Maintaining strong leadership of an entire finance team is hard, no question about it. But as CFOs have seen lately, remote leadership can present even more challenges.

When the pandemic hit, finance operations everywhere moved from corporate buildings and conference rooms to home offices and kitchen tables. And while some CFOs may now be raring to get their teams back into the office, in many cases, remote work arrangements have proved people can be productive at home.

To some extent, a dispersed workforce is here to stay. So, knowing how to manage your team remotely will be key even after the pandemic’s passed.

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For higher education institutions across the globe, change is the new normal. And while change always brings new opportunities, it also creates tremendous uncertainty. From volatile political climates to increases in regulation, the rapid proliferation of new competitors to anticipated labor shortages, every CFO today must be ready to face and manage the unknown.  

The normal human response to uncertainty is avoidance or a cautious “wait and see” attitude. Yet in a fast-paced, frenetic business world, where higher education institutions can be disrupted in mere months, “wait and see” is no longer a viable business strategy.

While those who are reluctant to change are clinging to the old ("that’s the way we’ve always done it”), wise and visionary CFOs are already recognizing the need to step up and into Finance’s new role as a strategic business partner. Only those who bravely move forward, in spite of the unknown and armed with information, new tools, and a strategic plan, will reap the rewards.

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CFOs have been an invaluable commodity during the pandemic, steering businesses through disruption and making the tough choices needed to ensure continuity. Yet it takes a special breed of CFO to pull a business out of survival mode and back into growth, competitive differentiation and innovation.

Businesses have lived with uncertainty and economic disruption for more than a year now, but that doesn’t mean the future is any more certain. The CFO’s role is to predict that future ahead of schedule and to put their business on the best possible footing to meet it. In this new climate, that may mean transforming the company from the ground up. To achieve this, a revolutionary CFO must surround themselves with the best people – and know how to look after them – and they have to make sure everyone is equipped with the right tools and technologies for the job.

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The role of the CFO within the organization has long been changing—a process which was turbo-charged by the digital transformations and enhanced business challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a recent Q&A, Omar Choucair, CFO of financial software company Trintech, and I discussed the new essential CFO skillset in the post-pandemic world. It entails not just specific competencies but an updated frame of mind that puts the finance chief at the center of change and adaptation.

Jeff Thomson: Traditionally, the CFO was seen as performing two primary roles: custodian of the budget and protector of critical assets. Now the CFO must capture key performance indicators that provide insight and foresight, that will inform the future course of the organization. How has this focus on strategy and the future upended the traditional function of the CFO? What new skillsets must CFOs acquire to perform these new tasks?

Read the full article at: www.forbes.com