Gareth Jones says the finance director must overcome the introverted stereotype and become involved in the organisation's strategic direction.
It was with mixed feelings that I took part in this month’s survey of personality types in the charity sector. On the one hand, I was rather pleased to discover that as an INTJ – “the strategist” – I hold the personality type that is most common among Charity Finance’s core audience of finance professionals. Hopefully this means I am to some degree in tune with the impulses and sympathies of my audience.
On the other hand, there’s that “I” in INTJ. The dreaded tag of introversion comes with a string of negative connotations, many of which coincide with stereotypes about finance professionals. In the eyes of some, it means I am dull, it means I am anti-social, and it means my favourite pastime is alphabetising my CD collection.
Actually, none of these things are true. Many of us greatly enjoy socialising, it’s just that we draw the energy to do so from being alone, rather than finding that socialising itself gives us energy. A tendency towards reading and research also means that we introverts can be tremendously engaging and informative when it comes to our interests and passions. And the work that goes into meticulously labelling our MP3 collections means we don’t have time for CDs anymore.
Worst of all are the implications for our professional careers. The introvert is often expected to stay in the corner working on their facts and figures, and this is an invitation some of us find easy to accept. Those who shout loudest or win the most friends can easily be the ones whose opinions matter most.
Yet as Charity Finance has long argued, the most effective finance professionals are those that look beyond the numbers and assist with their organisation’s strategic planning. The FD’s detailed and wide-ranging knowledge of their organisation provides an excellent platform from which to develop a vision of where that organisation should progress. Furthermore, the FD’s financial knowledge means they are well placed to advocate the development of new income streams and to put the brakes on any projects which aren’t cost-effective.
Not every finance director craves to one day take on the role of CEO, and that’s completely fine. Others, like Paul Breckell at Action on Hearing Loss or Simon Hopkins at Turn2us, will leap at the opportunity and be a great success. But either way, strategy matters.
Gareth Jones
