Establish yourself at Board level

Establishing yourself at Board level for the first time is a significant step up for most finance leaders. This is a pivotal milestone in your finance career, providing you with a fantastic opportunity to become a highly-valued business leader and to represent your business externally.

During this video extract from a Strategic Business Partner workshop, experienced CFO and professional mentor Ian Simpkin shares his experiences:

Most finance leaders are unprepared for their first Board role and are unaware of how to become impactful at Board level.

For instance, many finance leaders fail to build strong enough relationships with Board members.  They also have insufficient business knowledge and commercial awareness to contribute effectively across the full agenda.

Here are some top tips from Ian Simpkin:

1. Take a bit of time to establish the relationships up-front to ensure that you understand people’s individual perspectives and that they appreciate your skills;
2. Have the confidence to step into the CFO Board level role and feel positive about your ability to bring a highly valued perspective; and
3. Recognise that your background is likely to be very different to the other Board members.  Avoid being arrogant and constantly telling everybody what you would do.

Many Boards fail to recognise the unique perspective and valuable insights that a finance leader can provide across all business matters.  Most C-Suite members have a limited understanding of finance and are unaware of the full range of ways in which you can support them within their roles.

Everybody will have different skills gaps and it is important that you are aware of any shortfalls in your knowledge and experience levels.  Ensure that you build up a finance team who compliment your skills and can address any gaps.  This helps to avoid your team being exposed to potential issues that have the potential to undermine your role.

In summary, stepping up into your first CFO Board level role is a huge career milestone.  It is important that you prepare for it properly by developing strong relationships, creating strategies for building your confidence and determining how best to provide your unique financial perspective.

Assess your skills

Do you feel confident about becoming a Board member?

Have you ever attended a Board meeting?

How did you feel during your first Board meeting as the CFO?

Would your Board members describe you as a valued contributor across all business matters?