Leadership and Impact
The Leadership and Impact session examines the critical role that finance professionals play in driving meaningful change and creating lasting influence, both within their organizations and in the wider community. Featuring an esteemed panel of speakers, including Catherine Marks from GrowCFO and Alex Marsh, co-founder of Charterpath, this session provides insights on the key characteristics and strategies that enable finance leaders to elevate their impact, inspire positive action, and contribute to social good.
At the heart of this session is the exploration of how finance leaders can move beyond just managing numbers to become impactful change agents. The discussion delves into how finance professionals can translate their personal purpose into tangible organizational and societal impact, as well as the importance of prioritizing time for professional development and community involvement outside of core job responsibilities. Attendees will gain valuable insights into essential leadership traits like authenticity, consistency and moral compass, along with practical tips to enhance their influence and drive meaningful change within their teams, organizations and communities.
Highlights:
- The panel discussed impact as having a strong, influential effect – both positive and negative, intended and unintended. They emphasized the importance of authenticity, consistency and moral compass in being an impactful leader.
- Acting as a “Chief Value Officer” – thinking broadly about value, including financial, environmental and social impact
- Mastering the balance of being a gatekeeper of numbers and a trusted business advisor
- Demonstrating a strong moral compass and doing the right thing, even when it’s challenging
- Making time for personal/professional development and community involvement through time blocking, micro-moments and auditing current time usage
- Aligning personal purpose with professional roles to deliver lasting impact
- Developing a personal mission statement and strategic plan to guide long-term impact
- Breaking down long-term goals into actionable steps for tangible progress
- Overview of the Charterpath initiative to increase finance professionals volunteering in the nonprofit sector
- Introduction to the “Leading with Impact” program by GrowCFO and Charterpath, providing experiential learning to enhance skills and benefit charities
- Reflect on translating personal purpose into greater organizational and societal impact
- Explore internal opportunities to support ESG/CSR initiatives and mentor others
- Follow Charterpath to learn about volunteering finance skills in the nonprofit sector
Responses