CFO Leaders x Creativity
What is CFO Leaders x Creativity?
The CFO Leaders x Creativity is a working group within IAG's Finance Division. Formed under the directive of CFO Nick Hawkins, this group of senior finance leaders aims to embed creativity into the division's ways of working. Using the Creative Intelligence Program, the Design Community Team and I collaborated with the CFO Creativity Working Group to upskill, coach, and guide finance professionals in creativity and design thinking methodologies, aligning with IAG's broader goals of innovation and growth.
Challenge
How might we enable CFO leadership to instil creativity within CFO team?
Context: In 2018, IAG set a strategic direction focused on growth and innovation. CFO Nick Hawkins recognised that achieving these goals required fostering a more creative environment within the traditionally conservative and risk-averse finance division. The CFO Creativity Working Group, composed of influential finance leaders, aimed to shift the perception of creativity within the finance division.
Over nine months, my team and I collaborated with this group to enhance their Creative Intelligence and Design Thinking skills. Our efforts focused on building trust, encouraging curiosity, and integrating learning and creativity within the finance division. This initiative revitalised team culture, promoted new approaches, and shifted the division's perception of creativity.
Following the initial success, we continued to engage with a leader in Operational Partnering and his team to further integrate creativity and design thinking into the finance division's ways of working, ensuring creativity became a core aspect of their contribution to IAG's strategic goals.
Objectives:
Understand how CFO leaders currently define, practice, and enable creativity for their teams.
Envision the "ideal vision" for creativity for CFO leaders and their teams, including desired outcomes.
Identify the tools, practices, and resources on creativity used by CFO leaders today.
Determine which activities or areas of work could benefit from applied creativity.
Validate specific creativity concepts, their usefulness, contexts of value, and potential improvements.
Role: Design Community Manager & Creative Intelligence Lead
Visual Designer, Thought Leader, Facilitator, Experience Creator, Change Champion, Cross-Functional Collaborator, Researcher, Quality Gatekeeper, Scenario Planner, Relationship Alchemist, Knowledge Nurturer, Coach.
Timeline: September 2019 – June 2020
Things I designed: Design and Creative Intelligence Frameworks, Partnership Model, Value Statements, Interactive Prototypes, Workshops and Co-creation Sessions, Rituals and Practices, Feedback and Metrics Mechanisms, Design and Content Library, Templates, Training Programs, Handbooks and Tools.
Why is Creative Intelligence important for leaders?
Creative Intelligence helps leaders who want to build a culture of innovation from the ground up by curating Ci learning modules based on deep understanding of the team's unique challenges, and equipping individuals with tools, skills and confidence to apply a creative process in their role.
Note: Influencer is a person or group that has the ability to make decisions that impact others and/or can influence the behaviour and opinions of decision makers.
The Design Solution
A key insight from the initial research revealed that leadership plays a fundamental role in fostering workplace creativity. Leveraging this insight, the design solution embodied an adaptive approach, combining Creative Intelligence with the support of design techniques. This strategy involved a flexible methodology tailored to the specific needs of the finance division, ensuring that creative principles were seamlessly integrated into the ways of working and leading. It aimed to equip the finance professionals with the essential skills and mindset to embrace and apply creativity in their work, promoting a culture of innovation and continuous learning within the division.
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Clarify the Focus: Define the objectives and scope of the CFO Creativity Working Group (CWG). Conducted initial research to understand the current state and desired outcomes.
Facilitate Kick-Off Session: Organised an initial meeting to bring together all stakeholders and set the foundation for the project so that we are aligned on goals and expectations.
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Scope and Plan the Work: Created a project plan outlining key milestones and deliverables to guide the process and ensure all team members were on the same page.
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Existing research: Two key Leadership Insights are:
Leadership is a fundamental driver of creativity as leadership has significant influence on the key elements that impact creativity in the workplace.
Leadership has a profound impact on creativity by influencing key elements such as inspiration, communication, connections, a safe and supportive environment, celebration and moments of joy, empowerment, and mindset.
For creativity to flourish at IAG, these elements must be nurtured and integrated into the organisational culture.
Problem identification: Framed the problem for the working group to establish the direction and focus.
Conducted Further Investigation: Conducted in-depth investigations to gather insights on how CFO leaders use creativity and clarify challenges within the CFO Division. Understand current utilisation of creativity and identify challenges.
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Facilitate a Ways of Working Session: Facilitated a session to define how the team would work together to establish effective collaboration methods.
Define the Purpose of the CFO CWG: Designed and facilitated a workshop to collaboratively define the group's mission and goals and establish the purpose of the working group.
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Co-created the Why, How, What: Collaboratively develop a unique value statement: "We are brave pathfinders, helping our teams adapt in a world of change. We inspire mindsets and behaviours around creativity. We embed creativity findings. We discover, collaborate, and test new approaches. You could say, we're championing a game change."
Ideate: Designed and facilitated an ideation session with the CFO CWG to brainstorm the following questions:
How might we create a safe and supportive environment which fosters creativity on projects?
How might we inspire and empower CFO staff to be more creative?
How might we define a peer-based creative practice?
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Implemented Quick Win Ideas: Implemented ideas generated during kick-off and brainstorming activities to test their effectiveness and gather feedback for further development.
Shared the Journey and Next Steps: Designed and facilitated a storytelling workshop to put the creativity learnings into practice. The session was designed to encourage the group to think differently about how they would present the journey and future plans of the CFO Creativity Working Group to the CFO and other leadership team members.
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Creative Intelligence and HCD Embedment: Ongoing support to all members of the working group.
Impact
The CFO Leaders x Creativity initiative introduced curiosity and exploration into management practices, creating an environment that supports creativity for over 300 staff members as they redesign financial services. By integrating Creative Intelligence through a design-led approach, the initiative transformed leadership perspectives and practices within the CFO Creativity Working Group (CWG) and the broader finance division at IAG.
Outcomes
Shifted Perspectives and Enhanced Leadership
CFO CWG members experienced a profound shift in their perception of design and creativity, integrating these into their daily roles across key areas such as Operational Partnering, Asset Allocation, Corporate Treasury, Internal Audit, Australian Finance, NZ CFO, Analysis Integrity & Capital Management, and Placement & Underwriting. This transformation elevated leadership capabilities and injected confidence and exploration into managing people and initiatives.
Cultural Transformation and Innovation
The initiative cultivated a curious mindset among team members, encouraging them to embrace new approaches and foster innovation. By embedding learning and creativity through a design-led approach, the project refreshed team culture and promoted continuous improvement within the finance division.
“Thanks for the time and effort that went into planning the HCD session for the Operational Partnering team today. You helped us to reimagine what we can change and how to do it!! The opportunity to keep the concepts we learned fresh, the chance to plan practical application which is relevant to our team and context. Giving people a chance to keep circling back to learning is so beneficial, as is the opportunity to plan for practical application – if we don't the learning could stay theoretical, and our lack of confidence to apply could mean we don't get the full benefit of that experience.”
Participant | CFO Creativity Working Group
Perception Shift and Strategic Integration
The project successfully shifted the perception of creativity within the finance team, demonstrating its value in driving strategic outcomes and fostering a forward-thinking organisational culture. CFO senior leaders now incorporate Creative Intelligence principles into their leadership approach, leveraging creativity to navigate challenges and drive transformative initiatives across the organisation.
“We have introduced new concepts and processes to our CFO Leadership Team that has helped us reframe problems and research creativity on strong foundations. The team helped us create a plan and vision to embed creativity into CFO. Providing us with tools and information to further our understanding and thinking.”
Participant | CFO Creativity Working Group
Reflection:
The CFO Leaders x Creativity initiative highlighted the transformative power of integrating creativity and design thinking into a traditionally conservative finance division. By focusing on leadership's role in fostering creativity, we were able to shift mindsets and practices, demonstrating that even the most risk-averse environments can embrace innovation. This experience reinforced the importance of adaptive approaches tailored to specific organisational needs, building trust and encouraging curiosity were vital for successful collaboration, and the value of ongoing support to sustain creative practices. Ultimately, the project underscored that creativity is not just an abstract concept but a tangible driver of strategic success and cultural evolution.