We continue celebrating our clients' achievements, here is another great story from Paul Lobanov.

Paul is one of those finance leaders who has valued the importance of stepping back, looking at the situation and bringing an open mind to possible pathways and ‘better’ solutions. Equally, as we’ve worked with Paul he has the extremely admirable trait of being self-reflective; willing to explore different ways of thinking and potentially being ‘wrong’. Paul has shared some of his story below in growing as a strategic finance leader.


𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 

The Outperformer Strategic Finance Leaders Program has helped strengthen the understanding of an executable strategy and its fundamental role in an organisation. It also reminded me of the importance of taking time to zoom out and “step onto the balcony” to make observations, it’s so easy to get caught in your BAU and forget. Finally, it has also helped me take full ownership of my role and involvement within the organisation to lead change in the strategy space.


𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 

Having just completed our internal strategy process, I definitely felt that I was a core part of the process, rather than being an external participant.

Being part of the program has helped me navigate through positioning and stakeholder engagement on several growth projects over the past few months, many of which have led to positive tangible outcomes, or are heading in that direction. Adopting a strategic thinking focus has notably led me to manage synergy, hypothesis and rationale on M & A targets that I used to positively influence and align with senior stakeholders around those decisions.


𝐀 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞  

I feel more confident in what I bring to the table and how I can influence others. My mindset has truly shifted, and I fully appreciate that elements like change and strategy are constantly evolving pursuits and not static targets. This is for me the biggest game-changer.

Getting into this right mindset has accelerated my progress and development in a range of projects. Instead of just accepting tasks and completing them, my focus is on pushing stakeholders to understand and explore strategic intent so we can all drive towards better outcomes for the business.

The quality of relationships built upon has also strengthened both from a personal and professional perspective.

And the journey of becoming more effective in this space continues…

You can find out more about our Strategic Finance Leaders Program here and we’re always happy to have a quick chat and answer your questions, message us at enquiries@theoutperformer.co