The right talent in the right place is crucial, but a high performing team ultimately ensures the optimal result. In our new interview series High Performing Finance Teams we speak to all kinds of experts and experienced CFOs about this theme. We ask them what it takes to build such a team together, and how they see their own role in this process. From the CFO at Royal Haskoning to the CFO at Pon Automotive: we discuss the development of financial teams from various perspectives.
In the third interview of this series, we have spoken with Frederieke van den Belt, Global Talent Director at Perfetti van Melle. According to her, the success of a high performing team starts with a shared purpose, which everyone can identify with and commit to. You need a safe environment for that, with people you can rely on. She explains below how exactly she envisions this.
Can you tell us where you are now and how you got there?
“Let me take you back in time; I grew up largely abroad, which has shaped me for a considerable part. First in England for a number of years, then in South America. I returned to the Netherlands to take my final exams at an international school, and then study business administration in Groningen. The international and multicultural environment in which I grew up is crucial to my work.
“After my studies, I started my career in the consulting industry in South America. After a number of intensive but wonderful years, I moved to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, I first worked for 10 years at Shell in a variety of strategic HR functions, followed by another 10 years at Korn Ferry where I was active in Talent and Leadership consultancy. Both large international companies, matching my personality in terms of scope and international dynamics. I currently fulfill the role of Global Talent Director at Perfetti van Melle, a family business but also a renowned international company.”
What does a high performing team mean to you? And what characterizes such a team, in your opinion?
“For me, the definition of a high performing team is a solid unit in which people positively complement and support each other. But also a place where people are not afraid to draw each other's attention to mistakes and then solve them together constructively. A unity in which people complement each other, recognize and acknowledge each other's strengths.
Essential building blocks of a high performing team are a shared purpose and mutual trust. From there you build a connection. Concrete communication is also a must, meaning honest but also constructive communication. This allows you to create support within your team, for yourself, but above all for your team members. Feedback is a crucial part, it must be possible to give it, but even more importantly, one must be receptive to it. This dynamic depends on the right leadership style, in my case I use an inclusive leadership style. This allows me and my team to communicate openly and bring out the best in each other.
Good collaboration starts with trust and connection, creating a safe haven in which people feel valued and seen. For me, trust, connection and safety are a triptych that I consider essential for people to excel. Safety creates trust, where trust creates connection.”
What brought you here and how have the teams you have worked in shaped you into who you are today?
“By nature, I am very empathetic and outgoing. That's why I really need the connection with my team. In that regard, I had one of my most inspiring leaders at Shell, Gerard Penning. He was exceptional at making everyone fly in their own way. In my case, Gerard quickly realized that he had to let me go if I wanted to perform at my best. But he also realized that he had to periodically "whistle back" at me, not for correction but for harmonization of shared goals. He regularly compared me to a ship that always sailed in the opposite direction of the fleet, but always arrived at the right destination with the right cargo on board. He clearly saw that I wanted and could tackle things in my own unique way, but that I also needed the connection with the team for this. This was where his strength lay; being able to quickly identify people's needs, but also their strengths and weaknesses. On this basis he determined the degree of control and/or interference of each individual. I think it's a very strong characteristic.”
Can you give an example of a high performing team? This may also come from a completely different angle than Finance.
“This is a difficult question, as I think a high performing team is often an extended snapshot, a combination of the right people in the right place, under good circumstances. I think an orchestra is a good example. A large group of people, diverse personalities, all highly qualified within their own field, top performers in their niche. Brought together through careful selection, joined through intensive collaboration and dedicated guidance. Combine this with the right material, the right conditions and a common goal, most likely output: high performance.”
How do you ensure that motivation and inspiration in a high performing team remains high?“Motivation should above all be intrinsic, this applies to everyone and is necessary for solid support within the team. It is important that the people in the team are complementary to each other, in terms of personalities and skills. By drawing up, using and actively sharing a clear vision, you create and maintain involvement within the team. I personally look for the right people according to my 1+1=5 principle.
Two people (1+1) with both intrinsic motivation reinforce each other and thus create an extra factor (5). Sharing successes is an important part of keeping motivation high, but sharing setbacks may be a greater motivator for the team. That connection, willingness to help each other, that is really motivating in my opinion.”
And what do you do if the situation changes, for example when a key team player leaves?
“She was unrecognizable in her actions and acting on this, I worked intensively and very effectively with her for six months. In those six months, the team and their shared purpose have remained unchanged. Together with her, we looked at what she excelled in before her PhD, as a person and as a professional. Also the values and skills that made her previously highly valued within the team. By focusing on the cause of her imbalance and restoring it, the connection within the team was reduced to a smoothly functioning organism again."
“A team, no matter how good, will always be subject to change. How people deal with it, intrinsically and with each other, characterizes a solid team and good leadership.”
What is step one to create a high performing team?
Who do you think is an inspiring leader and why?
“After coming into contact with a monk during a retreat organized by his work, he was so touched by his philosophy of life that he chose to follow the same path. After living as a monk for years, he has carved out a new place for himself in society, followed by millions. Partly because of his turn-around, but especially because of his vision and philosophy about life and the gift and will to share this.”