Senior Accountant to CFO

The Situation:

In a leading Media & Marketing company, a high-performing senior accountant VP, “Jane,” quickly developed a reputation for driving results at the expense of building relationship capital. Her annual performance review included praise for achievement of stretch-goals and sharp criticism of “non-leader-like” and “non-collaborative” behavior, citing employee defections and low team morale.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Jane’s near-term objectives were to solidify her roles as a contributing leadership team member and as trusted advisor to her boss, the CFO.  She recognized the imperative to reconsider her senior leadership, peer collaboration, and organizational influence abilities.

THE WORK:

When Jane came to us, we saw the opportunity to get her reputation – and career – back on track. Jane jumped in, working on her Influence, stressing how she created rapport and added value with her team. She rebuilt a new and improved Profile once she softened her bearing. Finally, she helped her Promotability by building her Bench, by embracing and cultivating her people.

THE RESULTS:

Jane adapted new approaches to drive results with and through co-workers.  Her second 360-degree feedback review showed significant gains in each developmental area, paving the way for her to achieve high performance targets.

When her boss, the sitting CFO, left for another opportunity the next year, Jane was promoted into the vacancy and named the successor CFO.

The NEXT STEPS:

If YOU want to learn more, take our “C-Suite Roadblock Audit,” which will help you identify mistakes you might be making right now that could be hurting your C-Suite prospects.  You can also download our “Team Optimizer Checklist” to help get your directs aligned.  Alternatively, if you’d like to have a brief complimentary call with Ephraim Schachter feel free to reach out for a 15-minute Strategy Session.