Deloitte
Annotations
  • Services

    What's New

    • Ignored to J’ Adored

      How Deloitte helped a large fast food company become a leader in sustainability

    • Deloitte Private

      Connecting you to what matters

    • Compromised to Immune

      An Initial Public Offering can take years. We only had weeks

    • Audit & Assurance

      • IASPlus
      • Assurance Services
      • Accounting & Reporting Advisory
      • Accounting Operations Advisory
      • Disruptive Events Advisory
      • Media & Advertising Assurance
      • Global Public Policy
    • Consulting

      • Strategy, Analytics and M&A
      • Customer and Marketing
      • Core Business Operations
      • Human Capital
      • Enterprise Technology & Performance
    • Risk Advisory

      • Accounting and Internal Controls
      • Cyber and Strategic Risk
      • Regulatory and Legal
      • Sustainability & Climate
    • Financial Advisory

      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Turnaround & Restructuring
      • Deloitte Forensic
    • Legal

      • Legal Management Consulting
      • Legal Advisory Services
      • Legal Managed Services
      • Dbriefs Legal
      • Deloitte Legal Around the World
      • The Resilient General Counsel
    • Tax

      • Advisory and Transactions
      • Tax Transformation
      • Outsourced Compliance
      • Technology Consulting
      • Mobility, Payroll, Immigration
      • Climate & Sustainability
  • Industries

    What's New

    • Connecting for a resilient world

    • Future of Mobility

      Learn how this new reality is coming together and what it will mean for you and your industry.

    • Platforms and Ecosystems

      Enabling the Digital Economy

    • Consumer

      • Automotive
      • Consumer Products
      • Retail, Wholesale & Distribution
      • Transportation, Hospitality & Services
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials

      • Industrial Products & Construction
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil, Gas & Chemicals
      • Power, Utilities & Renewables
      • The Future of Energy
    • Financial Services

      • Banking & Capital Markets
      • Insurance
      • Investment Management
      • Real Estate
    • Government & Public Services

      • Central Government
      • Defense, Security & Justice
      • Health & Human Services
      • Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Government
    • Life Sciences & Health Care

      • Health Care
      • Life Sciences
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications

      • Technology
      • Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment
  • Insights

    Deloitte Insights

    What's New

    • Deloitte Insights Magazine

      Explore the latest issue now

    • Deloitte Insights app

      Go straight to smart with daily updates on your mobile device

    • Weekly economic update

      See what's happening this week and the impact on your business

    • Strategy

      • Business Strategy & Growth
      • Digital Transformation
      • Governance & Board
      • Innovation
      • Marketing & Sales
      • Private Enterprise
    • Economy & Society

      • Economy
      • Environmental, Social, & Governance
      • Health Equity
      • Trust
      • Mobility
    • Organization

      • Operations
      • Finance & Tax
      • Risk & Regulation
      • Supply Chain
      • Smart Manufacturing
    • People

      • Leadership
      • Talent & Work
      • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Technology

      • Data & Analytics
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Technology Management
    • Industries

      • Consumer
      • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
      • Financial Services
      • Government & Public Services
      • Life Sciences & Health Care
      • Technology, Media, & Telecommunications
    • Spotlight

      • Deloitte Insights Magazine
      • Press Room Podcasts
      • Weekly Economic Update
      • COVID-19
      • Resilience
  • Careers

    What's New

    • WorldImpact

      Living our purpose, reshaping our world, making an impact that matters.

    • 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey

      Striving for balance, advocating for change

    • Alumni profiles

      Inspiring leaders

    • Job search

    • Experienced hires

    • Students

    • Life at Deloitte

    • Inclusion at Deloitte

    • Alumni

  • GLOBAL-EN Location: GLOBAL-English  
  • Contact us
  • GLOBAL-EN Location: GLOBAL-English  
  • Contact us

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

Navigating the four faces of a functional C-level executive

by Ajit Kambil
  • Save for later
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
Deloitte Insights
  • Strategy
    Strategy
    Strategy
    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Digital Transformation
    • Governance & Board
    • Innovation
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Private Enterprise
  • Economy & Society
    Economy & Society
    Economy & Society
    • Economy
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • Health Equity
    • Trust
    • Mobility
  • Organization
    Organization
    Organization
    • Operations
    • Finance & Tax
    • Risk & Regulation
    • Supply Chain
    • Smart Manufacturing
  • People
    People
    People
    • Leadership
    • Talent & Work
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
  • Technology
    Technology
    Technology
    • Data & Analytics
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Technology Management
  • Industries
    Industries
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Tech, Media, & Telecom
  • Spotlight
    Spotlight
    Spotlight
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
    • Weekly Economic Update
    • COVID-19
    • Resilience
    • GLOBAL-EN Location: GLOBAL-English  
    • Contact us
    28 May 2014

    Navigating the four faces of a functional C-level executive

    29 May 2014
    • Ajit Kambil United States
    • Ajit Kambil United States
    • Save for later
    • Share
      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Linkedin
      • Share by email

    As a C-level executive, you will generally have to assemble a team that ensures the operator and functional stewardship activities are taken care of, freeing your time for the strategist and catalyst faces.

    Crossing the chasm

    When you are recruited as a C-level hire, it is very rare that you are hired just to maintain the status quo. Instead, you are typically recruited to help your function and your company achieve the next level of performance. This will generally require choices on how you will allocate your time and face your new job.

    In our work with C-level executives across various functional roles, we have developed a generalized “four faces of the executive” model to help clarify what is expected of them and set expectations for their focus with peer executives.

    Four faces of the CFO framework

    The strategist, catalyst, and operator faces are quite similar in description and orientation. For different functional executives, the fourth role differs in orientation and is closer to their specialized functions and statutory requirements. In some ways, the fourth role is a functional stewardship role, preserving current and future value of key company assets.

    When we interview CEOs and board members on how they would like the new executive to allocate their time, as a general rule of thumb, we hear that they want the new executive to spend 60–70 percent in the top two faces (the strategist and catalyst), and 30–40 percent of their time in the lower two faces. What we observe in our transition labs is that most executives in the transition period allocate time in the opposite way: 60–70 percent below the line and 30–40 percent above it. The key to a successful transition is to cross the chasm that divides the operator and functional stewardship roles from the higher-value strategist and catalyst faces that drive future business performance, and new executives need to accomplish this within their first year. Indeed, not crossing the chasm can make for a short tenure. In cases where the previous executive served a short time, CEOs and board members often note that the executive simply did not prioritize and elevate their game sufficiently into the strategist and catalyst roles.

    Four considerations

    So why do so many executives get trapped below the line? Generally, we observe four things in our labs:

    1. The new executive’s team is not capable enough to effectively deliver the operator and stewardship responsibilities, so the senior executive gets trapped into spending too much time assuring the baseline delivery of these roles.
    2. As a corollary to the first reason, incoming executives do not believe their offices have garnered the credibility to be a strategist or a catalyst.
    3. The incoming executive’s training and mindset is more operational than it is strategic.
    4. The boss says the right things but does not allow you play above the line.

    The lack of an ample team is the primary reason we find executives trapped below the line. As in our earlier article, there is a time-talent trade-off; the wrong people on your team waste your time and can prevent you from delivering on the key faces required of you. It is essential to quickly diagnose the capabilities and skills of your staff and either upgrade their skills or get the right people with the right skills in place within 180 days. Otherwise, subpar performance by your staff will simply reflect on you, and you won’t be able to deliver against the strategist and catalyst expectations.

    The corollary reason for not crossing the chasm is “waiting for credibility.” For example, perhaps the finance or IT organization you have inherited has not previously delivered, and you are waiting for some significant, quick wins to establish credibility. The risk with this strategy is that in the first year, there may be a lot to repair, and executives can constantly feel that they have not earned the right to be strategic as the core team, systems, and processes are repaired. Here, you will need to set expectations of realistic times to repair while taking on a voice of the strategist and catalyst in key leadership meetings. Not doing so may send a message that you are not capable of these faces. Again, having the right team in place to deliver results is vital to quickly earning credibility.

    A third reason is that newly promoted executives were great in their previous functional roles, but they do not have a strategic mindset for their new roles (for example, a controller who does not elevate to a strategic CFO).

    Finally, we sometimes encounter the awkward situation where a CEO is exceptionally controlling and does not permit their C-level executives to fulfill the strategic and catalyst aspects of their roles.

    The takeaway: As a C-level executive, you are generally hired to play above the line. To do this, you will generally have to assemble an “A team” of direct reports that quickly ensures the operator and functional stewardship activities are taken care of. This will free up your time to bring the strategist and catalyst faces at the right level to your company.

    Credits

    Written by: Ajit Kambil

    Topics in this article

    Executive Transitions , Talent

    Deloitte Consulting

    Learn more
    Download Subscribe

    Related

    img Trending

    Interactive 3 days ago

    Ajit Kambil

    Ajit Kambil

    Deloitte LLP

    Ajit is the Global Research director of Deloitte LLP's CFO Program. He oversees the diverse research initiatives of the program in areas such as leadership, capital markets and risk and created CFO Insights, a biweekly publication serving more than thirty five thousand subscribers. Ajit also developed Deloitte’s Executive Transition Lab which helps CxOs make an efficient and effective transition into their new role. Prior to his role in the CFO Program, Ajit was the global director of Deloitte Research. He is widely published in leading business and technology journals on varied topics. An eCommerce pioneer and expert on market design, his book Making Markets: How to Profit from Online Auctions and Exchanges was published by Harvard Business School Press.

    • akambil@deloitte.com
    • +1 212 492 4286

    Share article highlights

    See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

    Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy your highlighted text.

    Navigating the four faces of a functional C-level executive has been saved

    Navigating the four faces of a functional C-level executive has been removed

    An Article Titled Navigating the four faces of a functional C-level executive already exists in Saved items

     
    Forgot password

    To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

    OR

    Connect Accounts

    Connect your social accounts

    This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

    You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

    Log in with an existing social network:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    OR

    Log in with an existing site account:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    Forgot password

    Subscribe

    to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
    ✓ Link copied to clipboard
    • Contact us
    • Submit RFP
    • Job search
    Follow Deloitte Insights:
    Office locations
    GLOBAL-EN Location: GLOBAL-English  
    About Deloitte
    • Newsroom
    • Social media
    • Leadership blog
    • Press releases
    • Submit an RFP
    • Job Search
    • Global office directory
    • Contact us
    • About Deloitte
    • Our impact
    Services
    • Audit & Assurance
    • Consulting
    • Risk Advisory
    • Financial Advisory
    • Legal
    • Tax
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications
    Careers
    • Job search
    • Experienced hires
    • Students
    • Life at Deloitte
    • Inclusion at Deloitte
    • Alumni
    • About the Deloitte organization
    • Terms of use
    • Cookies
    • Privacy
    • Privacy Shield
    • Accessibility statement

     

    © 2022. For information, contact Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

     

    Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the “Deloitte organization”). DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.