Are We Looking at Leadership Through the Wrong Lens?

Am I just a CFO? Having operated in leadership roles that extend well beyond finance, I have often chafed at being referred to as “the finance guy” or “the numbers’ guy.” I always felt like these descriptions, no matter how well intended, were limiting. They only spoke to a small part of a much bigger picture.

I am also a photographer. For me, taking a photograph is all about the story I am trying to express. If done effectively, I connect with my audience in a visceral way. They are immediately transported to a time, a place, a moment based on an emotional connection I have created for them. I take them on a journey based on a story that I am telling through the photograph.

Don’t get me wrong, I love numbers or I wouldn’t have chosen this profession. Numbers are tangible and can be measured. They provide a baseline for alignment and action. 

Establishing systems and processes that enable the numbers, or data, to support timely and effective decisions is one of the most valuable things that any strong leader can do. This is certainly true for a finance leader. It’s these hard skills and experience, the science that so often define the CFO role in the minds of others.

I’d argue that a really good picture isn’t worth a thousand words, it’s worth a hundred thousand. While many photographers may capture the same subject, the story each photographer conveys to their audience can be vastly different. It’s this ability to tell a story with specific impact that represents the art in photography. The same is true as a CFO.

Framing the narrative

A successful CFO is able to frame a picture at any given time based on the narrative they want to share with their stakeholders. Usually, this results in a call to action based on the data presented. The call to action could entail anything from developmental areas identified in an employee’s performance review, financial disclosures provided to the Board and investors, or due diligence required to complete a company acquisition. Almost anything a CFO does today entails partnering with and motivating stakeholders to achieve specific outcomes.

This convergence of art and science requires both the right and left brain. Framing a narrative that encourages people to act or make decisions in a manner that you want them to requires equal parts IQ and EQ.

As I think about the story I want to communicate, I often borrow from my photography and focus on a few key settings. I first think about the subject. What is the point of the story I am crafting? Then I focus on composition. What are the critical elements I need to bring into view? Finally, I need to determine the light in which the story is being cast. Am I trying to highlight a specific subject or create a broader frame of reference? Is the story being told in real-time or over a longer duration?

Start with the subject

Before I take a photograph, I think about its intention. What is the impression I want it to leave with others? Do I want to be creative or direct in how I portray the subject? Are there other supporting elements that are necessary to include? The subject determines the story I want to tell and how it progresses from beginning to end. Yet, I always leave room for others to take the journey with me and fill in their own details.

The subject drives what you want people to focus on and what you intend to achieve. It needs to be clear for others to see. Equally important is how you communicate this to your stakeholders. If the focus is not well understood or is not important to everyone involved, you will fail to engage people in the journey. 

Take the photo above. My subject was New York City’s Tribute in Lights to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11th. This is a frequently photographed view of lower Manhattan as seen from Brooklyn. However, I highlighted the tribute and desaturated everything else to accentuate the emotion and weight of the moment. The elements in the foreground provide leading lines that pull you toward the subject. Everything is kept in focus so as to show the calm amidst the chaos. I wanted to portray the resilience and resolve paving the way for the city’s future while also staying grounded in its past.

But you can’t rely on the past to predict what will happen in the future. The only constant is change and its rate is accelerating. Accordingly, today’s organizations are looking for strategic planners and builders that can be proactive partners in defining the purpose of the organization and how it operates to achieve that purpose. As a CFO, you have to be a forward thinker and willing to adapt your perspective.

To be successful in today’s environment, a CFO has to wear many hats including gatekeeper, enabler, truth teller, cheerleader, consiglieri, salesperson, arbiter, mentor, student, and always servant leader. Being effective in any of these roles much less all of them requires a deft grasp of purpose and how to leverage it.

Use composition to focus on what really matters

In photography, composition refers to the way the various elements in a scene are arranged within the frame. There are a myriad of rules and techniques a photographer may use to capture the viewer’s attention and keep it fixed on those elements that matter most. Although some of these techniques can be highly technical, you need to use both head and gut to compose a shot that fully engages the audience. Any great photographer requires a combination of technical proficiency and strong instinct to turn their vision into a work of art.

Similarly, a CFO uses composition to separate signal from noise. Identify and focus on the things that move the needle and, in turn, will move the audience, and tune out the things that don’t. If a CFO is good at their craft, they know what needs to be in the foreground and what stays in the background. They also know that it often takes data driven analysis to build a story whereas it takes instinct and nuance to tell it in a way that has influence.

Rule of Thirds and the Pareto Principle

For a photographer, the Rule of Thirds is a technique in which you divide the frame in thirds both vertically and horizontally. You place the important elements of a scene along one or more of the lines or where the lines intersect. You are able to compose a shot where the subject does not have to be front and center but these intersections can significantly improve the attractiveness of the final picture.

This technique is all about focusing on the elements that matter and arranging them in a way that creates the most impact. I liken this to the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule, which has guided me as a CFO. Although it’s not meant to be hard and fast, it holds that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of effort. I always try to focus on the 20% of factors that influence the best results.

Depth of field

Creating foreground interest is a great way to add depth to a scene. When I captured Mesa Arch, above, I used this technique so that the immediate focus is on the arch but then opens to the expanse of Canyonlands in the background. Making the scene immersive to the viewer separates a good picture from a great one.

Knowing when and how to focus stakeholders on the near term versus the longer term while taking them on the journey from one perspective to the other creates alignment that is essential to driving sustainable results as a CFO.

Wide angle vs macro

One of the greatest tools at a photographer’s disposal is the ability to zoom in or zoom out depending on the subject and the intended effect for the viewer. Do you go wide and show the broader landscape or could that become overly distracting? Do you get up close to emphasize the finer detail?

The ability to widen or narrow focus enables a CFO to highlight the details that matter while always connecting the subject to the bigger picture. This requires someone who can go broad or deep depending on what is required to create the most impact for stakeholders.

Using these techniques of composition, a CFO is able to make finance an outward facing function by enabling others to see how their efforts affect the big picture.

It’s all about the light

Light is the most fundamental variable in a photograph because it illuminates the scene or subject. It sets the tone and brings emphasis to key elements within a frame. Light also helps create depth and accentuate the textures and contrast in an image by highlighting certain elements while keeping others more obscured.

The light you shine on a subject makes all the difference in how a subject is perceived, and reacted to, by your stakeholders. Using too much light can drown out the message while using too little can ensure the message is never heard in the first place.

Pay attention to intensity

When capturing any subject, one of the first things a photographer does is assess the amount and strength of light present, its intensity. This dictates the exposure that is used. Letting in too much light can be harsh and cause the photo to be overexposed or washed out. Letting in too little light will cause the photo to be underexposed which makes the subject and supporting elements difficult to see.

Understanding the proper intensity to use when crafting a narrative is just as fundamental to a CFO. There are times when a message needs to be communicated firmly with a direct spotlight on the subject at hand. This approach leaves little to interpretation and aims for a specific response. At other times, the light you use is less direct and may evoke a more fluid and collaborative reaction. 

Adjust the aperture

Like the picture below, sometimes you need to keep the aperture, the opening in the lens, wide to keep the focus exactly where you want it. If I narrowed the aperture in this instance, the intended subject would blend in with the background.

Other times you take in less light to keep the surrounding elements in focus as they may be important to the story you are telling. Understanding when to use a narrow aperture and when to use a wider one enables a CFO to adjust emphasis as necessary while keeping stakeholders engaged with the subject.

Be mindful of shutter speed

Any photographer knows to speed up the shutter for fast action and slow it down for long exposure shots where it is necessary to take in as much light as possible. A fast shutter allows you to capture a crisp snapshot of what’s happening in the moment whereas a slow shutter shows movement.

A good CFO knows when a message needs to be conveyed using a point-in-time snapshot and when it requires a longitudinal view that highlights performance over an extended period of time. These perspectives affect stakeholders differently and shining the appropriate amount of light for the situation is key to creating the desired effect.

More than a CFO

Like most of us, I’m a mashup of many things. It takes a lot of time, practice, and discipline to work towards a mastery of one skill, much less many. You have to be committed to continuous learning and have the patience to take a lot of shots in order to capture one that is truly extraordinary.

I’m a CFO and a photographer. I can frame the big picture while also being able to zoom into the elements that comprise it. I’m a thinker and a doer. I know that to be good at the things I am most passionate about requires being both creative and analytical. 

Focusing on a few important settings enables me to maximize the impact of any story I am telling. Having an expert grasp of how to adjust these settings makes all the difference to the success or failure of your narrative and how it resonates with the people you are trying to influence.

Do you consider yourself a mashup?

How do you leverage art and science in what you do?