GrowCFO Show
The GrowCFO Show is the podcast produced for finance leaders by finance leaders
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In this episode, Kevin Appleby speaks with GrowCFO Mentor Alan Scholnick, a finance leader with over 30 years’ experience at IKEA, to explore why so many newly appointed CFOs struggle with imposter syndrome and feelings of fraudulence. Drawing on his journey from accounting roles to VP of Finance and later into executive coaching, Alan explains how the leap into the CFO role magnifies expectations around leadership, communication, and people development, often faster than new CFOs feel ready to handle. He frames these doubts not as weaknesses but as predictable responses to heightened responsibility and visibility.
The conversation highlights practical strategies new CFOs can use to navigate these pressures: building trust with stakeholders, improving communication and active listening, and grounding confidence in past achievements. Alan emphasizes that finance transformations are fundamentally about people, not just processes or technology, and that self-reflection, clarity of purpose, and continuous learning are essential for any CFO who wants to move from feeling like a fraud to leading with credibility and impact. He also shares how mentoring, reverse mentoring, and ongoing development inside and outside the organization can help finance leaders sustain confidence over the long term.
Key topics covered:
- The discussion frames imposter syndrome as a common, almost inevitable experience for new CFOs, especially during major finance transformations.
- Alan outlines practical techniques to build confidence, including revisiting past accomplishments and reframing internal narratives that fuel self-doubt.
- The episode underscores the importance of communication, active listening, and curiosity in building trust and social equity with stakeholders.
- Alan explains how continuous learning, teaching, and mentoring—both as mentor and mentee—help finance leaders stay relevant and resilient amid rapid change.
- The conversation closes with Alan’s perspective on the type of mentee who benefits most from GrowCFO mentoring and how a growth mindset accelerates CFO development.
Links
Timestamps:
- 0:03:59 – Discussion on why people skills and leadership by example are critical when leading finance transformations.
- 0:05:16 – Alan explains how he helps finance leaders understand the “why” behind change and communicate it clearly to their teams.
- 0:07:40 – Focus on active listening, curiosity, and relationship-building as foundations for CFO credibility with stakeholders.
- 0:09:34 – Alan and Kevin directly address imposter syndrome, exploring why many new CFOs feel like frauds and how to rebuild confidence from prior achievements.
- 0:18:35 – Alan discusses transitioning from internal finance roles to external teaching, coaching, and representing the finance story to broader audiences.
- 0:23:31 – How academic work, private clients, and coaching combine to keep a finance leader’s skills current and versatile.
- 0:25:21 – Alan describes the mindset of an ideal mentee and the value of reverse mentoring, including learning from younger professionals.
- 0:30:37 – Kevin and Alan wrap up with the benefits of GrowCFO mentoring and the importance of a safe, supportive environment for CFO development.
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
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
The Next 100 Days
The Next 100 Days Podcast is a leading UK business show. Through this podcast, Kevin and Graham reveal strategies you can use to improve your business and take it to the next level. In addition to featuring their own advice, Kevin and Graham host amazing guests from across the business world. Often the guests are successful, but lesser-known business owners and entrepreneurs, enabling the show to bring fresh content and stand out from many of the US based business shows.
Graham and Kevin believe that business change comes about when a business owner focusses on just one thing that will make a real difference to his business. That might be product development, a new product launch or a marketing campaign. Focussing for less than 100 days, or focussing on too many things generally won’t deliver the results you need, Equally, its difficult to maintain effective focus for much longer than 100 days without re-assessing priorities.
The Next 100 Days Podcast is your source to learn how to move your business forward, with practical advice and guidance that you can put into action and make a difference in your own organisation within the next 100 days.
Marc Walton is a Professional Forex Mentor and Trader, and ex-fund manager, who has been working in the finance industry for over 25+ years. He started FMP in 2008 and mentors students on how to trade professionally.
He retired from full-time trading in spring 2020 and now focuses on running Forex Mentor Pro, which is his passion. On top of that, he takes on a few private clients who wish to fast-track their trading progress each year. He also actively invests in metals, mining stocks, and cryptocurrencies, which he shares with students in his second business, Your Investing Future.
Summary of Podcast
Retirement planning and financial education
Marc discussed the importance of financial education, noting that most people lack understanding of how money and the financial system work. He shared his own experiences of learning about personal finance, investing, and alternative income streams like trading and crypto. Marc emphasised the need to be proactive in managing one’s finances and not relying solely on traditional retirement plans, which he believes are inadequate for the longer lifespans people are now experiencing.
The impact of AI and automation
The group discussed the growing impact of AI and automation on jobs, with Marc and Kevin sharing examples of how AI is already replacing certain tasks previously done by human workers, including graduate-level research and analysis. They noted that this trend will likely accelerate, requiring people to adapt and find new ways to create value.
Retirement activities and challenges
The conversation turned to the challenges of finding fulfilling activities and ways to spend time in retirement. Marc shared his own struggles with this, while Graham and Kevin acknowledged similar difficulties in figuring out how they want to spend their time post-retirement, beyond hobbies like golf that they don’t find particularly engaging. The group agreed that maintaining mental and physical health is crucial.
The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts
Graham Arrowsmith
Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. He’s the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, where he introduces AI Agents that you can talk to, that increase engagement, dwell time, leads, and conversions. Now, Graham is offering Answer Engine Optimisation that gets you ready to be found by LLM search.
Kevin Appleby
Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He’s the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com