Coaching for Senior Finance Leaders: Invest In Yourself and Your Company
A global survey conducted by an international accounting organization revealed that 87 percent of respondents believe their organizations could benefit by providing coaching for their finance professionals.
Included in this group is the most senior financial professional at these companies - from CFOs at larger firms to Controllers or Accounting Managers at smaller companies.
If you are a finance professional and find yourself in any of the following situations, the right coach will boost your performance and enhance your career opportunities.
- New To The Role You’ve just been promoted within your company or you’re stepping up the ladder in a different one. An inexperienced senior financial officer is a prime candidate who would benefit from coaching. Coaching can help eliminate your blind spots and allow you to make the tough decisions with confidence.
- New To The Industry You already have experience under your belt as a senior financial officer, but you’ve joined a new industry. A kindred spirit with familiarity in your new environment can dramatically shorten your learning curve and rapidly increase your value to your employer.
- New To A Task As the senior financial officer, you’ve been assigned a key project in a territory you haven’t covered yet. It might be an acquisition, a system implementation or trying to raise capital. Or maybe your company is going public or international. Bringing in a coach to walk you through the process will facilitate the project and help to ensure its success.
Are you still unsure if coaching is the solution for you? Here are a few more thoughts to consider that might help in your decision-making process.
The Coaching Method
Merriam-Webster defines mentor as “someone who instructs or trains”
As the role of the senior financial officer evolves and the dynamic world of business globalizes, the idea and scope of coaching has broadened. Through its Insight series, the ACCA made the following observations on coaching in its research paper, The Coaching and Mentoring Revolution – Is It Working?
- Assessment, guidance, advice and possibly instruction are key activities in the coaching role.
- Coaching is about enhanced performance and must therefore be planned and monitored and tested for effectiveness.
- The coach is a key resource for the finance professional who wants to learn from the best.
Choosing The Right Coach
Be sure your choice is based on your priorities and objectives and that the individual has the qualifications to coach. They should be trustworthy, have the right experience to complement your background, and challenge you to succeed.
The right outside advisor can provide experience, flexibility and diversity that is not available from an internal mentor.
Professional development is an ongoing practice that can and should happen throughout one’s career. Seeking a coach is just one approach, but it’s a great way to embrace new challenges, discover opportunities and enrich your career.
CFO.University’s Coaching program is a professional development package designed for finance leaders. It increases your market value, respects your time while improving your business. Click on this link to learn more about the CFO.University Coaching Program
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