New role, new desk, new team, new set of numbers that somebody expects you to understand by Friday.
Starting a finance leadership role, whether that’s Financial Controller, Finance Director or CFO, is exciting. It’s also one of the moments where careers are quietly made or broken.
The first 100 days set the tone. They shape how the leadership team sees you, how your new finance team trusts you and how much freedom you’ll be given to make changes later.
So here are six simple principles to help you make a strong start. Some of them have fancy names. All of them are useful.
1️⃣ Chesterton’s Fence: Understand Before You Change
The principle is simple. Don’t tear down a fence until you understand why it was put up in the first place.
New finance leaders often arrive full of ideas. The month end process looks inefficient. The reporting pack is too long. The approval process seems unnecessary. And some of it probably is.
But sometimes there’s a reason. A control that exists because of a fraud five years ago. A report the bank insists on. A process that protects a key customer relationship.
Day three in the new job and fancy knocking the fence down? Maybe find out what it’s keeping in first.
Spend your first few weeks listening, watching and asking “why do we do it this way?” You’ll make better changes, and you’ll bring people with you when you do.
2️⃣ Value Protection Before Value Creation
Everyone wants to make a big impact. New strategies, new systems, new growth plans. That’s value creation, and it gets the headlines.
But some of the best new finance leaders start with value protection. The quick wins that stop money leaking out of the business:
- Overdue debtors that nobody has been chasing.
- Supplier contracts that rolled over without review.
- Duplicate subscriptions and forgotten costs.
- Working capital tied up unnecessarily.
- Pricing that hasn’t kept pace with costs.
It’s a bit like Jenga. Everyone wants to add another block. The clever ones take the wobbly one out first.
Quick wins in value protection build credibility fast. And credibility is what earns you the right to lead the bigger changes.
3️⃣ The Pareto Principle: Find Your 20%
Roughly 80% of results tend to come from 20% of the effort. The trick is finding that 20%.
In a new role, everything feels urgent. Every stakeholder wants a meeting, every report seems important. But not everything matters equally.
Ask yourself: which customers drive most of the profit? Which costs make the biggest difference? Which three decisions in the next quarter will have the most impact? Focus your energy there.
4️⃣ Hick’s Law: Simplify the Decisions
Hick’s Law says that more options lead to slower decisions.
Nobody has ever made a quick decision while holding a 14 page menu.
As a new finance leader, you’ll often be asked for options. Resist the urge to present ten. Do the analysis, narrow it down and bring the leadership team a clear choice between A and B, with a recommendation.
Leaders who make decisions easier are leaders people want in the room.
5️⃣ Parkinson’s Law: Set Clear Deadlines
Work expands to fill the time you give it. Anyone who has finished a week’s work in the two days before a holiday knows this is true.
Use it to your advantage. Set clear, realistic deadlines for your 30, 60 and 90 day priorities. Share them with your manager or board. You’ll be surprised how much a defined timeframe sharpens focus, for you and your team.
6️⃣ The Peter Principle: Build a Team That Can Grow
The Peter Principle suggests that people tend to get promoted until they reach a role they’re not quite suited to, and then they stay there.
As a new leader, take an honest look at your team. Is everyone in a role that suits their strengths? Is someone struggling because they were promoted into a job that isn’t right for them? Is there someone ready for more who hasn’t been given the chance?
Getting the right people in the right seats is one of the most valuable things a new finance leader can do. It also tends to make everything else on this list easier.
A Simple 100 Day Plan
- Days 1 to 30: listen and learn. Meet the team, key stakeholders and external partners. Understand the numbers, the systems and the history. Change very little.
- Days 31 to 60: deliver early wins, particularly in value protection. Share your observations and start shaping priorities.
- Days 61 to 100: agree your plan with the leadership team. Start the bigger changes, with your team behind you.
Don’t Forget the People
The numbers matter. But your first 100 days are as much about relationships as reporting.
Your finance team wants to know they can trust you. The CEO wants to know you’ll make their life easier. Other departments want to know you’ll help, not just say no. Invest time in all of them.
Some people light up a room. Others ask who left the light on. Be the first kind.
Final Thoughts
The first 100 days in a finance leadership role go quickly. Use them wisely.
Understand before you change. Protect value before you chase it. Focus on what matters, simplify decisions and look after your team. Do that and you’ll earn the credibility to make a real difference.
At We Do Group, we place Financial Controllers, Finance Directors and CFOs with businesses across the UK, and we stay in touch long after the start date. If you’re starting a new role this year, or planning your next move, we’d love to help.
Because a great start makes everything that follows easier.
