The professional group vaguely defined as “financial executives” is quite diverse: over business sectors, specific industries, the employing entity’s ownership, its structure, its size…
I belong to a vast cohort of the CFOs and Controllers who build their careers toiling for entrepreneurial companies defined by the economists as “small”. I’ve spent decades growing these flat-structured, low-headcount businesses with revenues in hundreds of millions of dollars.
Unlike our counterparts in “large” companies, the white-collar laborers like me do not skim through reports prepared by the legions of subordinates and then present them to the BOD in a self-assured manner, thus securing sizable bonuses. We are too overwhelmed with the multitude of responsibilities within financing, treasury, accounting, administrative, IT, HR, and risk management to even breathe. If the entrepreneurial businesses we work for are, as they say, the backbone of the Economy, people like me are the spinal cord inside those vertebrae.
But it’s not the hard and voluminous labor. The most jarring factor of our existence is that, more frequently than not, we report directly to the Business Owners. Those kings and queens of their little kingdoms. They and their whims, requests, demands, and decrees are the source of the pressure and pain. It what makes us stressed-out, anxious and frequently depressed.
And yes, you can carry your mountain of worries, frustrations, insecurities, and ego wounds all the way to a therapist’s office. But what does he know about unbearable CEO’s and the ad-hoc reports they needed yesterday? What is he going to tell you? That you should “take it easy”, “try to relax”, and “don’t take it personally”? What is he going to do for you? Prescribe you the terribly addictive Xanax?
On the other hand, it is a commonly known fact that journaling – as in channeling your feelings through words – can be quite therapeutic. In fact, it’s frequently recommended as one of the core coping mechanisms for people suffering emotional distress… So, here we go…
The Frustrated CFO 