
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role and you are from a different company because
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When in your company, hopefully you build that
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influence and people trust you, they trust the
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work they have seen you do in your other world
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within the company. But when you come into a
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new CF on your new company and a new industry,
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there is even more layers to go through in order
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to build that trust. So here are four things
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I will recommend in that case that have helped
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me. And the first one you want to do is with
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your first impressions. Today, people will Google
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you and LinkedIn you before they work with you.
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So your online presence has to showcase your
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expertise so that the first impression they have
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of you is like, whoo, this person knows what
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they're doing. That's a way to improve your trust.
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So I'll give you a personal example. In about
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two years, when I started posting more on LinkedIn
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and being more intentional about my personal
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brand online, The reason I started was because
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I took a personal branding course, and the lady
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that was teaching it was Bozoma St. John. She,
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at the time, was the chief marketing officer
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at Netflix. Strong, powerful female leader. In
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the first part, she said, if I was to Google
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your name, what will I see? If you're telling
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me that you're a rock star at your job, in your
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field, will I see it when I Google you? And that
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really resonated with me because at the time
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I was like, okay, people knew I was good at what
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I was doing, but it was within my company. It
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was just the people I worked with or used to
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work with. These are the people who know about
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it, the people that will see my resume. And yes,
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if you were to go online and look for me at the
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time, you wouldn't find anything. You wouldn't
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find anything. And so that's when I started thinking
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about personal branding, personal branding, personal
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branding. Soon I realized as I was building my
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presence online through LinkedIn posts, through
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articles and other publication outside of LinkedIn,
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because that's also part of your online brand.
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You can't just do 100 % of it on LinkedIn. You
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have to be out there in industry event, do other
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things in order to build your brand. That could
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be a great other topic. But for the topic of
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the day for leading change and getting people
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to trust you before they even meet you. Having
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a personal brand means when that person will
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go in and Google you or look you up on LinkedIn,
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what would they see? How is your profile? What
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is a title? Do you have a banner? Does your experience
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section show a little bit more than just your
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title at the company and the company you used
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to work for? And when I started hiring, soon
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after, my brand was kind of, okay, you're getting
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there, Wasee, are you getting there? I cannot
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tell you how many people said, oh, I was interviewing
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for a role in your finance department and I really
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wanted to work with you. The first time I realized
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it was when I became VP of finance and accounting
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for a chemical manufacturer and we're looking
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for an AP position. The person came in and when
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I did a second round of interview, they said,
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oh, I look you up online. And I was like, oh,
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I really want to work with you because I like
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how you talk about professional development.
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That granted you will say, okay, of course they're
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going to work for you, but what about the people
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who work with you? And that is the example I'll
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give you now of my role now as CFO of ACE. And
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I met with my peers. A lot of them had followed
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me. I didn't even start the role. They're already
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following me on LinkedIn. My boss was following
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me on LinkedIn before my day one. What I found
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out from one of my peers in C -suite was that,
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oh, I looked you up on LinkedIn. I love the stuff
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you're doing. This is amazing. Other people did
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as well. And they were like, oh, we can't wait
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for you to learn more about what we do and make
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suggestions that will help us move the company
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forward. And again, that was not even me talking
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to them. It was just for my online presence,
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whether it's on LinkedIn or whatever they will
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see in Google or whatever common connections.
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we had, because sometimes we think of online
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presence as how many followers you have, or how
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many posts you're doing. But it's also the common
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connection, because when I see someone profile
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online, I realize, oh, we have like two, three,
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10, 20 connections coming. We must have something
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going on. We must be on the same page on a lot
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of things. And that, again, adds to your credibility,
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and you need that credibility to build trust.
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especially when it comes to change. So that's
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the first thing. Make sure when you step into
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a new role that your online presence is on point
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so that you can build and get that instant credibility
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that will help you build trust quickly so you
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can have buy -in on the new things you're going
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to do, the new great things you're going to do.
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The second part is having a power introduction.
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You probably heard of having an elevator speech.
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How are you going to introduce yourself when
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you step into that new role, when you meet people
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into that new function, and they'll be like,
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hmm, that person is great. Let me hear what they
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have to say. Your power introduction is what
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you want to have almost nailed down before day
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one, because you don't want to come in and say,
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hey, here's your new CFO. And just because you
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have a title means you're great. No. A simple
11:58
introduction would be, hey, I'm with you. I'm
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new in the finance department. Boring. Hey, I'm
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Waseea. For the past 15 years, I've done XYZ
12:06
at this type of organization and I cannot wait
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to hear more about your role and how the finance
12:12
team can support you better. Come up with something
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and you can come up with different type of introduction,
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whether it is to be to your peers, your immediate
12:19
report or your indirect report. But you want
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that introduction to be on point because again,
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your goal when you step in is to bail credibility
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and trust almost instantly. Because you don't
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have much time. Again, you are not hired to keep
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the status quo. You are hired to bring in effective
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change. So trust me, people are not going to
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be waiting around for six months or nine months
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for you to come and say, I have this great idea.
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No, they want to see change. They want to be
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able to feel like, oh, we make the right decision.
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Yes, this person is setting the right foundation
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to lead change. Third thing I always recommend
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is when you step into a new role, especially
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because you are not hired to keep the status
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quo, you want to be intentional about your calendar
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and the people that you will meet. Who are you
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meeting first? If you're meeting with your employees,
13:11
your direct reports or indirect reports, however
13:14
you want to do it. What I recommend is before
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your one on ones, make sure you ask HR to send
13:21
you their resume and latest performance review.
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Before you meet with your new staff as a new
13:27
person, especially again, if you're coming from
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a different company, from a different industry,
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you want to make sure that with your staff, they
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realize that you care. Because that's the thing
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about a leader. You have to show genuine care
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in your people because employees in general don't
13:44
ask for much. If you show respect and genuine
13:49
care, they will accept your leadership. And so
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the first thing you want to do is to show your
13:54
employees that, yes, I have this title, but I'm
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also going to do my homework because I realized
13:59
that without you, I can't really do my job. What
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I do is always ask HR before any one -on -one
14:07
with my new direct report, send me their resume,
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send me their latest performance review. I want
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to be brought up to date. Same thing, if I'm
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meeting with my CEO, our first one -on -one,
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I went through the whole strategic plan, however
14:24
many pages it was, and I was ready with questions.
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You have to show that you're doing your homework,
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especially in those first days, days, because
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you want to build that credibility, show that
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you care, build that trust so that you can lead
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effective change. If you're working remotely,
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like many of us are, I work remotely, we're probably
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going to the office maybe once a month from some
14:52
management meetings. One thing we may not think
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about is the logistics around working remotely.
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How do you build instant credibility and trust
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when you're gonna be on camera 99 % of the time?
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Please make sure your lighting is on point, that
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your camera is great. I even have a little mic
15:11
that I have, not the podcast mic. I have a little
15:14
mic because I want my voice to come out crisp.
15:18
Because again, when you show up on camera, again,
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first impression, very first impression may have
15:23
been from seeing your LinkedIn, but if they didn't,
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the first thing they will see is you on camera.
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How do you look on camera? At least the first
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few days I did try to put some lipstick on and
15:32
you look cute, but whatever it is. Trying to
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make sure. that your executive presence show
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up with you. When you get into that meeting,
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they should feel like somebody of your rank entered
15:47
the room and you can do it online. I know I'm
15:51
doing this by video, but I'm working on a leadership
15:55
bootcamp and I already have a great, great, great
15:58
guest speaker. They're going to be on that bootcamp.
16:00
You probably seen on LinkedIn. I'm not going
16:02
to say much, but she is great at teaching people.
16:06
How do you show up? as an executive on camera.
16:09
So stay tuned for more on that. That's really
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how you want to be able to build trust and credibility
16:15
when you walk in. Why is it important? Because
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again, you're not going to be hired to keep this
16:20
out of school, and you need to lead change. And
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to lead change, you need buy -in. To need buy
16:25
-in, you need to have trust. That is a foundation
16:29
that will help you thrive in your role, and you
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have to be intentional about it when you start.
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So I told you about having a strong online presence
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that doesn't get built over time. But if you
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realize that your future bosses, employees, partners,
16:50
customers will always Google you or LinkedIn
16:54
you before they work with you, you will start
16:56
now. And it doesn't have to be difficult. It
16:59
really doesn't. And I'll cover in another episode.
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The other thing you want to do is make sure before
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you start that you have a power introduction.
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How are you going to talk about your immediate
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goals, your vision, so people can see you as
17:13
a credible leader and start trusting you? Because
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trust is built over time. The quicker you can
17:20
deposit in that trust account, the better off
17:23
you'll be later. And then how are you going to
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prepare for your initial one -on -ones? How are
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you going to build quick credibility with your
17:30
boss? with your peers, with your employees. Do
17:34
your homework before you meet with them. Be prepared
17:36
because these are all the things that will help
17:38
you build that trust. And again, I'm sharing
17:41
that with you because that's not something you
17:43
learn in school. Unfortunately, there is so many
17:47
things that I had to learn the hard way because
17:50
I didn't realize it was important. I didn't see
17:53
it as important. But I can tell you... Since
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I started implementing that, how I come on board
17:59
and people are excited to work with me really
18:02
changed. Like the level of energy and excitement
18:05
about working with me really went up because
18:08
I started being more intentional about how I
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prepare before day one. How I prepare my introduction,
18:15
how I make sure my online presence is on point
18:17
because I had people that I met in this new world
18:20
that went and read like my last 10, 20 posts.
18:24
Okay. So they were able to tell me, Oh, I saw
18:27
your post about how you, you had your ironing
18:29
board as a standing desk. And I'm like, geez,
18:32
I posted that a long time ago. Again, all these
18:36
things that you're doing, people will see, people
18:38
will check you out. And so I cannot emphasize
18:42
that enough that you have to do your best to
18:45
be intentional about how you're going to be almost
18:47
instant credibility and trust with the people
18:49
you will be buying from. And that was the first
18:52
part about Knowing that you are not going to
18:56
be hired to keep the status quo, number one,
18:58
you have to focus on building trust. The number
19:02
two thing you should do is to make sure that
19:06
you learn the business and not just the financials,
19:11
especially as a finance leader who's coming in
19:14
at a higher level in the organization. And that
19:17
is whether you're a director, you're a VP, you're
19:20
a CFO. Like every time you come in at those levels,
19:24
people expect you to not just know the numbers.
19:28
You have to learn the business. You have to be
19:32
able to show that you understand the company's
19:36
operations. Otherwise, how are your decisions
19:40
or recommendations going to be effective? Because
19:42
at your level now, every policy Everything you
19:46
bring to the table will have ramifications on
19:49
the entire organization, not just your accounting
19:52
team, not just your FP &AT, not just treasury.
19:56
It's going to go through an impact operations,
19:58
impact marketing, everything the company is doing.
20:01
And that's not just for today, but for the years
20:05
to come. Think about it. If you come in and you
20:07
want to implement a new accounting system, a
20:10
new ERP system, it's not a change that's just
20:13
going to affect the accounting team. If you're
20:16
going to change the GL number, if you're going
20:18
to change how they do expense reports, you are
20:22
impacting the whole organization. So in order
20:25
for you to come in and be able to lead effective
20:28
change, for you to come in and be able to say,
20:32
this is where I want to go, you have to understand
20:34
what's going on. Because leadership, your CEO,
20:38
your other C -suite members, directors. They
20:41
expect you to know the business and not just
20:44
the financial. Because being CFO means that you
20:47
understand the company's operations, the market,
20:51
the customers, as well as anybody in the room.
20:54
So when the chief marketing officer is talking,
20:56
you understand what they're talking about. When
20:58
is the COO? You understand what they're talking
21:00
about. Because you're not just a financial steward.
21:02
So you need to dig deep into the business model,
21:06
into the sales strategy, into the product roadmaps.
21:10
to provide meaningful input, because again, you're
21:13
the finance voice in that room. So for those
21:16
of you who are aspiring to be at the top of your
21:20
organization, that is something you need to keep
21:23
in mind as well, because I didn't start learning
21:26
about the business when I got to the CFO role.
21:29
I got to the CFO role because I made it a habit
21:32
early on in my career to learn about the business
21:34
and not just the numbers and not just the financials.
21:38
Something that will help you when you step into
21:41
a new role is for you to be able to trace how
21:44
the company makes money all the way to how it
21:48
ends on the audited financial statements at a
21:51
high level. At least you should understand how
21:52
we make money. And when we make this type of
21:55
money, how does it show on our financial statements?
21:58
It's almost like a puzzle. You know what the
22:01
end look like because you probably read and I
22:03
do advise you to read your audited financial
22:05
statement before you step in. You know the end
22:08
results. You know what it's supposed to look
22:10
like. And now your initial goal should be to
22:13
understand how the pieces fit together and understand
22:17
why they fit together a certain way. When it
22:21
comes to leading change, I always advise to assess
22:27
before you address. Don't make the mistake of
22:31
coming in and wanting to do things exactly how
22:33
it was at a former company. Understand why they're
22:37
doing things a certain way before you change
22:40
it. Challenge your staff to do it. Because again,
22:44
as one of my personal board of directors, Carol
22:46
Norton said, the higher you go, the more you
22:50
have to do your work through people. So as you
22:53
are learning those things, as I'm sharing those
22:55
things with you, you should also share them with
22:57
your staff so they also have a better understanding
23:00
so it makes your life easier. Tell them. I'm
23:05
interested in changing this. Why are you doing
23:08
this a certain way? If we don't do it this way,
23:12
what else will be impacted? And even you, by
23:14
asking those questions, you'll be able to gather
23:17
the insight you need. At a certain level, you
23:19
don't need to know all the details. First, you
23:22
won't even have time to know all the details.
23:26
And that's where having that trust comes in.
23:29
Being able to get the insight you need when you
23:31
need them is going to be helpful. and understanding
23:34
the business so you can challenge the things
23:37
that are gonna come your way and you'll be like,
23:39
it doesn't make sense for what we do or how we
23:42
do things. So yes, make it a goal to learn the
23:46
business and not just the financial because at
23:48
the end of the day, when you walk in as CFO or
23:52
at a higher level in your finance and accounting
23:54
organization, you are a strategic sounding board.
23:58
You'll be expected to weigh in on company -wide
24:00
decisions that have little to do with finance.
24:03
It'll be about everything. About mergers, product
24:06
development, entering new markets. And you're
24:08
like, shoot, that's marketing, right? You will
24:11
be pulled into those discussions. Your role is
24:15
how you're going to help optimize a business
24:18
while minimizing the risk. How are you going
24:20
to make sure that the finances are in check?
24:24
The equity structure is right. The capital structure
24:26
is right. How? Everything that comes through
24:29
your desk makes financial sense because your
24:34
role is about guiding the company strategically.
24:37
And you have to give advice with limited information
24:41
and after no formal strategy background. Oh my
24:45
goodness. And I think that's where a lot of us
24:48
get frustrated in our career. I was a controller
24:51
for a good bit of time. And I cannot tell you
24:54
how frustrated I was, even though I had all these
24:57
debtors behind my name, okay? I'm a CPA, I'm
25:00
a CMA, I have an MBA. And in none of those things,
25:05
I learned about business strategy. And yet, to
25:09
become CFO, you have to learn business strategy.
25:13
There is no shortcut to that. And I think that's
25:16
why a lot of controllers, even though they do
25:19
a lot of work, are now being promoted to CFO
25:24
level because they lack that seemingly small
25:28
piece of strategy. So if you are aiming for the
25:34
CFO, I cannot tell you enough, start learning
25:36
about business strategy. Whether it will be through
25:39
listening to earning calls or taking courses,
25:43
whatever you do. If you are in accounting and
25:46
finance, you learned enough accounting and finance.
25:48
If you are a CPA, you learn enough accounting
25:50
in your life, okay? Focus on business strategy.
25:53
Focus on the things that are outside finance
25:56
and accounting to broaden your perspective so
25:59
that when you are placing those situations, whether
26:01
it's in an interview even, you can speak at a
26:05
much higher level than being in the weeds that
26:08
is your day to day. Why are we talking about
26:12
this? Because It is something I will tell you
26:14
about becoming a CFO. And that is, you will not
26:17
be hired to keep the status quo. You are hired
26:20
to bring in positive change. And the way you
26:23
will do it is by building a strong foundation
26:26
when you step into the role. By number one, knowing
26:29
how you're going to build trust. And number two,
26:31
how you're going to learn the business and not
26:33
just the financial so that when you bring your
26:35
recommendations, they make sense. People want
26:39
to buy in. people are excited about the change
26:42
you'll bring about. And plus, you know what will
26:46
be the ramifications of those changes because
26:48
you're doing your homework. So how do you step
26:51
in again? I shared with you, yes, your online
26:54
presence is going to be on point. You're going
26:56
to have your power introduction. You're going
26:58
to make sure that you look good on camera if
27:00
you work remotely. And you're going to do your
27:02
homework, get resumes, performance reviews, strategic
27:05
plans before you meet in your initial one -on
27:08
-ones. Now when it comes to learning the business
27:11
and not just the financials, here are some things
27:14
that will help you. And that is first to have
27:17
the mindset that you are responsible for your
27:20
onboarding. You are in charge of your training
27:24
and you will have to map it out. When it comes
27:29
to training a corporate America, we tend to feel
27:32
entitled to train, right? People should train
27:34
us to do our job. But let me tell you, just because
27:38
you're entitled to something doesn't mean you're
27:40
going to get it automatically. Okay? The policy
27:43
and procedures that they may have, 99 % of time
27:47
they will either not be updated or even not exist
27:51
at all. You have to come in with your own onboarding
27:56
roadmap because the CEO is not going to do that
27:59
for you. If they do, great. My CEO, when I came
28:03
in, there was a fractional CFO, and they asked
28:05
them to do onboarding roadmap of the things and
28:09
the people that they thought I should learn within
28:11
my first couple weeks. And the executive assistant
28:14
was graceful enough to schedule those meetings.
28:18
But I spoke some other friends like, oh, you
28:20
got it good. That was not our case. We had to
28:24
be the ones saying that I want to meet with this
28:25
person, this person about this thing and this
28:27
thing. you have to realize the higher you go,
28:30
you're not just going to get training because
28:32
you're entitled to. You're supposed to come in
28:35
ready anyway to know what you need to learn to
28:37
do what you need to do. The sooner you let go
28:40
of that mindset of, I need people to be invested
28:45
in my training and get me that training, the
28:47
better off you'll be. You know, it's like, okay,
28:50
coming in, this is how I think I'm going to unborn
28:53
myself. And so block your calendar, meet with
28:55
these people, do what you need to do to get to
28:58
where you need to get to. Okay. The other things
29:01
that helps me and I do a lot is to record my
29:04
meetings because there's a lot of stuff like
29:07
I'm learning now and in any year old, because
29:10
you're coming at a higher level of the organization,
29:12
you're not coming to do one task and they can
29:14
show you step one, step two, step three, bam,
29:17
you got it. You learning a lot. And so I record
29:21
a lot of my meetings because I don't want to
29:23
always have to go back to one person when they
29:25
showed it to me. We can share our screen and
29:27
things like that. But that is a great way for
29:30
me to gather all that knowledge in my initial
29:33
meeting. And then I block my time for focus time.
29:36
I block my calendar. I went to these meetings,
29:39
I need to recover because back -to -back meetings,
29:42
oh, that hurts. Hurts your brain, fog your brain.
29:46
I think there's a scientific research about this.
29:49
Yes, have a plan for onboarding. Yes, record
29:53
the meeting so you'll have different ways of
29:55
being able to go back and pull that knowledge,
29:58
but definitely block your calendar. Block your
30:00
calendar so you can take a break, go for a little
30:03
walk, stand, stretch, but also go over the material
30:07
you just learned. You have to be intentional
30:10
about how you're going to step into a new role,
30:12
especially when you're not hired to keep a status
30:14
quo, when you expected to lead change and build
30:18
trust. Learn about the business so that what
30:21
you bring to the table is even more effective
30:23
and accepted by everyone. That's it for today's
30:27
episode of the Diary of the CFO. I hope you enjoyed
30:30
it. If you have any topic you would like me to
30:33
cover in the future, please send it to ask at
30:37
thediaryofthecfo .com. Again, send an email to
30:41
ask. at thediaryofthecfo .com. If we connect
30:44
on LinkedIn, you can just send me a DM. The reason
30:46
I need it is because I want to make sure I bring
30:48
you the insight you need to be a better leader
30:50
and be better at life. If you enjoyed this episode,
30:53
don't forget to leave a review, subscribe and
30:57
share it. And I will see you next in another
30:59
episode of the Diary of the CFO. Cheers.