Moving abroad and transitioning from CFO to CEO
I have been a finance professional for 14 years. The past 7 years I have served as a hands-on operational CFO responsible for transforming businesses. I am fascinated by who and what makes businesses succeed, how to get ordinary teams to be high-performance, extraordinary teams, and I love to leave companies and their people in a better state than I found them. I am obsessed with neuroscience, building simplicity out of complexity, good coffee, great wine and I love to travel. My natural progression from an operational CFO has always been to eventually transition into a CEO role.
On 14 October 2019, I had just returned from a magical trip to Morocco and ready to return to my CFO role in a tech company. I was having a cup of rooibos tea with the successful and charismatic founder of a well known large listed multinational company in South Africa. He offered me the opportunity to be the company CEO in the Philippines.
This opportunity excited and scared me at the time. I was excited to grow, learn and transition into the CEO role. The thought of moving to South East Asia scared me. In my life, I have travelled to 42 countries, but moving and working abroad was only a distant thought. In my thoughts working abroad would be in cities like New York, London or Paris. However, joining this company, which is a well-known listed South African company with a global presence, gave me some psychological safety. So in November 2019, I decided to take the opportunity.
Arriving in the Philippines
On 10 January 2020, I had wrapped up my life in South Africa and was ready to board the plane that would take me to the Philippines. The flight was delayed by 12 hours because the UAE had flooded for the first time in 25 years. I knew then that 2020 was going to be an unusual, interesting year.
When I finally arrived in the Philippines, I had no long-term visa. The company’s governance was not in order, which meant no bank account, no paid salary, and I couldn’t even rent a property. But I decided to be agile and entrepreneurial, and to do what it takes to be successful in my new role, even if it meant countless visa runs.
The company has had poor in-country leadership and have not gained the momentum of its big brothers in the other Asian countries and South Africa. After analysing the entire business, I came up with a plan – a 100-day strategy.
In February, we started to gain momentum – sales increased, processes were streamlined, the current staff was retained, and we onboarded some new rock-star staff. As a team, we started to move in the right direction. Excitement and confidence was evident across the company.
When Covid-19 hit
On 12 March 2020, I was working in my hotel room when President Rodrigo Duterte announced a complete hard military lockdown. Most countries were still open and lockdowns were not a norm. My phone was ringing off the hook, as colleagues sent me messages of disbelief, despair and uncertainty. I wanted to scream, and thought: “I am a foreigner. You are from here, figure it out.” But that’s not what leaders do. Leaders keep perspective, maintain clarity and remain calm in a storm, even if we are soaking wet and halfway drowning.
So instead, I calmly told everyone to be in the office the next morning so we could communicate the way forward. What surprised me was that our head office had zero guidance – no disaster recovery plan. I think Covid-19 caught most companies, even those with well thought through paper strategies, off guard. I ensured everyone had a laptop and the tools and technology they need to work from home. In the Philippines, the internet is a problem, so I made sure everyone had a company cell phone or a data device. Then I prayed for the best. That was the last time I saw my team in person.
At the same time, my short-term visa was about to expire, and I had to fly to Singapore for a visa run. A lockdown in Singapore seemed highly unlikely at the time and I would work with the head-office team and founder in Singapore for the next two to three weeks.
Singapore goes into lockdown
On 7 April 2020, Singapore went into lockdown. I was living in a hotel where all facilities were closed. We had to stay in our rooms, and were only allowed to go out to buy groceries. I were eating take-aways from Food Panda or Grab Food three times a day. Sometimes on a grocery run, I would take my borrowed bike and do a long unnecessary loop around East Coast Park to get some fresh air and exercise. I made coffee in a travel mug and when no patrols were watching, I would look at the ocean and drink my coffee. Coffee that recharged my sanity. I would laugh and think to myself, here I am running a company in the Philippines, remotely from a hotel room in Singapore whilst being locked up.
On 1 June 2020, Singapore slowly started opening again, but I have not been able to return back to the Philippines.
A new world of work
Covid-19 forced me to lead my company remotely from 16 March 2020. I had met 50 percent of my management team face-to-face and built new offices via Whatsapp, all while living like a gypsy – with one suitcase, moving to new accommodation on a monthly basis. I lived in hotels, serviced apartment and the last four months sharing shop-houses with at least 4 other people.
I spent 90 percent of my days on digital devices, managing the company, engaging via video conferencing, phone calls and messaging.
Despite the challenges that 2020 threw at me, I not only survived, but thrived. Here are the insights I had along the way:
Here is my 10 learnings and insights I had along the way:
1. Be accomplished but strive to be humble and kind
2. Capture your thoughts
3. Adaptive Intelligence(AQ) will put you way ahead
I came across the concept of adaptive intelligence (AQ) a few years ago and subscribed to it ever since. Psychologists believe there are four types of intelligence: IQ, EQ ,SQ and AQ. AQ the Adversity or Adaptability Intelligence measures your ability to go through a rough patch in life and come out without losing your mind. It tells us how well a person reacts to the inevitability of change.
It became increasingly important pre-Covid, as the world was speeding up. The rate of technology change accelerated, we had to navigate changing job conditions and shifting geopolitics in a globalized world of work. Along came Covid and we have a change in family and work dynamics, change in personal and professional relationships. All individuals, companies and governments were forced to deal with change more than ever in human history.
In this rapidly changing environment, I believe that AQ is the most important attribute anyone in business can have. We are all more agile than we think. We all have the power to adapt and unlearn. Even the great Ghandi said: “I must reduce myself to zero”
Leaders are forced to adapt at a rapid pace to ever-changing environments, leadership styles, customer needs and behaviour and our engagement with stakeholders is changing. If you find yourself resisting or having resentment for the current times, focus on obtaining a growth mindset and spend time on this skill actively, else you will be left behind.
Previous success can easily become the enemy and blind spots of your future explorations. Do not transfer old company culture and habits to remote and new ways of work. Check in with your colleagues on what works for them and change and adapt your approach all the time. Perfect practice makes perfect play!
4. Your remote leadership style
It has been hard leading in Covid. It has been hard building a business, employing people and building offices remotely. One of the hardest things as a leader is to figure out what is your remote leadership style that works for the company. You cannot use what worked in the past. You need to experiment with what works now, get constant feedback and adapt what doesn’t work and put that on repeat.
Like most accountants, I like to be in control, I like perfection. Processes, systems and structure make us feel safe. My biggest learning was to LET GO. You cannot manage a company and every single employee on a day-to-day basis by being 100% in control. Focus on what is important, ensure that gets done and trust your team for the rest. Live with things not being perfect, communication or connection glitches or the sound of roosters in the background of a zoom call (common in the Philippines). Give people greater responsibilities, it builds confidence, shows faith in their capabilities and give them a deep sense of purpose. Believe that they will reach their goals and it will push them towards it. Speak in the kings and queens in your team, for that is what they will become.
Be aware to not default to micro-management. I have seen managers default to micro-management when a full team is working from home. My view is that now more than ever leaders should set clear direction, clear expectations, deliverables, and SMART goals. Default to managing individuals not delivering by discovering what will work for them. Unfortunately working remotely does not work for all and not everyone is productive. Except this and figure out a way to get the best out of your staff. A blanket approach does not work and leaders need to put more energy into engaging with individual staff.
As a leader during Covid, I find that giving people freedom in a framework works. If they do not deliver within this freedom, I am quicker now more than ever to have the difficult conversations.
5. Feed your (client) focus
Client service and satisfaction are the most important area to focus on right now. Ensure the client choose you. Customers have options, they have time to explore and companies are desperate for business. Clients needs to make difficult decisions as finances are tight. Happy clients do not leave.
Sell to clients by actively listening, identifying and solving their problems and their pain points. Go the extra mile, even if it means there is nothing in it for you. You will reap the benefits. Stand with your customers in their hard times and they will stand by you. This also goes for internal customers.
Ensure your clients pay you. It is hard to collect during these times, companies have cashflow constraints, signatories are situated all over the place, their businesses were idle and very few businesses were able to financially plan for times like these.
6. Its okay not to be okay and say it out loud
When Philippines went into lockdown, as an expat and the newest employee in the company, even as the CEO, I did not know how what to do. I learned that its okay not be okay, it is okay to know and acknowledge that you don’t know what to do.
As a leader your ego is not your amigo. Have humility, ask your staff what they would do if they were you. I had input from the most unlikely people. I formulated a plan with that input. I executed this plan with confidence, with a firm believe that it will all be good in the end. You need to be unweathering in your confidence, you cannot afford your team to be anything other than focused. There are a lot of distractions at home, we focused with a weekly 3 key focus areas plan and a weekly catch-up for each area of the business. I did not want to lose momentum and wanted to continue pushing forward. When the lockdown lifted, I wanted to be ready, game face on, staff prepared and recover what has been lost. I experimented with ideas, methods and thinking that did not have results. What is great about using ideas that is not yours, your are never married to them. I adapted, tried different ways and kept moving forward. When lockdown eventually lifted gradually, we saw the best months in years.
Never be hesitant, rather adapt. It’s like jumping off a cliff into the ocean, those who hesitate gets hurt.
Know that your boss is human and do not have all the answers. The skills to navigate these unfamiliar waters cannot be taught, it is learned through trial and error. Support your management and team, accept if something doesn’t work, be part of the solution and adapt.
7. NOW is your time to shine
If there has ever been a time to go the extra mile and do more than what is expected that time is now. Do not just do what you did before, just at home. There have been tons of job losses around the world and the extra milers are shining right now.
8. Communicate with Clarity & Direction
No person in an organization should be confused about what is expected of them or what their role in the organization is. Everyone needs to be clear on where they fit in, what and when they need to deliver. Transparency is key in times like this. There is no such thing as over communication. Ensure the full team understand the business priorities, are aligned and feel motivated enough to deliver on them. Celebrate small joys and wins more often and with big fan fare. I had a companywide WhatsApp group to communicate directly to all staff and keep everyone abreast and informed of all things big and small. I shared with the cleaner what I would share with the manager in these groups.
9. Your vibe attracts your (thrive) tribe
Business is all about the people. I am a great believer in energy. Your energy as a leader is contagious. Ensure it is positive and uplifting. Radiate confidence, courage and a unstoppable attitude with humility.
Show empathy for your team and their wellbeing. Gone is in person sessions where you can read body language and check-in if someone is okay with a pat on the shoulder. Gone is office chit-chat about cats, dogs and babies. On zoom its all business. Leaders need to make time to connect authentically with individuals.
Be aware of people’s personal situation at home. Be empathetic, be realistic. Some might not be able to work 100% productive during the day, they might have 4 kids, be a single mother and have circumstances that you do not understand. Be human, be empathetic and have realistic expectations. I find that giving people freedom in a framework works for most. The ones that parent in the day are the ones that delivers at night.
10. Rituals and routines are important
Humans need routine and structure to be productive and thriving. We are creatures of habit and need at least a morning and evening routine. Our brains like autopilot it is how it conserves energy. Rituals and routines help us feel more in control, aids mental health, help us cope with change, form healthy habits and reduce our stress levels.
Burnout is very real in the world of remote work. Too much screen time. Lack of boundaries between work and home and endless video calls.
Save yourself through rituals and routine. Your commute to work used to be a routine and starts and ends the day. Coffee breaks built into the workday where you get a cup of coffee and have a quick chat with a colleague. These are rituals and routines where you gather your energy and get into the right head space for the next task at hand. With remote work this is gone.
Be intentional and build in these rituals and routines at home. Play music, have a quick chat with a friend or walk around the house. Ensure you transition between work and home. I have suggested to act like you are driving to work from bedroom to the home office. Schedule downtime or recharge time else you will end up working all the time.
I have built in an attitude of gratitude into my night routine. I find that in these times spending deliberate time appreciating what I have and what is going right gets me through the day. Often we spend so much time thinking of what should have been or could have been. We can quickly think ourselves into a negative state of mind. Negative minds cannot be creative and cannot think or dream of new concepts and new ideas of doing. Appreciate what you have and embrace and create change.
Congratulations to all of you that not only survived 2020, but thrived!