CFOs and their teams are traditionally known for integrity and trust. Professional ethics is in our DNA. We ask the tough questions, identify and challenge irregularities and, if we live up to expectations, provide the unvarnished truth. But to be an effective beacon of ethical behavior, CFOs must inspire trust within their team and they, and their team, must inspire trust throughout the broader organization. In honor of today’s Global Ethics Day 2024, let’s “empower ethics” by inspiring trust today.
The lynchpin of leadership
During my career at a Fortune 500 consumer goods company, we were instructed in the company’s leadership model beginning from day one and were held accountable to embrace and practice the company’s core values accordingly. Our mantra was “Extraordinary leaders are needed to do extraordinary things.”
To be an extraordinary leader, you must be able to create direction, drive organizational alignment, build organizational vitality, execute with excellence and produce extraordinary results. That said, inspiring trust was the lynchpin of our leadership model and is critical for effective leadership at any organization.
How to inspire trust
Inspiring trust starts with having personal integrity and living in harmony with your values and beliefs, whereby you consistently uphold your values regardless of who may be watching or what situation you may be in. But simply having personal integrity and inspiring trust are not the same.
The following are six ways you and your team can proactively take action to inspire trust with cross-functional business partners and throughout the organization.
1. Demonstrate competence
The CFO and their team are accountable for financial reporting, cost accounting, cash management, internal control, risk management, tax compliance, capital investment and other highly technical matters. Today’s CFO, especially at smaller companies, may also be accountable for information technology, procurement, M&A activity, business transformation projects and other non-traditional activities. Inspiring trust demands that you and your team, regardless of the assignment, demonstrate an appropriate level of competence, including technical competence, general business acumen, and the ability to “tell the story.”
To that end, maintain a continuous improvement mindset and prioritize upskilling. Offer cross-training opportunities. Encourage the team to sharpen their technical skills via certifications (e.g., I learned about Zero Based Budgeting while studying for the CMA and, several months later, leveraged this new knowledge when Campbell’s implemented ZBB across the company). Provide your team the opportunity to visit a plant or sales office or otherwise “shadow” other functions. And, importantly, know your and your team’s limits, engaging third-party experts to supplement the team as needed.
2. Honor all people
Another way to inspire trust is to honor all people. This starts by building meaningful relationships with your direct team and cross-functional partners, getting to know each person on a one-to-one basis. When onboarding a new team member (or myself in a new role), I always prioritize scheduling “get to know you” sessions, starting with the direct team and cross-functional partners, and then expanding to a wider and wider group over time.
Once you have a relationship and a better understanding of how each person tics gleaned by listening without interruption, you can more effectively engage them. For example, one Friday afternoon about three years ago, a quiet and reserved engineer shared with me their desire to play a more active role on our IT team and his qualifications to do so. By then challenging him to stretch beyond his comfort zone, his advice and support have become invaluable in leading IT.
3. Celebrate diversity
The CFO, along with their cross-functional business partners, is accountable for creating economic value, ensuring the organization can survive unexpected challenges and thrive in the long term. Diversity of thought and perspective, which is more likely with a diverse and inclusive team, will enable you to make sound business decisions more quickly.
Celebrating diversity, moreover, is another great way to inspire trust. Commit to building a diverse and inclusive team. Ensure each member of the team feels heard, respected, and safe. During meetings, encourage and allow all members of the team to share their ideas. Don’t have favorites and avoid double standards.
4. Meet commitments
To inspire trust, you need to keep your promises no matter what, otherwise you risk losing credibility and then “game over.” Delivering against commitments could be as simple as showing up for a meeting prepared and timely. Doing so could be as consequential as executing a game-changing customer contract, completing due diligence for an acquisition, preparing a building under a long-term lease for turnover to the landlord, or performing some other complex initiative timely.
Before making a consequential commitment, carefully assess the ask, including scope, expectations, timeline and resource requirements. Then fully engage, doing what it takes to get the job done.
5. Take responsibility
As the leader, it’s critical to share credit when the team is successful, but to accept the blame when things go off track. For example, when we decided to close a production facility and negotiated early termination of the lease, clearing out and reconditioning the building timely became critical.
However, there will invariably be hiccups when coordinating multiple internal and third-party resources with interdependent responsibilities. At one point, my team became discouraged that they were unable to move forward until a third party completed their work. I had to remind them that such worry was my responsibility. In the end, we brainstormed a solution whereby they worked in parallel with the third party, enabling us to hand over the keys timely.
6. Earn respect
The final ingredient for inspiring others, and thereby being able to effectively influence, impact and lead them, is to earn their respect. But respect is not a reward given with title or position. Respect must be continually earned over time through one’s actions and behaviors. Be honest and transparent. Practice consistency. Solicit feedback and act upon it. Lead by example, walking the walk vs. talking the talk.
Only by demonstrating competence, honoring all people, celebrating diversity, meeting commitments, taking responsibility and leading with integrity can you earn the respect of your team, cross-functional partners, and the broader organization, as well as the respect of your customers, vendors and other third-party partners.
