Episode Description
Influence is earned long before numbers hit the board pack. In this episode, Catherine Clark, GrowCFO Mentor, reframes influence as the practical outcome of deliberate connection. She and host Kevin Appleby unpack how remote and hybrid work have thinned everyday rapport, making it harder for finance leaders to shape decisions, mobilize teams, and retain talent. Their premise is simple: influence compounds when CFOs intentionally build trust, recognition, and emotionally intelligent dialogue across stakeholders.
Catherine offers a playbook for finance leaders to operationalize connection: stakeholder mapping early and often, creating unstructured time for human conversation, signaling appreciation consistently, and showing up with presence—even through a screen. The episode highlights how small, repeated behaviors (gratitude, active listening, regular check-ins) turn into strategic leverage: faster alignment, better decision inclusion, higher engagement, and materially improved performance environments for finance teams and their partners.
Key topics covered:
- Why remote/hybrid erodes spontaneous trust, and how CFOs can rebuild it with intentional routines
- Stakeholder mapping and early relationship-building as core influence mechanics, not “nice to haves
- Recognition and gratitude as low-cost, high-impact leadership signals that boost engagement and retention
- Emotional connection and presence (active listening, curiosity) driving performance and decision quality
- Practical cadence: unstructured touchpoints, pre-alignment conversations, and regular reconnection rituals
- Cultivating a culture of connection—small, repeatable behaviors that scale influence across the organization
- 04:14 Remote/hybrid realities: the connection gap and its impact on leadership/retention
- 12:00 Relationship strategy: stakeholder mapping and early outreach to accelerate trust
- 27:42 Recognition and gratitude as influence multipliers
- 35:31 Emotional connection, interference removal, and performance outcomes
- 44:48 Building an organizational culture of connection and shared values
- 46:37 Final actions: small, consistent behaviors that compound into influence
Catherine Clark isn’t just a podcast guest — she’s GrowCFO’s Lead CFO Mentor and one of our most in-demand mentors, consistently rated highly for her ability to help first-time CFOs build confidence, influence, and strategic presence.
👉 Learn more about Catherine and her mentoring approach
https://www.growcfo.net/mentors/catherine-clark/
If you’re stepping into your first CFO role — or preparing for one — Catherine also leads the GrowCFO CFO Program, a 12-month development journey designed specifically for first-time CFOs who want to:
- Strengthen executive presence and board-level influence
- Build confidence in high-stakes decision-making
- Shift from technical excellence to strategic leadership
👉 Explore the CFO Program
https://www.growcfo.net/cfo-program/
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GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net