Finance people have a natural bias that can hurt us more than it helps.
I learned this the hard way.
Back when I was running planning cycles, I’d get the usual headcount asks. Sales would come in with a request for a hundred new hires. Marketing wanted millions in discretionary spend. Product wanted to double their team.
All of that would stress me out. My instinct was to prove a point: if I could run finance lean, maybe everyone else would follow suit.
So I’d slash my own requests. I’d say, “I’ll cut these roles, we can make do without.” I thought I was doing the company a favor — showing discipline, leading by example.
But here’s the thing. That bias hurt me. It hurt the team.
Because finance isn’t just another back office function. When you starve the finance team of resources, you’re starving the company of the infrastructure that makes real growth possible.
We were stretched thin. Projects stalled. Analysts burned out. And I was stuck carrying the weight of an under-resourced function, convincing myself it was “fiscal responsibility.”
It wasn’t. It was a false economy.
Why finance falls into this trap
This mindset is almost baked into our DNA as finance leaders.
We are wired to save money.
We see efficiency as a badge of honor.
We believe “headcount is a vanity metric.”
And frankly, we know our request for another accountant or analyst will never win out against another sales rep or engineer.
So we grit our teeth and make do. We automate a little more. We take on just one more project. We tell ourselves someone will notice how much we’re doing with so little.
They won’t. And even if they did, it’s not the kind of praise that helps your team succeed.
What I should have done differently
Looking back, there are a few things I wish I had been deliberate about:
1. Plan finance’s needs first
Before you dive into company-wide planning, get clear on what *you* need. What is the org design that lets finance actually support the business? Write it down. Otherwise, you’ll get lost in everyone else’s asks.
2. Identify single points of failure
One payroll person. One billing specialist. One analyst doing all the ARR reporting. That’s not efficiency, that’s risk. If you see those single points of failure, make them a priority.
3. Ask your stakeholders
Don’t plan headcount in isolation. Go to sales, product, marketing and ask: what would a better partnership with finance look like? Where do you need more support? Then pin your asks directly to that feedback. It’s harder for anyone to argue against.
4. Check your own bias
The bias to be lean will always be there. So if your request makes you feel *uncomfortably big*, that probably means you’re in the right zone. Hypergrowth demands that you invest ahead of the growth.
The uncomfortable truth
Finance folks need to get comfortable asking for more.
That doesn’t mean bloat. It doesn’t mean unlimited spend. But it does mean putting aside the reflex to prove how scrappy you can be.
The most responsible thing you can do is to build a finance team that actually scales with the business. That gives everyone else the clarity, the systems, and the guardrails they need to grow.
Running lean might feel noble in the moment. But in the long run, it’s a trap.