Program Objectives

The following list represents the Key Program Objectives (KPO) for the Appleton Greene Financial Leadership corporate training program.

Financial Leadership – Part 1- Year 1Appleton Greene

  1. Part 1 Month 1 Model Overview – Module 1 is designed for the leadership of the organization to prepare and plan for the implementation of the Financial Leadership Program. It should be attended by the Business Leader / Owner and the CFO / Financial Leader for the business. In larger organizations, the head of human resources and possibly a few of the key financial leaders that report into the CFO. The preparation part of the module will include developing a basic understanding of the model. Once there is an understanding of the basics of the model and review the current finance team. It will be important to calibrate expectations on where the current team is today. Depending on the dynamics and size of the organization, a survey can also be sent to stakeholders. We will discuss how to identify any possible integration or people issues that will require further discussion in the more detailed modules. The planning part of the module will look to build the matrix of competency for the four competencies and the four leadership traits. This will be used to set expectations. We will also discuss the details around who should attend which modules and make sure the key resources have sufficient bandwidth to participate. Finally, we will review the existing corporate processes. This will include a review of the performance management systems, corporate values and recruiting processes. We will be looking for possibly integration issues as the Financial Leadership program requires integration and support from these processes. We will look for any possible integration issues that we will be looking for the team to resolve in future modules.
  2. Part 1 Month 2 Catalyst – Module 2 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the key financial managers / leaders that are a part of his / her team. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. The financial competencies in the Financial Leadership Model are relevant to all employees working in finance. It is important that all financial managers and supervisors have a firm grasp of the competency prior to implementation to the full team. The module has three primary goals. The first goal is to develop an understanding of the competency and its importance to the finance function. We will discuss the building blocks of Catalyst. There are three building blocks of Catalyst are Curiosity, Influence, and Initiative. We will discuss each of the building blocks and how they relate to the overall competency. The second goal was is to understand and review the competency requirements for different levels in the organization and finalize a matrix to communicate the competency through the finance team. The matrix will show the expectations regarding this competency for different roles in the company. We will validate the matrix for the Catalyst competency. Finally, we will discuss the process for using the matrix to assess employees in the competency. The goal will be for the participants to become comfortable recognizing the competency. This will give the participants to opportunity to prepare for the assessment in Module 6.
  3. Part 1 Month 3 Reporting – Module 3 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the key financial managers / leaders that are a part of his / her team. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. The financial competencies in the Financial Leadership Model are relevant to all employees working in finance. It is important that all financial managers and supervisors have a firm grasp of the competency prior to implementation to the full team. The module has three primary goals. The first goal is to develop an understanding of the competency and its importance to the finance function. We will discuss the building blocks of Reporting. There are three building blocks of Reporting are Accuracy, Stewardship and Understanding the Audience. We will discuss each of the building blocks and how they relate to the overall competency. The second goal was is to understand and review the competency requirements for different levels in the organization and finalize a matrix to communicate the competency through the finance team. The matrix will show the expectations regarding this competency for different roles in the company. We will validate the matrix for the Reporting competency. Finally, we will discuss the process for using the matrix to assess employees in the competency. The goal will be for the participants to become comfortable recognizing the competency. This will give the participants to opportunity to prepare for the assessment in Module 6.
  4. Part 1 Month 4 Balance – Module 4 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the key financial managers / leaders that are a part of his / her team. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. The financial competencies in the Financial Leadership Model are relevant to all employees working in finance. It is important that all financial managers and supervisors have a firm grasp of the competency prior to implementation to the full team. The module has three primary goals. The first goal is to develop an understanding of the competency and its importance to the finance function. We will discuss the building blocks of Balance. There are three building blocks of Balance are Flexibility, Courage and Awareness. We will discuss each of the building blocks and how they relate to the overall competency. The second goal was is to understand and review the competency requirements for different levels in the organization and finalize a matrix to communicate the competency through the finance team. The matrix will show the expectations regarding this competency for different roles in the company. We will validate the matrix for the Balance competency. Finally, we will discuss the process for using the matrix to assess employees in the competency. The goal will be for the participants to become comfortable recognizing the competency. This will give the participants to opportunity to prepare for the assessment in Module 6.
  5. Part 1 Month 5 The Curve – Module 5 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the key financial managers / leaders that are a part of his / her team. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. The financial competencies in the Financial Leadership Model are relevant to all employees working in finance. It is important that all financial managers and supervisors have a firm grasp of the competency prior to implementation to the full team. The module has three primary goals. The first goal is to develop an understanding of the competency and its importance to the finance function. We will discuss the building blocks of The Curve. There are three building blocks of The Curve are Influence vs Ownership, Understanding Why, and Anticipation. We will discuss each of the building blocks and how they relate to the overall competency. The second goal was is to understand and review the competency requirements for different levels in the organization and finalize a matrix to communicate the competency through the finance team. The matrix will show the expectations regarding this competency for different roles in the company. We will validate the matrix for The Curve competency. Finally, we will discuss the process for using the matrix to assess employees in the competency. The goal will be for the participants to become comfortable recognizing the competency. This will give the participants to opportunity to prepare for the assessment in Module 6.
  6. Part 1 Month 6 Competency Assessment – Module 6 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the key financial managers / leaders that are a part of his / her team. It is also recommended that the CEO / Business Leader also attend this session. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. Now that all of the financial competencies have been discussed, the participants will conduct an evaluation of the existing team and It is important that all financial managers and supervisors have a firm grasp of the competencies and action plan prior to implementation to the full team. The module has 4 goals for the team to accomplish. The first goal will be to assess the performance of each employee on each competency based on the performance criteria developed in each module. Once the initial assessment has been completed by each of the participants, the second goal will be calibration on the assessment. The purpose of the calibration exercise is to reach agreement on each employee’s performance. It is critical for the successful implementation that there is alignment among the financial managers in the business. Goal 3 will be to discuss and determine what actions need to be done after analysis of the data from the assessment and calibration. Finally, the team will create timeline for improvements to be made. The improvements will include addresses issues with the current staff and creating a plan to incorporate screening for the competencies in the recruitment for any new roles on the team.
  7. Part 1 Month 7 Servant Leadership – Module 7 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the CEO / Business Leader. Depending on the size of the organization other participants may be necessary. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. While the financial competencies we have been discussing are relevant to all employees working in finance, the leadership traits only apply to those in leadership roles or aspiring to be in a leadership role. For current leaders, these traits are key to their long-term success and for aspiring leaders they are traits that need to be developed. The financial leadership traits follow a cycle of Understand, Evaluate, Act and Verify. Using this process is the primary goal of the module. The Understand phase is to understand the leadership trait and how the trait helps the financial leader add value to the business. The Evaluate phase is for the financial leader to evaluate their own performance and seek feedback from others regarding their use of trait in leadership situations. During the Act phase we will discuss ways to strengthen the leadership trait. Finally, we will discuss Verify. As with any change, it is critical to look for feedback. Sometimes there will be formal feedback and sometimes the feedback is informal or subtle. We will identify was to seek formal feedback and how to recognize the subtle, informal feedback.
  8. Part 1 Month 8 Connector – Module 8 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the CEO / Business Leader. Depending on the size of the organization other participants may be necessary. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. While the financial competencies we have been discussing are relevant to all employees working in finance, the leadership traits only apply to those in leadership roles or aspiring to be in a leadership role. For current leaders, these traits are key to their long-term success and for aspiring leaders they are traits that need to be developed. The financial leadership traits follow a cycle of Understand, Evaluate, Act and Verify. Using this process is the primary goal of the module. The Understand phase is to understand the leadership trait and how the trait helps the financial leader add value to the business. The Evaluate phase is for the financial leader to evaluate their own performance and seek feedback from others regarding their use of trait in leadership situations. During the Act phase we will discuss ways to strengthen the leadership trait. Finally, we will discuss Verify. As with any change, it is critical to look for feedback. Sometimes there will be formal feedback and sometimes the feedback is informal or subtle. We will identify was to seek formal feedback and how to recognize the subtle, informal feedback.
  9. Part 1 Month 9 Challenger – Module 9 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the CEO / Business Leader. Depending on the size of the organization other participants may be necessary. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. While the financial competencies we have been discussing are relevant to all employees working in finance, the leadership traits only apply to those in leadership roles or aspiring to be in a leadership role. For current leaders, these traits are key to their long-term success and for aspiring leaders they are traits that need to be developed. The financial leadership traits follow a cycle of Understand, Evaluate, Act and Verify. Using this process is the primary goal of the module. The Understand phase is to understand the leadership trait and how the trait helps the financial leader add value to the business. The Evaluate phase is for the financial leader to evaluate their own performance and seek feedback from others regarding their use of trait in leadership situations. During the Act phase we will discuss ways to strengthen the leadership trait. Finally, we will discuss Verify. As with any change, it is critical to look for feedback. Sometimes there will be formal feedback and sometimes the feedback is informal or subtle. We will identify was to seek formal feedback and how to recognize the subtle, informal feedback.
  10. Part 1 Month 10 Business Advocate – Module 10 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the CEO / Business Leader. Depending on the size of the organization other participants may be necessary. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. While the financial competencies we have been discussing are relevant to all employees working in finance, the leadership traits only apply to those in leadership roles or aspiring to be in a leadership role. For current leaders, these traits are key to their long-term success and for aspiring leaders they are traits that need to be developed. The financial leadership traits follow a cycle of Understand, Evaluate, Act and Verify. Using this process is the primary goal of the module. The Understand phase is to understand the leadership trait and how the trait helps the financial leader add value to the business. The Evaluate phase is for the financial leader to evaluate their own performance and seek feedback from others regarding their use of trait in leadership situations. During the Act phase we will discuss ways to strengthen the leadership trait. Finally, we will discuss Verify. As with any change, it is critical to look for feedback. Sometimes there will be formal feedback and sometimes the feedback is informal or subtle. We will identify was to seek formal feedback and how to recognize the subtle, informal feedback.
  11. Part 1 Month 11 Leadership Assessment – Module 11 should be attended by the CFO / Financial leader and the CEO / Business Leader. Depending on the size and dynamics of the organization, it may make sense for HR leader or others to participate. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. Now that all of the financial leadership traits have been discussed, the participants will conduct an evaluation of the existing team. This module will be similar to module 6 in the 4 goals for the team to accomplish. The first goal will be to assess the performance of each financial leader on each trait based on the performance criteria developed in each module. Once the initial assessment has been completed by the CFO / Financial Leader, the second goal will be calibration on the assessment. Calibration will be accomplished by the CFO / Financial Leader leading a conversation of on their leadership assessment. This is a time for the CFO / Financial Leader to seek out formal feedback. Like the calibration in Module 6, the purpose of the calibration exercise is to reach agreement and a mutual understanding. Goal 3 will be for the CFO / Financial Leader to discuss and determine potential actions need to be done after analysis of the data from the assessment and calibration. Finally, the team will create timeline for improvements to be made. The improvements will include addresses issues with the current staff and creating a plan to incorporate screening for the competencies in the recruitment for any new roles on the team.
  12. Part 1 Month 12 Implementation Strategies – Module 12 should be attended by the CFO / Financial Leader, the key financial leaders on the CFO’s team and the CEO / Business Leader. The participants in the module will be discussed as part Module 1 to make sure the correct team is in the room and the group dynamics are what is needed. This module’s primary goal is to make the team comfortable taking the theory from Modules 1 to 11 and feeling comfortable making the changes discussed in Module 6 and 11 and moving forward. This module will discuss tools, processes, and communication strategies to aid in the implementation. The primary tool that will be used will be the two matrices that were developed. The Competency Matrix will be used for all employees and the Leadership Trait Matrix will be used for employees in or aspiring for leadership roles. Another key strategy will be in the implementation of a monitoring process. The monitoring process will allow the company to regularly review and monitor the progress being made on the implementation of the model. A regular monitoring process will allow the company to review the effectiveness of the model being integrated in the performance management and recruiting processes. Once the processes and tools are in place, the implementation will be cascaded down starting with the financial leadership. The cascading down provides two key benefits. First, it will make sure you have the proper leadership in place to lead the changes. Second, it will allow the managers and leaders to become comfortable with the model prior to rolling it out to the rest of the team. Finally, we will discuss communication strategies. We will discuss the importance of starting with why the model needs to be implemented. If employees cannot understand the why aspect, it will be difficult to discuss how and what. It will be important to have a KPI or numerical score to describe how the team is performing. Everyone likes to know the score and it will be helpful for employees and other stakeholders to be able to point to numbers to show progress and opportunity for improvement.