In the last week, I’ve read numerous articles about the appeal of Chief Financial Officers to fill the top seat of Chief Executive Officer. Articles in the Wall Street Journal, Crain’s, and the StartUpProfessionals blog, among others, are buzzing.
On the flip side, there was a question in the Proformative community asking … can’t I just be content to be a CFO?
Apparently the train has now officially left the station. That does not mean …
– You missed it, or
– You have to be on it
Aspiring to be a CFO and being perfectly content with your role in that capacity is completely dependent on what’s right for you. Embrace your contentment and effectiveness. Doing what you love is a wonderful thing.
Having a goal to sit in the CEO seat, sometime soon or in the future, is a personal – and very achievable – goal. I believe it will only continue to be more and more possible, and even typical, for the accomplished Finance Chief.
However, to move up requires that you understand, and be able to message, “how” you are qualified to hold that top leadership position. It will require you to step away from your responsibility messaging and step into value messaging backed by your compelling track record of tangible impacts.
