From Comfort To Excellence: Aligning Finance Teams For Real Impact

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Episode #148: Comfort feels safe, but it quietly taxes our careers and our teams. We take on complacency head-on and show how alignment, clear standards, and better conversations can turn routine finance work into strategic results. From setting the pace as a leader to running meetings that actually remove blockers, we break down the simple habits that keep momentum high without slipping into micromanagement.

Walks through a practical framework: define success beyond compliance, link daily tasks to strategy, and give context that turns reports into decisions. We explore how leaders model urgency and integrity, why teams mirror the behaviors they see, and how recognition and coaching build trust that fuels ownership. 

Celebrate the win, take real rest, then redirect energy to the next priority. Excellence is not a sprint; it is consistent, aligned action. If you’re aiming for bigger roles or simply a stronger function, use these tactics to build a culture of accountability, sharpen decisions, and protect focus.

Episode outline:

1. Leaders set the pace of the organization,
2. Complacency is the opposite of alignment,
3. What can we do to ensure that we create a culture of excellence.

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Episode Transcript

Stephen McLain (00:05):
Our greatest obstacles to greatness and to
excellence include jobsatisfaction, procrastination, a
lack of confidence and others,but most of all, a mindset of
complacency. We all face amyriad of barriers to becoming
our best. Some are internal,like self doubt or fear of

(00:27):
failure or even perfectionism.
But we also face externalbarriers, often out of our
control, like no clear plan,insufficient resources or poor
leadership. Complacency sets usback. It tells us that we are
good enough and that we don'tpush ourselves a little more.
When we become complacent, ourown career ceiling becomes

(00:49):
limited, and we don't help ourorganization become more
competitive, which thenthreatens our current role and
those of our teammates andpeers, let's figure out how to
help ourselves and our team toovercome any sense of
complacency. Please enjoy theepisode. Welcome to the finance
leader podcast where leadershipis bigger than the numbers. I am

(01:12):
your host. Stephen McLain, thisis the podcast for developing
leaders in finance andaccounting. Please consider
following me on Twitter,Facebook, Instagram and
LinkedIn. My usernames and thelinks are in this episode's show
notes. You can also followfinance leader Academy on
LinkedIn. Thank you. This isepisode number 148, and I'll be

(01:33):
talking about helping your teamand yourself overcome
complacency, and I willhighlight the following topics.
Number one, leaders set the paceof the organization. Number two,
complacency is the opposite ofalignment. And three, what can
we do to ensure that we create aculture of excellence? During

(01:53):
this podcast season, I have beenemphasizing alignment over
everything else. When we arealigned properly, we focus on
the work that helps to achieveour strategic goals. Every team
and every person, all of ourresources, are committed to one
aim, so we are all not workingon the wrong priorities, working

(02:14):
on the same set of priorities,ensuring we are moving in the
same direction. A common examplethat we all use is all of us
rowing together in harmony, sothe boat moves forward swiftly,
without misdirection. It's agreat illustration of teamwork.
Now, last time I shared episodenumber 147, from reporting to

(02:35):
relevance, building capacitythrough alignment, automation
and development. Too manyfinance teams are stuck
formatting data while thedecisions fly by. We tackle a
smarter way to work. Buildcapacity by aligning effort to
strategy, automating the grindand developing the skills that
turn reports into results.

(02:58):
Please go back to listen to thatepisode in case you missed it.
Overcoming complacency requiresgreat leadership. Our teams need
direction, accountability,motivation and purpose to stay
on track. And it's not justabout the work that each person
performs each day. A leader hasa long list of duties to keep a

(03:19):
team going strong, which meansnot only do you have to assign
tasks and ensure they are done,but you also have to be a coach,
a mentor and to encourage attimes, you must also celebrate
the tough wins and then get backon track before you lose
Momentum. Proper alignmentrequires effort, requires

(03:41):
coordination, and it requiresextraordinary communication.
When your team works welltogether and works well with
other teams, you will see betterresults in understanding the
problem and how to solve thatproblem. When we stay active in
coordinating, collaborating andproblem solving, it helps to
keep us focused and fresh, socomplacency does not set in. I

(04:06):
am an advocate for practicingeffective collaboration, because
it does lead to improvedcommunication and better
alignment on solutions. It leadsto no surprises regarding how a
problem is solved and howresources are to be deployed.
Never overlook how your weeklyteam meeting can be a great tool

(04:26):
to avoid complacency and toencourage better teamwork. As
leaders, we must effectivelyexecute our team meetings and
one on one sessions, a teammeeting should be streamlined to
identify obstacles orbottlenecks to progress, to
express the team's prioritiesand to share relevant
information quickly and openly.
I like to address problemssooner than later as a leader,

(04:49):
that should be our goal everytime, help your team to share
where they are stuck. It may bethat another team member may
have. Answer they are lookingfor the one on one meetings can
be used to hold each personaccountable with their
individual tasks. I want you torethink how to effectively
employ your team meeting and oneon one sessions so we don't

(05:12):
waste everyone's time andmotivation trying to prevent the
atmosphere of complacency couldturn you into a micro manager,
and that's not what we aretrying to accomplish here. We
want to create the environmentwhere we don't slow down after
we finish a key task or aproject. We have to keep moving
on to the next important item.

(05:36):
We are constantly managing andevaluating our priorities to
ensure that the most importanttasks get our attention first,
and we are protecting our teamfrom distractions. Please
subscribe to the podcast on theplatform you are currently
listening to and also pleasesubscribe to my weekly email. I

(05:57):
believe that complacency is akiller of motivation and
excellence. Do you have biggoals to achieve? Then you need
to overcome complacency. Are youhappy with your current level,
or do you have desires for ahigher calling? Do you have a
goal to be CFO and even CEO oneday? Then why are you feeling so
comfortable with your currentlevel of accomplishment and as

(06:21):
the leader, you set the pace byyour example of accomplishment
and your level of excitement andhow you approach your duties.
Let's not slow down to admireour own work. Slowing down in a
competitive environment sets usup for failure. Now let's talk
about helping your team andyourself overcome complacency.
Number one, leaders set the paceof the organization. I will

(06:45):
always expect leaders tounderstand their role and to
take actions. For if you chooseto neglect or ignore this, you
have to relook your leadershipcommitment to your team. Leaders
set the pace for their teams bymodeling the behaviors standards
and urgency they expect fromothers. When leaders demonstrate
consistency, discipline andcommitment to excellence in

(07:08):
their own work, they establish abenchmark that inspires their
teams to rise to the same levelby communicating clear
expectations, setting measurablegoals and following through with
accountability, leaders createan environment where high
performance becomes the normrather than the exception. More
importantly, leaders who balancedrive with empathy, providing

(07:31):
feedback, recognition andopportunities for growth, build
trust and motivation, empoweringtheir teams to pursue
excellence, not out ofobligation, but out of shared
purpose and pride in theircollective results. Leaders set
the pace, because our team oftenwill mimic our own actions and

(07:51):
commitment level. If we careabout doing a great job, then
they usually will care aboutdoing a great job, too. If we
are consistently late or have abad attitude that I bet your
team will follow that samecourse of action. Action breeds
action. If you set the bar highand you are willing to match
that same high standard, thenyou are more likely to see your

(08:14):
own team do the same. Numbertwo, complacency is the opposite
of alignment. Complacency is thecomfort zone. It is when no one
is upset with me and I am notbeing asked to do anything
difficult. I get the clock inand clock out without any
concern for how I amcontributing to the long term

(08:35):
success. I send reports that Ihave been asked to do without
any context. Does this soundlike anyone on your team? They
will say that they're just doingtheir jobs. Is that, because you
have never set expectationsproperly, anyone can format some
data into a report and thenemail it off. But are they
providing any value addedcontext that means something to

(08:58):
the recipient of that reportwhen you work to get aligned,
you are making an effort tofocus the resources of the
company to reach betteroutcomes. It is our duty to best
use the resources we have, andthat requires coordination and
alignment. Often we can onlyexecute one course of action to
accomplish the strategy. So thisis why we must be committed to

(09:22):
find the best solution set forthe resources that we do have.
Once we seem like we can performwithout regard to improvement,
you may overlook critical issuesthat could hinder success, the
very definition of complacency.
Number three, what can we do toensure that we create a culture

(09:44):
of excellence? Excellence startswith clarity. Finance leaders
must define what success lookslike for the team beyond routine
reporting and compliance, aclear vision connects daily
tasks to the organization'sbroadest. Strategy, helping team
members to see the value oftheir work in driving business

(10:04):
performance and strategicdecision making. High performing
finance teams embraceaccountability. Leaders can
build this by setting measurablegoals, encouraging ownership of
outcomes and recognizing bothachievements and lessons
learned, promoting ongoinglearning through training and
analytics, automation andfinancial storytelling ensures

(10:29):
the team stays agile and futureready. Recognition reinforces
desired behaviors, celebratingteam members who demonstrate
innovation precision orleadership strengthens morale
and motivation. Above allfinance, leaders must model
ethical conduct andtransparency, cornerstones of

(10:51):
trust and credibility within anyhigh performing finance
function. As a leader, what canyou do every day to move your
team in the direction of thepriorities that matter. We have
a unique role in finance andaccounting to help the
organization achieve its goalsby communicating financial
results in a way that everyoneunderstands, especially non

(11:14):
finance people now for actiontoday, ask yourself, how is my
team performing? Are they opento accountability? Are they open
to solving the toughestproblems? Do you have team
members who seem to only put inthe minimum effort, take
appropriate action, to coach andmentor your team to achieve the
goals you set up work with thosewho want to do better and help

(11:38):
those without the same level ofcommitment to find other
opportunities that fit theirdemeanor. Today, I talked about
helping your team and yourselfto overcome complacency, and I
highlighted the followingpoints. Number one, leaders set
the pace of the organization.
Number two, complacency is theopposite of alignment. And
number three, what can we do toensure that we create a culture

(12:01):
of excellence? Have you everslowed down your performance
after completing a toughproject? Now that's complacency.
I believe in celebrating thewins, and I believe that you
need to get the proper restafter putting in endless hours
on a critical project. But wedon't need to end our own
pursuit of excellence based onone project or on one compliment

(12:24):
or on one great job recognitionfrom the CEO. We keep going, we
keep improving, and we staycommitted to excellence. And you
can do this without burningyourself out and your team as
you ensure everyone take theproper amount of rest and enjoy
life, because I am specificallyreferring to is quitting your

(12:46):
motivation at the moment you doone job right, or that you seem
to be meeting expectations, Ibelieve you can do better now
that might be the Army veteranIn me to keep going on a success
driven mindset. I hope youenjoyed the finance leader
podcast. You can find thisepisode wherever you listen to
podcasts. If this episode helpsyou today, please share with a

(13:10):
colleague until next time, youcan check out more resources at
finance leader academy.com andsign up for my weekly updates so
you don't miss an episode of thepodcast, and now go lead your
team and I see you next time.
Thank you.