The claim that personality is important in business is by no means new. Many executives have been exposed to a breadth of personality tests over the course of their careers, and yet, most of these tests have a depth and complexity to them that makes them rich in introspection but not particularly actionable. Some help you understand yourself but offer little insight on others. And others aren’t designed for business at all.
As CFO, juggling diverse stakeholder personalities comes with the territory. But how you interact with these individuals often means the difference between getting nowhere and getting the resolution that you want. Luckily, there are clues to deciphering personalities in business that can help CFOs better relate to others.
Termed “Business Chemistry”, we identify four distinct patterns of behavior that can be harnessed to not only improve interactions, but also to influence strategic decisions. While everyone displays a combination of traits from the four patterns, most people align closely with one or two of the following types:
- Drivers are analytical thinkers, intellectually creative and prefer experimentation.
- Pioneers are adaptable, exploratory and imaginative.
- Integrators are masters of empathy and nuance, and tend to consider everyone’s opinions before moving forward.
- Guardians are concrete, deliberate and prefer structure.
For CFOs, knowing Business Chemistry allows them not only to recognize their own personality patterns, but also those of their colleagues. For example, does your CEO make snap decisions? Do certain members of the board debate more than decide? Such clues allow CFOs to gain insight into how to connect on a more personal level and build effective teams.
In the 4th quarter of the 2010 CFO Signals Survey, we asked about the working styles of both CFOs and their CEOs. We asked again in 2Q16, and found a significant change in results- with more CFO drivers than integrators than before, more CEO integrators, and a sharp decline in guardians for both CFOs and CEOs. In 2Q16, about 60% of CFOs consider themselves drivers, and about 35% of CFOs consider their CEOs to be pioneers, up slightly from 4Q10.
As was the case in 2010, some CEO/CFO pairings appear to be more common than random pairing would predict. CFOs distribution of CEO/CFO working styles would lead us to expect pioneer/driver pairings and driver/driver pairings to be the most common, followed by integrator/driver. As expected, pioneer/driver pairings are the most common, accounting for 22% of all pairings, but driver/driver pairings are less common than expected, and integrator/driver pairings are more common.
Real-world applications
The consequence of misreading personality types may be as harmless as two parties walking away thinking, "Wow, that person just doesn't get it." But as countless client anecdotes suggest, the real results are often more serious: workplace inefficiency, poor team dynamics, and personal brand damage. On the other hand, a CFO who understands his or her own business chemistry, as well as the team’s, has the ability to build and sustain relationships with individuals that are quite different from him or her, and in turn, is better suited to succeed with the 3 categories outlined below.
- Engage and influence stakeholders
CFOs engage with such a broad range of stakeholders that an understanding of where and how people’s tendencies and preferences vary is essential. A CFO might present the same business case differently depending on the primary pattern of the audience.
In presenting to a driver, he or she might come equipped with a one-page summary and start the conversation with the overall impact of the initiative. In presenting to an integrator, he or she might start with the broader context of the business case, and include details about which stakeholder groups are on board.
This ability to adjust one’s own style to suit different stakeholder preferences is one of the leading ways to build effective relationships.
Another way is to intentionally leverage one’s own differences in a way that is complementary to someone else’s tendencies. So, for instance, a driver CFO working with a pioneer CEO can participate in the brainstorming that a pioneer loves, but also bring a helpful data lens to complement the pioneer’s more intuitive natural position.
- Manage team strengths and weaknesses
The complementary potential of different personality patterns should come as no great surprise. In fact, effective teams have both diversity—a mix of the four types—and an awareness and ability to leverage that diversity.
That doesn’t happen automatically, of course. In some instances, individuals are drawn to—and therefore hire—others of their own personality type. Other times, teams have diversity, but are unaware of its value, leading to misunderstandings and conflict. For CFOs, this suggests two related questions. First, what is the personality composition of my team? And second, how can I use that composition to promote effective team coordination and broader organizational engagement?
To address these questions, consider the following steps:
- Observe and hypothesize. Based on observable behaviors, what personality patterns are represented on my team?
- Identify gaps. Are there gaps that will pose risks to achieving our goals? Do we have strategies to mitigate potential blind spots?
- Leverage strengths. What strengths exist relative to achieving our goals, and how can we get the most out of those traits?
- Celebrate diversity. How can we recognize personality differences and leverage complementary traits where they exist?
Once a team is profiled, CFOs can build on existing strengths and combat potential pitfalls—and in the process possibly shift the perception of finance for the better within their organization.
- Flex to multiple roles
At first glance, many of the traditional CFO responsibilities seem to map neatly to the guardian: preserving the organization’s assets, getting the books right, minimizing risk, and so on. And indeed, many CFOs say their stakeholders often assume they’re guardians, simply because of their role. But this is problematic for two reasons.
First, not all CFOs are guardians. Those aligned more closely with other patterns often struggle with a misconception about how they ought to engage or feel the need to play to the stereotype. Second, although the stereotype around what a CFO “should be” persists, the reality is today’s CFOs are expected to play roles that go beyond the traditional “operator” and “steward” categories and require skills other than those associated with guardians.
Still, since everyone is a mix of patterns, even if a CFO is dominant in the guardian pattern, he or she can, with practice, adapt to secondary traits as needed. And where there is truly a gap, extra effort may be needed in order to do something that doesn’t come naturally to meet a particular need.
Engaging with others
Below are a few tips for dealing with each business chemistry personality type:
Driver
- Be confident and sit back casually.
- Be brief; get to the point and head straight for the goal.
- Recognize their achievements and leadership abilities.
- Don’t criticize yourself.
- They like to spar; don’t be afraid to fight back.
- They enjoy puns and paradoxes.
Pioneer
- Be lively; mimic their energy and optimism.
- Explore their ideas.
- Emphasize freedom and adventure.
- Let them shine.
- Be daring.
- Present imaginative materials—more theory, less detail.
Integrator
- Listen actively, lean forward, make eye contact.
- Be friendly, authentic, personal.
- Think contextually, long term.
- Balance facts with ideas and emotions.
- Offer support.
- Reveal yourself (to bond with them).
- Tell stories about people.
Guardian
- Present concrete facts, demonstrated principles, established practices.
- Be orderly, calm, unemotional.
- Make and stick to plans.
- Appreciate their need for details.
- Be patient with their many questions.
- Minimize risks and uncertainties.
It is human nature to assume our colleagues are just like us, and therefore interact with them in the way we prefer. The problem is that most people are actually
not like us.
Simply put, knowing business chemistry may help you transition from the Golden Rule (treat others as you wish to be treated) to the Platinum Rule (treat others as they wish to be treated).
Sandy Cockrell is National Managing Partner, U.S. CFO Program at Deloitte LLP, and Benjamin Finzi is Director and CEO Program Leader at Deloitte LLP.