Building a High-Performing Finance Team

Being a CFO or finance leader is not just about crunching numbers and ensuring the balance sheet is squared away. One of the most difficult responsibilities you'll face is managing your team.  

Motivating, guiding, and sometimes dealing with problematic individuals is a key part of your role. Your team can affect the overall performance of the company and your own success so this is a must.  

Finance professionals, especially CFOs, often find themselves dealing with teams composed of highly skilled but complex individuals who may not always mesh well or perform at their best. 

Managing your finance team effectively isn’t just about ensuring deadlines are met...although that’s major part. Miss the reporting deadlines to management team and everyone is going to notice.  

But you also must cultivate an environment where high performance is the norm.  

We’ve always found that managing people is harder than managing numbers. Numbers don't have emotions, egos, or personal agendas. People do.  

This week let’s dive into some of the key team management issues and see how to deal with them. 

Underachievers and Clock Punchers 

Underachievers and clock-punchers can be hard to spot. At least until a critical deadline is missed or an error pops up in the financial reports.  

These individuals can often hide behind the complexity of the work or the performance of their colleagues. While they might not cause catastrophic issues immediately, their lack of engagement can slowly poison team morale and productivity. 

These employees might not necessarily be doing bad work, but they're not pushing the boundaries of what they could achieve.  

You’ve probably seen plenty of articles recently about “quiet quitters”. This isn’t really a new phenomenon. But with many companies allowing for remote work it has made this much easier to pull off. They clock in, do the minimum, and then coast.  

Over time, this complacency becomes apparent to the rest of the team, creating an unspoken culture of mediocrity if you allow it to stand. 

To address this the first step is to set clear expectations. If your team doesn't know what success looks like, they’ll define it for themselves.  

This often means doing the least amount possible to stay employed.  

Instead, you have to set measurable, specific targets. Make sure they are documented and that people are held accountable to them.  

Have regular check-ins with your team members to review their performance against these targets. 

If someone is underperforming, have a direct conversation about their performance. Don’t beat around the bush. Many people don’t even realize they're underperforming until it's pointed out.  

If they don't step up after you've made your expectations clear, it's time to consider more formal performance management procedures. You need to cut dead weight before it drags down the rest of your team. 

Rockstars with Terrible Attitudes 

Every team has one. That rockstar employee who delivers exceptional results but is a nightmare to work with. These individuals often believe that because their output is stellar, they’re above the rules, and often above you. 

They can also hold your team hostage. Other team members may resent their attitude, but because they’re so good at what they do, no one wants to confront the issue. In the long run, this creates a toxic environment where your team starts to feel undervalued or demoralized. 

Don’t be afraid to confront this person. Just because they’re good doesn’t mean they get to act like a jerk.  

Make it clear that team collaboration and mutual respect are non-negotiables.  

Often, these are long-term employees that believe they are irreplaceable. You need to make sure they know they aren’t.  

If they can’t shape up, it might be time to show them the door, no matter how good their numbers or performance are. We’ve usually found that these employees will shape-up overtime once they see you are serious. This is easiest with those who are long-term employees because they are risk averse and don’t want to issues that come with changing jobs.  

Those that have not been around long-term can be the most difficult. You have to be willing to force a change to protect your team though. It’s painful to let a rockstar go, but the long-term benefit to team morale often outweighs the short-term hit to performance. 

Communication Black Hole 

One of the most frustrating issues managers sometimes face is the lack of communication. It’s not uncommon for emails to go unanswered for days or for someone to come back with a vague answer that doesn’t actually address the question. 

This can happen as finance teams get bogged down in the minutiae of their tasks. Or perhaps they just suck at managing their time and following-up.  Whether it's due to silos within the organization or just plain inefficiency, this lack of communication creates major bottlenecks. 

It’s on you to eliminate this. Every team member should understand the importance of timely and thorough communication. Especially when it comes to deadlines and urgent tasks.  

Make it a rule that no email or request should go unanswered for more than 24 hours, even if it’s just a simple “I’m working on it, will get back to you.” 

You might also want to implement project management tools like Asana, Slack, or Trello, where task tracking is visible and transparent.  

These tools make it easier to follow up without relying solely on email. And they reduce the chances of tasks falling through the cracks. 

The Silent Killer of High Performance 

An ever-present danger with finance team is burnout. Your team works hard. Especially during quarter-end or year-end reporting periods or when you have a major project. Late nights and high stress are almost baked into the job description.  

However, if you let burnout take root, you risk losing your top talent...and the rest of your team along with them. 

Burnout leads to decreased productivity, more mistakes, and an eventual drop in morale. People will start taking more sick days, missing deadlines, or even just mentally checking out. 

Recognize the signs of burnout before it's too late. If someone is regularly working late nights, making more mistakes than usual, or becoming increasingly disengaged, they might be burning out.  

Be open and just have a conversation with them. If needed, take steps to reduce their workload or give them time off to recharge. 

Also, consider rotating responsibilities or cross-training your team so that no single person is shouldering the same high-stress tasks month after month.  

Micromanagers 

Finance professionals are detail-oriented by nature.  

But sometimes this can turn into micromanagement, which stifles creativity and kills motivation. Micromanaging finance teams might make you feel more in control, but in reality, it does the opposite. 

It creates resentment and dependency. 

When team members feel like they’re constantly being watched or second-guessed, they stop taking initiative. They become less engaged and start doing only what’s necessary to avoid criticism.  

In the long run, this erodes team trust and leads to lower overall performance. 

We’ve both created this problem ourselves and been on the receiving end of it.  

The solution though is to just let go of the reins. You hired your team for a reason, so let them do their jobs.  

Set clear expectations and check in regularly but avoid hovering over every task. 

Instead of micromanaging, focus on empowering your team. Let them take ownership of their tasks, make decisions, and learn from their mistakes. The more ownership they feel over their work, the more motivated and productive they’ll be. 

It will also make you better at your job and create a stronger team. 

The Lack of Recognition 

Finance teams don’t often get a lot of glory.  

When was the last time someone publicly praised the person who reconciled the books or meticulously tracked down an accounting error?  

And yet, these are the critical tasks that keep the organization running. Without recognition, your finance team can start to feel undervalued and unmotivated. 

Lack of recognition leads to low morale. This then turns into disengagement. When people don’t feel like their work is appreciated, they stop caring as much. 

Start recognizing achievements, even the small ones. If someone on your team went above and beyond to close the books early or saved the company money through cost-cutting strategies, make sure they’re publicly acknowledged.  

It’s small and may seem not that important to you...but a little appreciation can go a long way in motivating your team. 

You don’t need to implement a huge rewards system. 

A simple thank you note or a public shout-out during a meeting is enough to make someone feel valued. 

Building a High-Performance Finance Team 

Now that we’ve covered some of the major issues, let’s talk about how to build a high-performing finance team. 

1. Hire Smart, Not Just Fast 

Don’t hire someone just because they check the right boxes on their resume. Hire people who fit your team culture, who are driven, and who will take ownership of their work. The wrong hire can derail the productivity of your entire team. 

2. Develop Your Team 

Continuous learning should be a part of your team culture. Encourage your team to pursue professional development opportunities, whether it’s additional certifications, training programs, or even cross-training within the company. The more skilled your team becomes, the more value they’ll add to the company. 

3. Foster Collaboration 

Finance can be a siloed department, but that doesn’t mean it should be. Foster a collaborative environment where team members share ideas, solve problems together, and learn from each other. This not only boosts productivity but also leads to better decision-making. 

4. Build Trust 

If your team doesn’t trust you...or you don’t trust them, you’re in for a rough ride. Build trust by being transparent, setting clear expectations, and providing support when needed.  

In return, your team will trust you to lead them, even during tough times. 

Conclusion

Managing a finance team is one of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of being a CFO or finance leader.  

It’s not just about the numbers. 

Managing a finance or accounting team is far more complex than just delivering financial reports on time. As a CFO or finance professional, you're tasked with ensuring the numbers are right, the books are balanced, and your team is operating at full efficiency.  

But here’s the unspoken truth: numbers are easy, people are hard. 

When it comes to getting top performance out of your finance team, it’s not just about technical skills or knowledge—it’s about motivation, teamwork, and creating an environment where each individual feels valued, driven, and aligned with the company’s objectives.  

Next Week

We hope everyone has a great week. Join us next time where we’ll discuss compensation plans. What types of things you should be requesting...equity, bonuses, long-term incentive plans, and other perks.