Mastering Finance Through Continuous Learning

Continuous learning is not just a nice thing to have — it’s a critical necessity in finance. As regulations, finance tools and technologies evolve, finance professionals must stay up to date to maintain a competitive edge and make informed decisions. 

Finance leaders must not only understand the importance of fostering a culture of continuous learning within their teams but also go further by providing access to resources, implementing regular training sessions and leveraging technology. 

The CFO Show’s latest guest, Bryan Lapidus, FPAC Director of the FP&A Practice at the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), talked to host Melissa Howatson about the many ways finance professionals can embrace a growth mindset and engage in ongoing learning and unpacked how CFOs and finance leaders can instill a culture of continuous learning in their teams. 

Continuous and Cross-Functional Learning Fosters Growth

It’s a common misconception that once you obtain your degree, you know everything you need to know to go out and easily succeed in your career. 

The reality is change is constant, and what you learned in school may not be everything you need to know ten — or even two —  years later. 

A growth mindset is not only beneficial in finance —  it’s necessary.

Bryan encourages finance professionals to seek out and engage in continuous learning opportunities to evolve their skills and move up the ladder because learning is incremental by nature. 

You wouldn’t eat all your meals for the week on Sunday, would you? So don’t front load your learning either. 

Cross-functional learning that keeps you updated with industry trends and encourages networking and engaging with your greater finance community is where growth and business understanding really happen. Working cross-functionally pulls you out of your day-to-day routine, allows you to do new things and gets you out of your comfort zone.

Then, you can bring those learnings back to your team and area of expertise to actually apply it. Reinforcing what you learned by using it regularly will help it stick with you long-term. 

Three key factors for cultivating a growth mindset among teams

According to an AFP survey about cultivating a growth mindset among teams, these three factors stood out from the results of leaders in the top 20% of respondents:

Psychological Safety. Leaders were 33% more likely to say they have safety to voice their opinions and suggestions without fear of negative consequences. One thing you can do to ensure psychological safety is assign a devil’s advocate —  normalize having somebody always second-guessing and asking tough questions. It is also beneficial to implement post-meeting debriefs to ensure takeaways and action items are solidified. 

Responsible risks. Leaders were 26% more likely to say they were open to continual improvements, such as experimentation, trial and error of new methods and raising disruptive ideas. When it comes to organizational design, think about how you can have goals around ambition instead of just outcome — it’s not just about what you did but how you went about it. Encourage a sense of experimentation and trial and you’ll see there are many ways to achieve a goal. 

Adequate staffing and training. Leaders were 23% more likely to say they were adequately staffed and adequately trained. Too often leaders try to demonstrate fiscal restraint and responsibility by attempting to get by without adding to the headcount or making that extra investment in systems. A true growth mindset doesn’t allow for that kind of sacrifice. If you want the best from your team, you need to be adequately staffed, resourced and trained.

Ready to dig into how you can develop your growth mindset through continuous learning? Bryan shares his insights and tips regarding best practices and resources for ongoing learning on this week’s episode of The CFO Show, available wherever you typically listen.

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