Understanding Career Aspirations

Connecting with your finance team on their career aspirations is a powerful way to foster engagement and growth. As a finance manager, you play a key role in helping your team members explore what energizes them, articulate their future goals, and identify meaningful development opportunities within the finance function. These conversations not only build trust but also ensure your team feels valued and supported in their professional journey.

Begin by inviting your team member to reflect on their past work experiences within the finance domain. This helps uncover what truly motivates them and where their strengths shine. You might ask, "Can you share a finance project you found especially rewarding?" or "What type of financial analysis or reporting work makes you feel most energized?" These questions encourage open dialogue and show that you care about their unique journey, not just their day-to-day output. For example, if someone lights up when talking about building financial models or collaborating with business partners on budgets, that’s a clue to what drives them.

Once you’ve explored the past, gently shift the conversation toward the future. Encourage your team member to share their aspirations, even if they’re still figuring them out. Try questions like "Where would you like to grow in the next year or two within finance?" or "Are there any new finance skills or roles you’re curious about, such as FP&A, treasury, or business partnering?" If they’re unsure, help them connect past successes to possible future paths: "You seemed to thrive when you led the month-end close—have you thought about taking on more leadership in process improvement or automation projects?"

From there, work together to identify concrete development opportunities. This could mean suggesting a stretch assignment, recommending a relevant finance workshop, or connecting them with a mentor in another finance specialty.

A practical technique for these conversations is the 3E Development Framework: Experience, Exposure, and Education. This approach helps finance managers and team members identify well-rounded growth opportunities:

• Experience: What on-the-job assignments or projects can help the team member grow?
  "Is there a new finance project, such as leading a budget cycle or process improvement, that you’d like to take on?"
• Exposure: Who can the team member learn from, and what networks can they build?
  "Would you benefit from shadowing a senior analyst, joining cross-functional meetings, or connecting with a mentor in another finance area?"
• Education: What formal learning or training would support their goals?
  "Are there finance courses, certifications, or workshops that interest you, like advanced Excel, CFA, or scenario planning?"

Use the 3E Development Framework to co-create a development plan that is actionable and tailored to the individual’s interests and the needs of the finance team.

Here’s a realistic example of how to guide a finance team member through a career aspirations discussion:

• Jessica: Thanks for meeting today, Ryan. I wanted to check in on how things are going and talk a bit about your career interests. Was there a recent finance project you really enjoyed?
• Ryan: Actually, I really liked working on the quarterly forecast with the product team. It was challenging, but I felt like I learned a lot.
• Jessica: That’s great to hear. What about that project made it stand out for you?
• Ryan: I liked collaborating with people outside our team and seeing how our numbers impacted their decisions.
• Jessica: It sounds like cross-team work energizes you. Looking ahead, are there any new finance skills or roles you’re interested in exploring?
• Ryan: I’ve been thinking about getting more involved in strategic planning, but I’m not sure where to start.
• Jessica: Let’s look at some options using the 3E framework. For experience, you could help lead the next planning cycle. For exposure, maybe you could shadow our strategic planning lead or join the cross-functional planning meetings. For education, there’s a scenario modeling workshop coming up—would you be interested in that?

In this exchange, Jessica uses the 3E Development Framework to explore Ryan’s interests and offer specific, actionable next steps across experience, exposure, and education.

By mastering these conversations and techniques like the 3E Development Framework, you’ll help your finance team members feel seen, supported, and motivated to take the next step in their careers. In the upcoming role-play, you’ll get to practice these skills and see how they can transform your 1:1s.