Finance Friday - getting everyone on the same page
Photo: Matthew Needham
It’s not the end of January yet.
If don’t want to join the 43% of American’s who have ditched their New Year’s Resolutions/Goals by the end of January - check out last week’s Finance Friday - Goals, Challenges and Quests.
Each week, Finance Friday shares an idea to help CFOs and Finance Teams create more impact in their work.
On Tuesdays, for full subscribers, I go deep on implementation.
This week’s big idea:
Getting everyone on the same page
One of the great cliche’s of the business world.
Along with “singing from the same hymn book”
The proper term is alignment.
But, let’s be honest. That’s quite a boring word.
Although, what it means is that team alignment is where each team/team member collaborates to work towards a shared goal.
But hey, I like metaphors.
So let’s get on the same page. 😉
When I was a kid, there was a great advert for Levi 501’s
Along with pretty much everyone else,
I wanted a pair.
(Side note - the 501s originally launched in 1873!)
If you’ve ever looked at the back of a pair of 501’s you’ll see it shows Levi Strauss and Co’s original logo:
Two horses pulling apart a pair of jeans.
Intended to show how strong the jeans were.
When ever I think of team goals.
I think of that image.
The exact opposite of alignment - Misalignment.
And I worry about it.
Because when we aren’t on the same page, we under perform.
We don’t make the impact we want.
If we are lucky we underperform.
If we are unlucky we make mistakes.
Unwittingly, you’re probably playing a big part in this.
How CFOs set up teams to fail
By setting competing goals/objectives.
And what do I mean by this?
As a CFO what do you want from your Financial Control team?
Accuracy.
But what do you want from your FP&A team?
Speed.
Inevitably, to strike a balance, the Financial Control team has to dial down accuracy and FP&A team needs to accept a slower pace.
Ultimately, each team ends up frustrated with the other.
Written as goals:
The goals/priorities of the financial control team are usually in relation to improving controls and addressing issues arising from the last audit.
And for the FP&A Team:
The priorities for the financial planning team are often around providing timely insights, and providing faster, actionable, advice.
And it’s not just Finance teams that have competing goals!
Oh no….
Sales teams are often incentivised on getting more customers.
And one way they do that is by offering better payment terms and lower prices.
Whereas Accounts Receivable teams are targeted on reducing the DSO.
(Days Sales Outstanding)
So how do you keep everybody on the same page?
As author Simon Sinek said:
Start with why.
“Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause or belief - WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?”
Simon Sinek
In practical terms, I find that this is easier to reflect in a vision for your team.
Whilst most visions are meaningless words bundled together to tick a box, by deep thinking about the underlying why and talking about it as a team, you create a shared vision.
As Sinek says:
“Great companies don't hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them.”
Your team wants to be inspired.
And they want you to inspire them.
That’s important as it creates alignment 😉.
When teams are aligned and on the same page, communication, collaboration, productivity and efficiency thrive.
So if everyone understands what you’re trying to achieve, suddenly:
The Finance Control team finds more efficient ways to be accurate.
The FP&A team finds ways to provide deeper, more actionable insights.
But there’s more…
You can’t just create a vision, email it out and tape it to the wall.
As job done.
You need to talk about it regularly.
How often?
All the time.
People come and go.
Some people missed your first message as they were on holiday.
So you need to talk about it so often you’re bored of talking about it.
And when you’re bored of talking about it and everyone’s bored of hearing you talking about it, that’s when you get everyone on the same page.
📢 This newsletter is brought to you by Matthew Needham Consulting - Helping CFOs and Finance Teams create more impact in their work. To Find out how I can help or enquire about working with me, click here.