Stepping Into a Group Role – How to Do It and Lessons Learned

By Tony Federico, Group CFO of global accessible-living company Stiltz Homelifts

Taking on a new group position in your company can feel like an unnerving leap into the unknown. Research suggests that as many as half of leadership transitions end in failure. Some seven in ten leaders in one survey said they’d become much more stressed since moving into their current role.

Tony Federico of international homelift company Stiltz recently became Group CFO, having previously been VP of Finance and Operations for the USA. He is now overseeing more than 50 countries and revenues of $100 million. The lessons he has had to learn quickly apply well beyond his sector.

Becoming a Group CFO, Group MD or Group Procurement Director or Group Head of Sales demands a different toolkit from running a single country or subsidiary. You must think more strategically rather than tactically, inspire teams you have little direct contact with and create global efficiencies, not local ones.

Here, Tony shares his tips and recent experience for people making the transition.

Let go for your old job

One of the hardest things for me has been stepping back from the US business, where I’d been hands-on for years. When things are being done differently from how you may have done them, the urge is to intervene. Resisting it takes discipline and a bit of practice.

Give your old team the room and headspace to run things in their own way – albeit with some group guidance.

Swap delivery for direction

In a national or individual business leadership role, your success is measured largely on things like sales and cost control. In the US, we grew Stiltz a good amount and made it profitable.

At group level, my job is set corporate direction and priorities. Instead of making day-to-day operational calls myself, I need to focus on building the processes and systems that help colleagues do that.

Take a wider view

Group leaders need to scan a much broader horizon, covering multiple markets, brands, business competitors and political developments, to spot shifts and trends in their sector.

In the US, I focused on state regulations that could act as barriers to entry and opportunities in regional home-accessibility markets. Now, I’m looking for potential in new countries with an ageing but reasonably well-off population and for new market opening in places we already serve. I also need to understand how tariffs, currency swings or geopolitical conflicts can create or close off opportunities.

Think about global efficiencies, not local ones

The headcount or skills level in a single finance or sales department are no longer your direct concern, at group level. Whether one supplier is missing quality expectations or how specific manufacturing processes are performing no longer fall under your remit, too. Instead, you’re looking at overall staffing structures across many territories, whether moving production could save money, economies of scale and where best practice in one location could be applied elsewhere.

One of my priorities at Stiltz is rolling out an Enterprise Resource Planning system so that manufacturing, finance, HR and customer relations all work from one central platform, encouraging collaboration and giving us a single source of truth.

Learn how to motivate people you rarely meet

At national level, much of your energy goes on direct reports: building personal relationships, holding appraisals and scrutinising individual targets and KPIs. At group level, you’re connecting with people outside your immediate team, often thousands of miles away. That means motivating through strategy documents and large video calls, and leading groups rather than individuals.

Managing up

You also have to persuade board members and fellow directors who don’ listen to you. You need a very strong command of the numbers, a well-argued strategic rationale – and don’t get disheartened when decisions don’t go your way.

Get close to local leaders

Take time to listen and learn from country and department heads about their local concerns. When introducing a global policy, be sensitive to the practical difficulties of implementing it locally. Keep in regular contact, including making in-person visits, so you aren’t seen as remote or indifferent. But don’t get dragged into the detail of their operations. Trust them to get on with things.

Respect cultural differences

Work styles and needs vary within one country or department, but that diversity is many times greater at group level. Overseas teams may have different expectations around courtesy or be governed by quite different employment legislation or norms to your previous location. American employees, for example, are usually very positive and motivated, but they like clear hierarchies and look to senior leaders for more guidance than people in other areas.

Take change slowly

Reshaping a business from the top means bringing many stakeholders with you, often with competing concerns. Imposing sweeping changes too quickly risks resentment and costly organisational mistakes that are hard to reverse.

Protect your time

Expect a deluge of emails and requests from people across the group, when you start your new role. Many will be from people you’ve never dealt with before. One quick way to rack up your stress levels and undermine your home and social life is feeling the need respond to message from different time zones 24 hours a day. Don’t be afraid to set firm rules about when you can communicate.