8 Ways Women in Finance Can Strengthen Their Business Leadership Skills

Salaries and Roles

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Career development

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By Brandi Britton, Global Executive Director, Contract Finance and Accounting, Robert Half

Strengthening business leadership skills is a crucial move for women in finance and accounting seeking roles with more responsibility and influence, both within their organization and in the broader industry. Even if your aim isn’t to one day become a chief financial officer or work at the management level, well-honed leadership abilities can still benefit your career.

Being a good leader in any capacity in the workplace allows you to earn even more trust and respect from organizational leadership and your colleagues. You can work more confidently in your job. You can be more effective as a team member on projects, and inspire others to deliver their best work and help the business make more money. And when career opportunities arise that interest you, a reputation for being an effective leader can help put you on the shortlist for consideration.

It takes time and focused effort to build business leadership skills, and refining them will require ongoing commitment throughout your professional life. However, the following eight steps can help you jump-start and begin to make headway with this important process.

The leadership style you cultivate will be uniquely your own, but it also will be informed by traits and qualities you admire in other leaders.

As a starting point for your “research,” observe people in your organization whom you think demonstrate good leadership skills. How do they interact with their peers and employees? Are they collaborative in their decision-making? Do they tend to provide heavy direction, or do they practice a more hands-off type of leadership, giving others room to make decisions? Most importantly, what do these leaders do that you would like to emulate — and what would you do differently?

After you complete this initial exercise, consider broadening your research to include other leaders in your industry or beyond, depending on your interests. For example, you might want to learn how some of the most influential women in finance have forged a successful career path and what challenges they’ve faced along the way.

Networking, online and offline, is critical for women in any field who want to connect with leaders and learn how to expand their own leadership influence. Cultivating these relationships can help grow your career — and it can help you support other women as they advance in their professional journeys, too.

Take advantage of online platforms like LinkedIn to forge relationships with other women in finance and accounting, and to reconnect and strengthen the ties you have with existing contacts, as well. Keeping in touch with people you know from your college days or met early in your career can be valuable, as those connections can open doors to new opportunities, ideas and mentorship over the long term.

Also, consider getting involved with women’s leadership groups or professional associations such as the Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA)* that offer networking events and learning opportunities geared toward women in your industry.

The most successful leaders understand the value of mentorship — both having a mentor and being one.

Don’t hesitate to seek out a mentor who can offer advice and guidance tailored to the specific challenges women in finance and accounting often encounter in their careers. A mentor can help you navigate workplace dynamics, advocate for yourself and sharpen your leadership instincts.

Equally important, becoming a mentor can be an effective and fulfilling way to build your leadership skills. Sharing your experiences with other women working in your field, whether they are less-seasoned than you or a peer, not only helps them, but also reinforces your own expertise and confidence.

Soft skills are essential for any professional who aspires to be an effective leader in today’s dynamic work environment. For example, the ability to communicate clearly and concisely, especially under pressure, is a must. Whether you are communicating digitally or in person, solid communication skills are the key to collaborating effectively, articulating your vision persuasively and motivating others.

Emotional intelligence (i.e., the ability to recognize, understand and manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others) enhances decision making in the workplace by opening the door to empathy and the embrace of diverse perspectives. Adaptability is another vital soft skill; from a leadership perspective, it can help you manage change and guide teams through uncertainty.

By honing these and other soft skills, from diplomacy to delegation, you can cultivate trust, inspire innovation and lead with confidence. Tapping into these abilities will help you advocate for yourself and your ideas, whether you’re leading a project team or presenting to the board.

A quick internet search can yield a wealth of articles, books and videos on the topic of strengthening soft skills that can help you start the process of learning how to grow and refine yours. And in the workplace, making a conscious effort to apply soft skills to everyday situations — such as actively listening to others or thinking through how you want to convey information before you communicate it — can also help you develop and enhance these critical abilities.

While you may not immediately see the connection between tech skills and business leadership skills, it’s there and should not be overlooked. Many leaders in finance and accounting today understand the value of using tools like generative AI to automate routine tasks. It gives them, and their teams more time to focus on innovation, problem solving and strategy development.

Tracking how technology is changing jobs and proactively learning new capabilities is good for your career, generally. But forward-looking finance leaders will dig even deeper to consider how technology can transform finance operations and even impact the broader business.

For example, these types of leaders are quick to recognize how the application of AI in areas like data analysis and forecasting can help drive business growth and optimize decision making.

Continuous learning is foundational to building and refining your business leadership skills because it keeps you informed of industry changes, emerging technologies and evolving financial strategies. As the finance landscape shifts with trends like digital transformation and AI, staying up to date allows leaders to make data-driven decisions and innovate within their organizations.

Continuous learning also sharpens critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning abilities, which are essential for leadership. Moreover, it fosters the soft skill of adaptability, so you can confidently navigate challenges and lead teams effectively. Lifelong learning also demonstrates a commitment to growth and leadership excellence.

Investing in yourself is one of the best ways to grow as a leader, and to earn the relevant soft skills and tech skills you will need to succeed. Look for professional development opportunities, like workshops and seminars, which are geared toward women in leadership, particularly in finance. Your company may be willing to provide financial support for some of this learning, so be sure to ask if that option exists.

Seeking feedback from trusted colleagues, managers and mentors can provide valuable insights into how you’re perceived and how to refine your leadership approach to suit various situations, while staying true to your style. Honest, constructive feedback will help you identify strengths you may not realize you have and weaknesses you can work to overcome.

Learning how to ask for feedback, and how to receive and act on it professionally, will, in turn, help you understand how to deliver constructive feedback as a leader.

As you work to build your leadership skills, be sure to look for (or create your own) opportunities to demonstrate thought leadership. When you share your knowledge and insights with your colleagues and others, such as those in your professional network, you can begin to position yourself as a valuable resource and an expert in your field. These qualities can enhance your leadership profile.

To be recognized as a thought leader in finance and accounting, stay informed about industry trends. Regularly consume news, blogs and market analyses from relevant and reliable sources that can help keep you current. Be sure to seek out information that offers insight into different perspectives on topics of interest, which is what good leaders do. And, when you’re ready, consider contributing your own thought leadership, such as publishing an article in an industry publication, or speaking at a conference geared toward women in finance.

By focusing on these eight strategies, you can grow and refine the leadership skills you need to guide your career in finance and accounting in the direction you want — whether that’s toward the C-suite, or not. Remember, leadership isn’t about reaching the top. It’s about making a positive impact wherever you are, doing whatever it is you want to do, while inspiring others around you to do the same.

Follow Brandi Britton on LinkedIn.

*Save 30% off national AFWA memberships with code ROBHALF30.

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