From Party Poopers to Strategic Enablers
Working in TA, procurement, risk, legal, or finance isn’t for the faint-hearted. You’re partnering with people across the business who are laser-focused on generating revenue, delivering world-class customer outcomes, moving at lightning speed, slashing costs, and staying ahead of the competition. Meanwhile, your role — equally important, yet often misunderstood — is to protect the business, its people, its customers, and its shareholders.
So, while they’re charging ahead, you’re deep in the weeds of legislation, regulation, and risk frameworks — trying to make sure all that speed and innovation doesn’t come at the expense of compliance or future liability. Lucky you!
It’s not just technically complex. It can be tough from a stakeholder engagement perspective too. Our functions often get branded the “Party Poopers”. We’re viewed as the ones saying “no” while everyone else is trying to get work done. Laws and regulations exist to create fairness, protect people, and keep the system working — but in a fast-moving business they can feel like red tape, roadblocks, or bureaucracy for the sake of it.
So, how do some teams navigate this tension better than others?
There’s no single playbook. But in my experience, the ones who do it well shift from being gatekeepers to being enablers.
- They approach every challenge through a lens of “how do we help the business achieve its goals safely and sustainably?”
- They design systems and processes around outcomes — not just compliance checklists.
- They build tools that empower colleagues, not ones that frustrate them.
- They prioritise human-centered design.
- They invest in education, helping others understand why regulations exist, and how to meet them without overcomplicating things.
- They cut the forms and minimize the procedures.
- And importantly — they listen. They adapt. They reflect. They get a little better every day.
In short: the best teams don’t just enforce the rules. They help the business play to win — without breaking the rules.
