I was waiting for a meeting with a small business owner and was early. After waiting for a minute I introduced myself to a gentleman getting his day started as he sipped his coffee on this early Friday morning.
We started chatting about what each other does and eventually the conversation shifted to one of my favorite topics: leadership.
Mr. Riddle is the CFO of Gordon Marketing. During our conversation I asked him what leadership looks like from his perspective since his role is very analytical and numbers driven. He provided an excellent definition of his position.
As a CFO he is the historian who documents what has happened within the organization. I found that definition interesting and we explored how that “historian position” interacts with some of his guiding principles as a leader. Mr. Riddle has a few principles that guide how he leads from his position:
Set a good example.
Regardless of the role one plays in an organization or on a team, you must be an example worth following. This principle has nothing to do with the role he is in, but everything to do with the life he lives. He must as if he is an example worth following? More importantly, are we?
Team player.
In his position he feels a responsibility to help others see that as they win whether that is improving their sales, creating an effective marketing strategy or any other win, the whole organization will win. When people come to him with questions on finances he has to help individuals see the bigger picture and ask how this expense/investment can help both that department and the entire organization win.
Bring clarity.
As CFO, Mr. Riddle uses data to help clarify what is important. The numbers will inform what is working and what is not. He filters through the numbers to help team members understand the important metrics that will inform the organization as they strive to accomplish the mission. From his seat he has a responsibility to ask some of the difficult questions such as what is important? Is this strategy good or bad? Combine this data with these questions and he helps provide clarity for the organization.
CFO As a Pacecar?
As we talked, an image came to mind. The CFO is like the pace car for an organization. A pace car slows down the race to prevent further injury when the track is not as safe because of accidents. A pace car also gets out of the way when the track is clear. As a leader he helps set the pace by answering the question: based on what happened is that where we want to go? As he thinks on this question it helps him guide the organization on how to respond to challenges and opportunities.
As a leader are you setting the pace where you can? Is your example worth following and modeling a team vision? How do you need to bring greater clarity to your organization? Need help thinking into these questions? Contact me for a free 30 minute coaching session. In the meantime, lead well.
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