$300,000 estimated savings
By developing Janet instead of replacing her, the company avoided an estimated $300,000 in severance, search fees and relocation costs.
From outplacement to CFO: A participant experience
- Regions covered
- United States
- Level
- C-Suite
- Company profile
- $1.5B public company
The results
Staff acceptance within 2 months
Within two months, Janet’s team had accepted her management style and come to appreciate her intellect.
Increased trust from her team
Final one-on-one interviews showed most of her staff had come to trust and accept Janet, including her flaws.
CEO reported dramatic improvement
The CEO reported a dramatic improvement in Janet’s interactions with her team and the company’s affiliates.
Before and after
Before: Janet (name changed for confidentiality) was set to be an outplacement candidate. Her staff met almost every idea she introduced with protest and confrontation, and the company was already dealing with high leadership turnover while Wall Street watched.
After: Janet became the CFO the company needed. Within two months, her staff had accepted her management style, and most came to trust and accept her. The CEO reported a dramatic improvement, and the company saved an estimated $300,000 in severance, search and relocation costs.
The challenge
Wall Street was questioning the leadership of a $1.5 billion public company. Within 18 months, the company had cycled through two Directors of Investor Relations and three Treasurers. The Chairman and President felt the company needed a CFO recognized for financial excellence.
Janet was a brilliant financial executive with the technical ability and intelligence to reach the very top. But she struggled with interpersonal skills and managing her direct reports.
Careerminds was initially brought in to support Janet as an outplacement candidate. After evaluating the situation, we proposed a different path: instead of transitioning Janet out, develop her into the CFO the company needed through one-on-one coaching.
Given the choice between outplacement and coaching for the CFO role, Janet felt respected and decided to stay and grow into the position.
The goal
The company needed to stabilize its leadership without absorbing the cost and disruption of another executive transition. The goal was to help Janet build the interpersonal and management skills to lead her team as CFO.
The solution
Self-awareness first: Janet started coaching with some reluctance. Through assessments and peer feedback, she realized that many of her own behaviors were undermining her authority. That shifted her attitude from blaming others for her weaknesses to embracing her coach’s suggestions.
A daily plan with weekly coaching: Janet and her coach built a plan for daily activities. Each week, they spent an hour reviewing challenges she had faced and how she perceived them, along with her actions, so she could see which leadership behaviors worked and how to strengthen them.
Practice and feedback: The weekly sessions gave Janet a structured space to build self-awareness, try new behaviors and get regular feedback on her progress.
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