That means CFOs aren’t just competing with other finance departments, but a plethora of other career paths and opportunities available to skilled professionals. To retain strong teams and mitigate turnover risk, CFOs need to think like talent architects, managing existing teams while also planning for the workforce, skills, and growth paths they’ll need to stay ahead of new business demands.
Leading CFOs take an active role in upskilling their people and redefining roles to reflect where the function is headed in the future. That means making practical investments in learning, coaching, and stretch opportunities such as:
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Skills mapping: Auditing current capabilities and identifying gaps relative to emerging finance and tech trends.
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Upskilling programs: Offering targeted learning in areas like data science, business partnering, and AI tools.
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Stretch roles and rotations: Rotating finance talent across business units to broaden experience and strategic thinking.
When CFOs invest in developing financial talent with intention, they create teams that can adapt, innovate, and lead through change. That turns finance into a lasting source of strength for the business.
10. Continuous Learning and Curiosity
The most effective CFOs are leaders and learners. In environments that are always shifting, curiosity is becoming a strategic asset. It drives innovation, challenges assumptions, and keeps finance plugged into the bigger picture.
Curious CFOs read beyond their function and seek out new perspectives across industries. More than that, they model curiosity for their teams—building a culture where questioning, testing, and iterating is encouraged. They make space for exploration and reward learning in action:
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Trend engagement: Staying informed about economic, workforce, and tech trends shaping the future of work.
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Peer learning: Exchanging ideas and challenges with other CFOs and leaders to refine thinking and expand perspective.
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Cultural permission: Encouraging smart experimentation and intellectual exploration as part of everyday work.
When CFOs stay open to new ideas and invite their teams to do the same, they turn uncertainty into opportunity. Continuous learning strengthens adaptability and foresight, and in an era defined by constant change, that mindset is what keeps finance leading conversations instead of reacting to circumstance.
Looking to the Future
The future of finance is constantly evolving, and CFOs who lead best will be those that expand their perspectives, collaborate with their peers, and commit to continuous learning for themselves and their teams. The skills we covered in this guide reflect a true shift for CFOs from simply supporting outcomes to truly steering them.
From mastering AI to building stronger teams and partnerships to enhancing the strategic impact of finance across the business, today’s CFOs are setting the pace for how modern organizations adapt and stay resilient.
More and more, CFOs are required to be strategic figureheads for their organizations. Learn how the FAME framework can help you achieve your business goals, with case studies from two enterprise-level organizations.
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