2021-11-01-Gartner-Differentiators_of_Personally_Effective_CFOs_21页_465kb

Summary of Gartner Report on Personally Effective CFOs

Overview

Only 20% of CFOs achieve personal effectiveness by simultaneously driving short-term financial performance and promoting behaviors that ensure sustainable top- and bottom-line growth. The report identifies controllable behaviors as key to attaining this effectiveness, despite external and internal pressures increasing. Effectively, CFOs must close the gap between themselves and customers, create constructive tension with CEOs and boards, and engage deeply with business performance through time management strategies.

Key Findings

• Being personally effective is challenging but achievable.
• Effectively effective CFOs differentiate through specific, measurable behaviors that enhance customer understanding, challenge leadership constructively, and prioritize business engagement.
• Key factors include customer orientation (28%), constructive tension (26%), and business performance management (30%).

Differentiating Behaviors

• Customer Orientation: Spend 40% more time with customers, personally prioritize pricing strategy, working capital, and sales relationships, and develop a direct "theory of the customer" to inform decisions and influence stakeholders.
• Constructive Tension: Challenge CEO and board assumptions deliberately by targeting underlying beliefs rather than confrontations, using strategies like perspective switching to reduce belief strength by up to 28%.
• Plugged-In Business Performance: Personally prioritize business performance management, strengthen relationships with general managers (GMs) and business unit CFOs, and use open dialogue in operating reviews to learn from and add value without defensiveness.
• Time Management: Allocate personal time with rigor by zero-based planning, announcing priorities publicly, and carving out concentrated blocks for high-impact tasks, reducing time wasted on low-return activities.

Recommendations

To enhance personal effectiveness, CFOs should:

• Increase direct involvement in pricing, working capital, and customer interactions.
• Foster constructive challenge with CEOs and boards by focusing on underlying assumptions.
• Elevate engagement with business leaders and unit CFOs, and apply agile principles to time and capital allocation.
• Announce personal priorities transparently and audit time usage regularly to maintain focus on high-impact activities.

For further details, consult Gartner resources.