ACT ones to watch: heading for the top (part 2)

In the second part of her two-part series, Rachael Crocker highlights the five skills and qualities that will help treasury professionals as they move through their careers toward the top roles. Here you can read the third, fourth and fifth tips.

3. Develop your soft skills

Outstanding soft skills are essential at the senior level, so it is important that treasury leaders of the future focus on them as early as possible in their careers. Group treasurers must have the ability to lead teams that are often sizeable and at times geographically dispersed – as well as the ability to manage internal and external stakeholder relationships in a way that ensures a collaborative approach across treasury initiatives and across the wider business. 

Group treasurers also need to maintain strong and lasting relationships with banking partners so that they are able to negotiate with confidence when required. They need to be personable and engaging as well as confident and decisive when required.  It is advisable to seek out opportunities to develop these attributes whenever possible. Attending training courses or offering to take on a mentoring role can help individuals develop these core competencies. 

A key element of leadership is the ability to delegate and step away from the detail, a skill that doesn’t always come naturally to treasury professionals as they tend to be detail-oriented by nature, so delegation is a good skill to develop. A strong technical skillset will also give treasurers confidence when stepping back as they have the assurance that they can drop down into the detail and understand quickly if needed. 

4. Consider your CV  and plan your moves

Taking into account the need for technical expertise, qualifications and soft skills, it is important to plan your career moves carefully and to ensure you are building a CV that demonstrates all of the above. A quality period of time in any role is important to show you have fully explored the depth and breadth of its technical aspects, alongside studying for qualifications and developing your soft skills. It is important for treasury professionals to consider their time in a role carefully. Too little time in a position can mean a lack of deep experience while staying too long in a role past the point where they are being challenged and continuing to learn and grow can be equally damaging to one’s CV. Typically, three to five years is considered the norm, however, it’s possible talented individuals may be ready for a fresh challenge after two years and, equally, rising stars may continue to be challenged for much longer than five years in the right team. 

5. Raise your profile and grow your network

Finally, your individual profile and a personal network of other treasury professionals will add value across all aspects of career planning and personal development. Whether treasurers are using their network to gain technical knowledge from a peer, seek leadership guidance from a mentor or career advice from someone that they respect, it is invaluable to use their network as much as possible. The ACT provides not only the qualifications and training that is directly related to the course but ongoing technical support, soft-skills development and access to the largest treasury network in the UK. 

For more information about the treasury market or for career advice, contact Rachael Crocker.