CFOs Value Interpersonal Skills

Climbing the career ladder in finance requires outstanding presentation skills, the ability to speak effectively in public, strong negotiation skills, clear and concise writing capabilities and, most important, the ability to relate to other people.

The ability to work well with others, which was always listed at the top of grade school report cards, continues to be a harbinger of success in professional life. According to a new Accountemps survey of CFOs, interpersonal skills rank as the most important communication skill for ambitious finance and accounting professionals. Half of the fourteen hundred CFOs interviewed for the nationwide telephone research ranked interpersonal skills number one, followed by presentation/public speaking ability (17 percent), negotiation skills (16 percent), and writing ability (12 percent). Five percent of respondents answered "none," "other," "don't know," or provided no answer.

"Strong interpersonal skills are a key factor for success in any profession," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. "Businesses seek accountants who have the requisite technical skills but who also can build rapport with colleagues, resolve conflicts and develop consensus among team members."

Finance people who feel more comfortable honing their technical skills in the world of numbers may think "interpersonal skills" is a nebulous term that's hard to define, let alone quantify. But the good news is that people skills can be learned, up to a point. A personal coach can't turn an introvert into a charismatic leader but more and more companies are hiring professionals to help managers improve their interpersonal skills. A recent study of companies with more than 1,000 employees conducted by the American Management Association shows that 52 percent of respondents said they had implemented business coaching programs and another 37 percent said they had plans to do so in the future. Workforce Management reports that companies that invest in coaching most effectively develop specific performance goals, financial measurements, or other tools to determine what they want the end result of their program to be.

As Accountemps' Messmer reminds finance executives, careers in finance go beyond the numbers.