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Writer's pictureJames Huang

The Four P's of Finance Transformation Success: Part 4) Personality

We are at the final blog post in my series about finance transformation success. I've covered the hard technical aspects of project management and the external aspects of communication and working with others.


This blog post covers the internal skills and character of the successful finance transformation professional. It is naturally biased towards my own personality and my own strengths. I will emphasise that there is no single right answer and a variety of people are required for a successful team and project.


For the record, the 4 P's are:

Organised

Not the most glamorous personality trait but finance transformation projects are complex. So keeping yourself and others organised is key for a smooth project. Good organisation relies on good systems and processes.

  • I'm a stickler for writing things down and recording actions for every meeting. It's a legacy of being drilled with "if it wasn't written down it didn't happen" principle from working as an auditor.

  • Such items are tracked in project management tools (like Asana) and/or Excel.

  • Yes, I manage to inbox zero my personal and work email. It gives me great satisfaction and don't shoot me for being smug about it.

  • I picked up a lot of my techniques from the Lifehacker book Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better. Sadly for me, the website is still around but has moved away from its pure productivity trips roots.

On reflection, organisation-fatigue can set in from trying to optimise every aspect of life to maximum efficiency. Even writing that sentence feels de-humanising. Basically, don't read too many business books and have some fun instead.

Red couch
(c) XoMEoX https://flic.kr/p/NTmVpC

Visionary

Being organised and going through the project management churn (update trackers and project plans) is not an end in itself. I believe that you have to have a deep understanding of the organisation and the end goal of the project to be successful in finance transformation. The worst example I've seen is the project manager who mindlessly ticks off the project action list without understanding the overall context of the project aims. Some argue that project management skills should be agnostic across different industries, but that hasn't worked for me.


Instead, real leadership is shown by keeping your eye on the big picture and showing passion, even for the project analyst roles that do more mundane aspects of the project.


Thick Skinned

There will be challenges and difficult people and situations to deal with. I've talked about being prepared not to be liked in a previous blog post. Having a high degree of personal resilience is vital. That means finance transformation isn't for you if you want a job with regular rhythms and expectations. But it is good for those who like a challenge and like the variety.


Soft Heart

Being thick-skinned doesn't give you licence to be a horrible person! Although short notice periods in finance transformation contracts mean that this self-corrects very quickly. Instead, remember that people are involved and that change is hard. The hardest situations I've been involved with are redundancy programs. Finance transformation professionals are not directly involved in the "P45" conversions because that responsibility lies with the organisation's management and HR. But you still have to work with them during a transition process.


Empathy and listening skills are important. I find it hard moving away from a "this person is being awkward and is against the project" to realising that there is a reason behind everyone's behaviour and taking the time for genuine listening.


The Final Word on Finance Transformation Success?

That's the 4 P's of finance transformation success done! Controversially and conspicuously, I've left of teamwork as a vital aspect of finance transformation success. So, like an unwanted Marvel sequel, I may return with a fifth P - Player (Team) in the future.

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