Fix it before it’s broken
Lately, a friend of mine asked me the questions: what does people working within a finance function in a corporation mostly struggle with?
Reflecting from my own experience within Ericsson and GE capital and having talked for long hours with friends and colleagues in banks, pharmaceutical and tech industries, the number one struggle is the high-stress levels driven by the combination of 1) being an understaffed function (yes leaders, understaffed !) and 2) the commitment to delivering to critical deadlines, almost at any point in time everything is urgent and was due yesterday!
This high-stress level has pushed many to their edges, whereby some have chosen to leave a promising career within the finance function and completely changed direction to something else, while others have hit the wall and went on stress-driven sick leave, and depending which country one might be living in, one may or may not have the “luxury” of changing careers or being on sick leave if that by any mean can be a luxurious choice!
In a culture such as the Nordics, these are feasible realistic options, while in cultures such as the Middle East and Africa this is not really an option.. so how do we deal with this consistent increase in stress? and how do we as leaders sustain the resources without impacting the results?
Having started from the bottom of finance career and walked my way to the top, and moved from being a team player to multicultural team leader, some of the key game-changers here are our EQ as leaders and our leadership style.
As a Leader (not only finance), ask yourself some good question: how mindful am I of my team members? How far do I listen to their non-verbal cues? how high are my Emotional Intelligence skills? do I encourage two-way dialogue?
I believe, as a true leader (and not a task manager) we can do a lot to help our teams: we can allocate specific time just to get to know them and their personality types, what motivates them, what drives them and what are their values.
Some needs help to know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, others are afraid to speak up.. so what are we doing about that?
For the finance team members, also ask yourself a good question: what is preventing me from speaking up? how am I reacting to stress? do I have a daily structure, and how does it look like? work-life balance, how does it look for me? what help can I ask for from my leader or team members that I am not asking for?
With more of a proactive open dialogue culture and empathy in our leadership styles, we can sustain the great resources we already have and attract more of them, this way we secure accurately and timely delivery of results from balanced individuals.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are- Theodore Roosevelt .
