Editor’s note: Beverly Flaxington is a columnist with Rethinking65. Read more of her articles here.
Beverly Flaxington
Finding team members who are a “good fit” has become increasingly important for advisors whether or not they’re interested in merging their practices as part of ongoing industry consolidation. Even a large financial services firm that traditionally allowed advisors to run solo as part of its network is pushing growth through teaming. But finding the right partner and the right people to create a team can be daunting.
Growth through teaming is the singular focus of most of the firms and groups my training and consulting firm has been working with lately. We are often called in once the team has met with dysfunction and communication breakdowns. In many cases the team is still doing great businesswise but the “human-element” is interrupting the positive flow and creating inter-team dynamics that need to be addressed.
Ultimately, different team dynamics can slow down business growth and disrupt business processes when not done thoughtfully and in a step-by-step manner.
More Motivators for Teaming
Teaming is especially critical for aging advisors seeking to monetize their practices and transfer their team or the business to the next generation. Although many seasoned advisors are “rethinking65” and don’t plan to retire for a while, they may also be trying to grow and develop team members who can serve their clients well when they eventually do decide to make their exit.
At the same time, some advisors don’t understand and/or aren’t ready to embrace how teaming can help them.
Through my years in the industry, I’ve seen firsthand that most advisors can do anything that’s needed. Yet as a professor of graduate courses on entrepreneurship, leadership and managing teams, I also know that this is not the best way to run a team or a firm.
It’s better for the leader(s) to focus on their strengths and what they enjoy, and to hire team members to take care of things that free up the leaders to do what they excel at. This means adding people and it also means letting go — which can be challenging for senior advisors
Let’s look at some of the knowledge we have gathered during our many decades working with teams and building bridges around communication and team dynamics:
1. Don’t Seek Team ‘Clones’
In many cases we see senior advisors wanting to essentially clone themselves and create a “mini-me” for succession or development. This is completely understandable — it’s so much easier to work with someone who is just like you, and the research bears this out. But although sameness makes it easier, what advisors often need is a complement.
Frequently, the person running an advisory team or firm is an entrepreneurial type who may have started in the industry the 1980s or 1990s. Back then being facile, nimble and fearless was the order of the day. Now, newer advisors tend to need more process, more clarity and more definition for what they do and how they do it. These two styles and approaches are very different. And they can complement each other well.
If you are developing someone different from you, you must meet them where they are. Do not ask them to meet you where you are. Become adaptable to different styles and approaches. Understand not only what your team members need to learn, but how they can best learn it — and how you can best teach them.
2. Communication Is Not Weekly Huddles
Almost all the teams we work with describe communication as an obstacle. Then, when we drill down, we learn they hold meetings on a regular basis. The problem is, these meetings are not generally effective. They may be short-time connections to talk about a particular client issue, or to discuss the week’s upcoming prospect and client meetings. But these team meetings don’t necessarily facilitate team communication so that people feel heard and stay connected.
Instead, consider redoing team meetings to make them more about your team members’ experiences. Some good conversation starters:
What’s one thing over the last month that someone wants to celebrate?
What top one or two obstacles you are experiencing or expecting?
What’s a magic wand moment for you? (i.e., where you could wave the wand to change anything you want to change).
Asking questions like these in your meetings can generate different conversations than simply reviewing tasks. It’s important everyone knows what tasks need to be done, of course, but consider adding opportunities to deepen discussions.
3. Training and Development Matter
Many older advisors learned much of what they know through osmosis, and they learned it well. In many cases, senior advisors don’t hold credentials such as the CFP® or CFA. They learned the business from making mistakes, watching others and perhaps having a mentor or two along the way.
In contrast, advisors newer to the industry almost always come in with some sort of formal education, and a desire to acquire credentials to learn more about the best way to serve clients. This can cause a clash because a senior advisor might expect the junior person to “just do it.” But It isn’t as easy for newer team members to learn this way; they need guidance, training, formal development and often an outside person to give them a roadmap for success.
4. Most Difficult People Don’t Want to Be Difficult
Instead, the reality is they simply don’t know any better.
Whenever we work with teams to illustrate the different styles and approaches to learning, executing and communicating, we inevitably observe an “a-ha!” moment or two. Someone may realize there are differences between the way they and another team member want to solve a problem, implement a process or create a set of rules.
Unfortunately, we tend to see the world through our own filters. This means we assume “what’s right for me” is “right for everyone else around me.” This is the human condition and it often paints our view of others in a negative light.
Smart professionals learn that people who do things differently from them are their complement and can aid and help them. Yet many times people dismissively label members of their team who embrace different approaches as TDOs (the difficult ones). Instead, try learning about why someone approaches something in a certain way, or what their background might be, or how their choices can benefit rather than stall what you are doing. This can be very useful.
The bigger the team, the more differences you will find. The more differences, the better the complement but also the more challenges that arise from trying to reach decisions and move forward. As Stephen Covey said in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” seek first to understand, then to be understood. If every person on a team did this, the team would run much more efficiently and effectively.
5, Respect Each Person’s Interests and Desires
When speaking with advisors practices, I often hear a junior team member frustrated by the senior leader’s inability to let go. Then I hear the senior leader frustrated because the junior person hasn’t shown they have learned enough to serve the client most effectively.
Intractable issues arise when a senior person doesn’t want to let go of what they have done well for decades and a junior person wants to be trusted to take over and maybe do things a bit differently. This can then permeate throughout the team: Others see and “feel” what’s going on between the different constituents and sometimes are even forced to take sides.
‘The Best Gift You Can Give’
It’s hard to let go. It’s hard to move on from a business you’ve built and care deeply about. And it’s also hard to be the newbie coming in and expected to step into a successful person’s shoes. While conflicts are going to arise and you can’t always see the world from another person’s seat, you can at least respect their point of view.
Rather than accusing and pushing, see what you can do with each and every team member to build a bridge of respect, and communication. If each person on a team did this, just like point no. 4 above, the team would be a very nice place to work! All that most people want is to be understood and respected for who they are. Make a goal to do this. It’s the best gift you can give.
Beverly Flaxington, MBA, an investment industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, runs The Collaborative, a training, coaching and consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry. The firm founded and manages the Advisors Sales Academy, and won the Wealthbriefing WealthTech award for Best Training Solution for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Beverly is also an adjunct professor at Suffolk University, teaching graduate students about leadership, managerial skills and team leading. She is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
