CFO Studio Magazine with Bernd-Peter Bier, CFO, Bayer

EVENTS EXECUTIVE DINNER SERIES 26 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 4th QUARTER 2015 is privately owned. So, the only people who see an entire P&L are the owners, my controller, and me. Basically, we give each department its own P&L, and we incentivize them to achieve predetermined results. I learned a long time ago that if you incentivize somebody to do something important, that is what they will focus on.” Timothy O’Donnell, CFO of The Falk Group, a New York City–based marketing agency, also recognizes the importance of incentives. “One of the things that I found to be successful is when you create goals and incentives for employees, they have more of a buy-in. It’s also important to remove any barriers that may exist that may prevent them from reaching their goals.” Leaders and Empathy It has been proven that empathy goes a long way toward encouraging employees to perform at their best. “I care deeply about all the people that I oversee, and they know it. It’s genuine. I get to know the employees and get to know what makes them tick, and if they need to cut out at four o’clock, they know they can do so. I don’t overstep the employer/employee relationship, but they know I care,” said Darrin Shamosh, CFO of Newark, NJ–based Interport, a company that sells and rents intermodal shipping containers. “The other thing I have found to be successful is to give people some rope. Let them make a mistake. It’s okay, if … you don’t make the same mistake twice.” Improving their own listening skills, decreasing conflict, and controlling impulsive reactions help leaders develop. These traits are often referred to as emotional intelligence. “There are three legs to success. One is your IQ that you are born with. Second is your acquired knowledge. The third leg is the one that I find so many people overlook. It’s probably the most important one — emotional intelligence — the ability to relate with people,” said Howard Reba, Finance Operations Group Director of California-based Marlin Equity Partners, a global investment firm. Empathy is used day in and day out by Lisa Strassman, Director of Finance, CAO, for Orangeburg, NY–based Daikin America, which develops, manufactures, and sells fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorochemicals, and fluorocoatings. “I focus on understanding the varying perspectives of all involved in a situation. I get in there and I figure out what really stresses them out, and work with them to improve their day-to-day life,” said Ms. Strassman. “I show them that management does care, that we do get it, that we can help them, and that we can improve technology. … I think that they respect me as their leader because I understand them and know what they’re doing.” Mr. Craig asked Ms. Strassman if there has ever been a time when an employee took advantage of her help. “I make sure that they don’t use me as their assistant. I challenge them.…I don’t give them the answers all the time,” said Ms. Strassman. “There are folks in leadership positions who don’t agree with my methodology because they think I may be too much in the trenches. What they don’t understand is that I’m building team morale and I’m helping the day-to-day process, and I’m also working to prevent employees from quitting.” “Your comment about leaders not being assistants is a brilliant statement,” said Mr. Zezas. “I see new leaders very often taking on too much responsibility, because they figure, ‘I’m going to do all the work.’ Leadership and doing all the work are two very different things that, with the right balance, have to come together.” Ms. Strassman concurred. “I’ll take every criticism from the executive leader saying that I’m too much involved. I’ll take that any day over being so far removed that the team doesn’t appreciate me, doesn’t respect me or what I know. I need to be there for them. That’s how I lead.” Rob Guerrera, Senior Vice President and CFO, Kline & Company, a Parsippany, NJ– based consulting company, joined in. “Lisa, what really resonates with me about your comment is that leadership grows; it needs to be opportunistic, yet you need the inherent skills and the comfort level of putting yourself out there and taking advantage of the opportunities. We need to do what Rudy Giuliani did and find what is easy to fix. Fixing the squeegee problem that existed on Manhattan’s streets is what he decided was his first order of business as mayor, and he built a path of success. The hard jobs become easier when the little jobs are taken care of.” Not only are empathy and emotional intelligence important, but so is trust. You can have a clear-cut vision, an ironclad strategy, and successful communication skills. But if the team doesn’t trust you, you will not be effective. “When you build a relationship, that person will go the extra mile for you,” said Fred Guerra, Vice President, Finance of Rockleigh, NJ–based CFO Studio wishes you and yours happy holidays, many reasons to celebrate, peace, longevity, and profits in 2016 and beyond! Lisa Strassman (L.) and James Emmerson articulated their thoughts on leadership and incentives