Just as I was beginning to play golf again, I began serving as an interim CFO for a community hospital in the South, where golf is a year-round sport. Several of the hospital’s department directors who made a concerted effort to play once a week were kind enough to invite me along, even though at the time I could barely remember which club to use for a given shot. By playing golf with my colleagues, I saw a number of key management skills applicable to hospital management demonstrated on the green.
Find Talent
When we watch the NFL or NBA draft each year, we are amazed by the choices that some teams make in reaching out to recruit no-name players. Not surprisingly, some of these choices turn out to be superstars. Similarly, seasoned executives have learned to find talent in seemingly unlikely places. Finding talent around you is difficult. That talent often comes from unexpected places or people with different skill sets or personalities.
Â
Over the past nine years, I have spent considerable time in the role of an interim executive, and in almost every engagement, I have been able to identify raw or new talent that works well for the organization. The roles of finance executives include identifying people with desirable skills and taking a risk on new talent. My golf partners noticed my raw talent (or at least I like to think they did), took the risk, and invited me to join them, which has since paid off for all of us. Perhaps you are the raw talent that an organization needs. If so, you need to expose yourself to the decision makers. Staying in the back corner of the office will not help you if you want to advance in the organization. Volunteer for assignments or task forces, do special projects, and let your boss know that you will take on that extra task that others might hesitate to even consider. Then complete that task, do a thorough job, and deliver on time.
Coach Others
My first job in health care was assistant controller for a national hospital chain. Four months after I took the job, my boss was promoted to be a division vice president. So, with only four months of experience, I was promoted as well. I should have failed because I did not have a true mentor, and I was fumbling along, learning every day. One day the hospital administrator asked me to develop a “flash report” that dealt with cash, accounts receivable, payroll, and key volumes. Then I watched as the administrator made good business decisions with what I thought was very little data. Interestingly, he was correct much of the time because of his 30-plus years of experience.
At this point in my career, I do the same thing because I have been exposed to and solved problems in materials, staffing, cash reserves, and other key areas. Looking back, I realize that I learned some valuable lessons from that administrator and that, in his own way, he was coaching me in analyzing data and making decisions. Similarly, my new golf partners have spent an inordinate amount of time teaching me to read the course and analyzing my swing, and they have congratulated me every time I miraculously got a par.
As a financial leader, you need to identify new talent for your organization and then develop that talent by coaching the individual and being involved in his or her success. It is important to map out a development plan that addresses the individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and promotion paths. Learning more about him or her will also help you make more informed decisions about a future role in the organization. Not everyone wants to move up the ladder, but handicapping someone by not helping in his or her development is a failure on the part of management.
Be Afraid to Fail …
… but not to act. When I set up for a golf shot, I am not comfortable enough to know that I will hit the ball well. Unlike Tiger Woods or Sergio Garcia, I am not a pro–but I still try to hit the ball as well as or even better than I did the week before. Likewise, in my job as a CFO, failure is not an option. Fear of failure keeps some people from achieving or seeking to achieve. Fear of failure is also a high motivator for many people.
Author: Ken Fisher