The news of the replacement of Carol Bartz as CEO of Yahoo by Tim Morse, the CFO (as an interim position) brings up interesting points to ponder for the CFO about their career path and career plan.
As I was at my desk thinking about what CFOs could learn from the Yahoo news, the phone rang and it was the Wall Street Journal wanting my take on this news. You can read the article and my quotes in the article by Emily Chasan, When CFOs Become Interim CEOs.
This Yahoo succession story should make every CFO look in the mirror and ask themselves:
If I get the call to be CEO,
- Can I take it?
- Should I take it?
- Am I ready to take it?
- Do I have what it takes to take it?
Most CFOs will admit to second guessing the CEO on some of their decisions. It’s easy to think “I could do a better job”.
When a finance executive moves up the ladder to become CFO, they need to move out of their comfort zone of being technical to become a strategic finance leader. A CFO can only move to the CEO role if they have taken steps to move beyond finance.
What are you doing as CFO to learn, grow and challenge yourself? (Hint: Get a Coach or a Mentor)
Are you a CEO in training?
If you get the call, would you be ready to become CEO?
[…] CEO leaves permanently or temporarily – It is time to renegotiate. (See Are you a CEO in Training?) […]