A CFO discusses moving into strategic leadership by collaborating across departments and staying open to learning. The role demands working closely with executives outside finance and adapting as challenges emerge.
When I became the CFO at conagra Mall, I think the most difficult things for me were becoming strategic. I didn't have that strategic. And so that was a big shift where all of a sudden, you have to really not get caught in the weeds. So I had to pull myself up from the weeds. I think another area was working with execs from directly, with sales and marketing, with operations, some of the logistics people, and making sure that we worked together with them. In the past, I could do a lot of things on my own and come up with ideas, and it really didn't impact them as much now, but the decisions I was making was going to impact them. My biggest transition was I thought I was the smart in the room, and I very quickly learned that was not the case. And I better be able to work with these people and learn what they're all about.
Trust and Leadership Lessons for FP&A From 100+ Top Leaders with CFO Jon Laudie
