CFO Coaching

Few executives actually wake up thinking, “What I need is a CFO coach!” Nope. If you’re like most CFOs and C-level execs, you wake up wondering whether you can hit your quarterly numbers. Whether you’re making the kind of impact with your colleagues and in the Boardroom that you desire. Whether you have the right people on your team. How to enhance your relationship with your boss, or improve communication with your private equity operating partners. How to make change happen faster. What your next career move should be. When can you stop working most weekends. And how you might possibly get more than a few hours of sleep.

I get it. And as a CFO coach I bridge the gap between where clients are, and where they want to go — so everyone can get more of what they want . . . which is to be succeeding.

CFO Coach Frameworks

I specialize in CFO Coaching. Engagements often focus on a menu of elements such as:

Becoming a more operationally-focused, strategic CFO.
Eliminating behavioral issues that are hurting performance.
Becoming more influential with colleagues and in the Boardroom.
Broadening your vision. Reframing limiting beliefs holding you back.
Improving team performance. Engaging and mobilizing employees.
Enhancing leadership presence. Communicating with impact.
Leading change. Completing a significant initiative in the company.
Having difficult conversations to improve results. Resolving a conflict.
Getting control of time. Creating strategies to deal with overwhelm.
Creating an accountable, high-performance culture.
Creating buy-in for an idea throughout the organization.
Strengthening relationships with the CEO and/or Private Equity Operating Partners.

CFO coaching delivers proven results in the boardroom

WHAT is CFO Coaching?

CFO coaching is leadership development for Chief Financial Officers.

It’s a process that accelerates the growth of a CFO. Coaching aims to create better outcomes in some key areas that are very important for that executive, right now.

This could mean increasing strategic focus, or operational focus.
It could relate to elevating the performance of your group -- for example, by ensuring you have the Right Person, in the Right Job, and with the Right Attitude for every role.

Typically, CFOs are great with technical areas of their craft. Muscles that could use work often relate to communication or leadership. Sometimes it’s the ability to challenge the process: rethink old ways of doing things, to increase quality. Maybe it’s equipping the team to act, or modeling the way more effectively.

Leadership coaching enables CFOs to have courageous conversations with TEAMS and peers.

Fierce conversations related to commitment, and the need for better results. Most of us need more than just “5 steps to a strong dialogue” We need a strong pull, the energy of a compelling “why”, because there are good reasons we have not had that difficult conversation yet.

Development helps CFOs identify and overcome ways they sabotage themselves.

Executive coaching equips CFOs to grow their leadership skills. And the results become clear in how you show up for your CEO, as a strategic partner. Results become clear and in how you work hand-in-glove with your COO to produce more actionable reports, or tools that enable operations to beat revenue and leverage costs.

Male hand writes "coaching" to underscore best CFO coaches

Top CFO coaches have an impact on the team, not just the CFO

CFO Coaching Tailored for You

We develop a customized engagement together, with a road map for each client based on discussions with the P/E Operating Partner(s), the CEO and the CFO. Engagements typically span 3 – 12 months depending on the parties’ goals, metrics and value proposition for the portfolio company. Clearly focused, proven methodologies establish an excellent foundation while providing great flexibility to adapt to the specific needs of each client. Not just CFOs.

WHO is CFO Coaching FOR?

CFO coaching is for finance leaders, either early in their CFO career, or when looking to make a key transition.

Here are 5 examples.

1. Early in your CFO career, you’re not just honing technical skills. You’re learning how to create a shared vision that inspires your team. You’re learning how to have the difficult conversations, with tact and with good outcomes. CFO coaching helps you figure out how drive clarity, commitment, and results in alignment with your values.

2. CFO coaching is for those who want to find more effective ways to partner with their CEO and with peers. Sometimes, CFOs are reluctant to engage in strategy, or operations. To access the levers that drive results. (It can seem better to play it safe. Especially when you’re new.) Perhaps there’s an insidious little voice that whispers, “What do YOU know about operations?! Or strategy?! They’ll just tell you to go back and ‘mind the store!’” Yet once a CFO identifies and overcomes that fear, he or she realizes their C-level peers are eager for partnership and in fact hungry for the fresh perspectives and insights a CFO brings. They’re glad someone’s willing to ask the basics, the so-called “dumb question,” and to drive accountability.

3. CFO coaching is for the leader who wants to have more influence in the Board Room, or better communication with investors, private equity partners and Lenders.

4. It’s also for leaders who want inspire their teams and elevate performance. For executives who want to work smarter, and to show others the way.

5. CFO coaching is for finance leaders in transition. Perhaps your firm’s just been acquired. Expectations are suddenly much higher. Or you’ve just landed a big new role. You want to start on the right foot — so you need a clear strategy for your First 90 Days: one that leaves your leader and your peers saying just a few weeks later, “We definitely hired the right person.”

But of course, as leaders we can also shoot ourselves in the foot. In fact, you can get a score on just how much you do (or don’t) allow saboteur-thoughts to masquerade as helpful friends, with this 5-minute assessment. (Results will be emailed to you directly from NEXT’s service partner positiveintelligence.com.)

See how you can change these habits as an executive in just 15 minutes a day.

Start a Conversation
that can lead to transformation

Contact

Peter Oey, CFO of LegalZoom and Grab (companies with “Unicorn” status in the private equity industry)