Mentor & Team Development

Build a deep, capable finance leadership bench that can operate effectively with minimal CFO intervention.

Current Score

out of 10

Target Score

out of 10

Progress to Target

50%

Excellence Framework

What Good Looks Like

These assessment criteria define excellence for this driver. Use them to evaluate your current state and identify areas for growth.

Leadership Bench

The finance organization has strong leaders who own decisions and drive execution independently.

Delegated Authority

Decision-making is appropriately distributed to enable speed, ownership, and team development.

Intentional Mentorship

The CFO actively mentors the team to develop skills aligned with future organizational needs.

Continuity Planning

Succession plans identify critical roles, potential successors, and the development needed to ensure leadership continuity.

Outcome Ownership

The finance team consistently takes full accountability for outcomes and proactively solves issues.

Self-Assessment Tip

Could your finance organization operate effectively for an extended period without your direct involvement—or does too much still depend on you?

Real Results

How Leading CFOs Build Stronger Leadership Benches

See how leading finance executives develop capable leaders, expand opportunity, and build teams equipped to support sustained performance and enterprise growth.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Financial Services • Jeremy Barnum, CFO

2 years

The Situation

JPMorgan Chase needed to attract, develop and retain talent across a large, complex global organization while preparing leaders to manage evolving technology, regulatory demands and customer expectations. Its scale required a deep leadership pipeline, broad capabilities and a culture that could support mobility, inclusion and continuous development.

The CFO's Approach

Finance supported enterprise-wide investment in leadership development, learning, mentorship and career mobility. JPMorgan Chase expanded programs designed to strengthen management capabilities, expose employees to opportunities across businesses and geographies, and create a more inclusive environment in which emerging leaders could develop and contribute.

The Impact

These practices helped strengthen the firm’s leadership capacity while supporting continued organizational expansion and strong business performance. Finance’s focus on people and capability development contributed to a broader culture in which talent, mobility and institutional knowledge were treated as long-term strategic assets.

Measurable Results

Global Workforce

+14%

271,025 → 309,926 employees

Total Net Revenue

+30%

$121.6 billion → $158.1 billion

Net Income

+2.5%

$48.3 billion → $49.6 billion

Consumer Customers

+7%

76.5 million → 82.1 million

Assess Your Leadership Bench

Evaluate whether your finance organization has the leadership depth, delegation, and succession readiness needed to operate effectively without excessive dependence on the CFO.

Leadership & Succession Outcomes

Business Impact

Evaluate whether your finance organization has the leadership depth, delegation, and succession readiness needed to operate effectively without excessive dependence on the CFO.

Leadership Capacity

A stronger finance bench expands the organization’s ability to manage priorities, solve problems, and support strategic initiatives.

Succession Readiness

Prepared successors reduce disruption when key leaders transition, depart, or assume broader responsibilities.

Decision Leverage

Clear authority and stronger judgment allow more decisions to be made effectively without direct CFO involvement.

Talent Retention

Meaningful development, mentorship, and advancement opportunities improve engagement and help retain high-potential leaders.

Organizational Resilience

A deeper leadership bench enables the finance function to maintain performance during periods of change, growth, or disruption.

Strategic Capacity

Effective delegation allows the CFO to spend less time resolving routine issues and more time on enterprise strategy and leadership.

Where should your finance organization focus next?

Turn Insight Into an Improvement Plan

Understanding the gap is only the beginning. CFO Circle helps finance leaders establish priorities, develop practical initiatives, and maintain the accountability needed to achieve measurable progress.