Influencing Skills for Finance
Why Finance Needs Influence, Not Just Authority, to Drive Business Impact
Finance teams have insight. They have data. But that doesn’t always mean they have traction.
Behavioural science shows that authority alone rarely changes behaviour—especially when people feel under pressure. In fact, quite the opposite – perceived pressure to comply results in push-back or workarounds. We see this emerging as an increasing problem for Finance functions. As compliance and sound governance become ever more important, Finance has its work cut out. But as organizations become flatter, more decentralized and more complex, getting people to play ball, just when we need them to, is increasingly difficult. In the new world, relationships are as important as formal authority.
The more Finance is asked to shape decisions—not just monitor them—the more it must learn to influence without triggering pushback.
Influencing skills
At Threshold, we help Finance professionals develop influencing skills that work with, not against, the way in which people make decisions under pressure.
Let’s take a recent example. One of our clients, a global consumer goods company, was looking to expand into a new market. The leadership team was confident they could dominate the space by going in big and fast—throwing major budgets at the opportunity.
But when Finance reviewed the business case, they had serious concerns. The ROI didn’t stack up. The assumptions felt shaky.
When Finance raised these concerns, they were dismissed as “bean counters who don’t understand strategy.”
So, they pushed harder—adding more evidence, more numbers, more analysis. But the more they pushed, the more the business dug in.
Relationships strained. The conversation stalled. And Finance was left on the outside looking in.
The Holy Trinity of Influencing
The breakthrough came when the Finance team shifted their approach, applying what we call our Holy Trinity of Influencing:
- Insistence leads to resistance.
- Great meetings are built on rapport, not agreement.
- Resistance is a cue to change your strategy, not push harder.
Humans value their autonomy. The more we feel pushed, the more we push back. Psychologists call this reactance, or the backfire effect.
True influence is built on rapport. Rapport is not about being liked, or being in agreement. It’s about trusting one another and being able to communicate honestly and openly. When we achieve a state of rapport the nature of the conversation shifts. We no longer feel like we are on opposite sides of a table arguing about who’s right. Instead, we are around the same side of the table, looking at the problem together, and seeking to solve it together through dialogue.
When people feel they’re on the same side of the table, they’re more open to challenge, more willing to listen, and more likely to move.
Most businesses today are matrixed—less hierarchical, more complex. They run on relational capital—the value that comes from trusted relationships, not just formal authority.
In this environment, influencing becomes an essential skill for Finance. Without influence, Finance advice comes too late, business units stall or resist, and Finance loses strategic credibility.
Finance teams
At Threshold, we help Finance teams develop these skills, using a blend of behavioural science and real-world practice.
We combine:
- Behavioural psychology — including tools like framing, social proof, and pre-suasion.
- Immersive roleplay — simulating high-stakes conversations with realistic resistance.
- Live coaching — helping Finance professionals adapt their style without losing clarity.
As a result, Finance teams instinctively reach for effective influencing tools when they meet resistance, rather than inviting reactance or the backfire effect. This means that the business makes better decisions, and financial governance improves – as does the reputation of the Finance function
At Threshold, we are helping our clients to ensure that their human workforce is committed, engaged and ready for the technology revolution. We do this by bringing about small shifts in line manager behaviour that make a big difference. To find out more visit www.threshold.co.uk
