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Dear Readers,
Financial advisors now understand teaming with the right people to be an imperative. That means teaming in the right ways in order to scale and run the most efficient and effective firms/teams possible. When thinking about a transition, it’s critical to find the right team, develop your existing team to be prepared for the transition, and understand the important nuances of teaming. Teaming doesn’t just happen because you have a number of people around to do what’s needed. It requires a focus just like growth, operational infrastructure or any other business imperatives.
Recently, a client told me his advisors were asking, “What now? I have the people in place, so now what do I do with them?”
Here are some key areas of focus as you think about solidifying your current team or preparing to transition and join a new team:
- Roles and responsibilities that were right at a certain point in time may not continue to be the best arrangement as the team evolves and changes. Often, the same people will stay on the team or in the firm, and as things change, they might move into a different role. However, there isn’t always a focus on whether it is the right role for that person at that time. And in many cases, roles assume responsibilities that don’t belong with their job description just because the person currently holding that role is good at a certain task or responsibility.
Once a year, you want to step back and ask what your firm needs, and then determine who on your team is best to do that. Try to avoid building roles around specific people at your company, in case someone leaves or you transition and your new team or firm doesn’t include the same role. It's great to have team players who can do it all, but it isn’t the best formula for the long term. - People don’t “just get along.” It’s a frustrating thing for many leaders who are trying to build a team or are ready to merge with a new set of team members. In some cases, friction occurs and the leader doesn’t know what to do about it. They may just ask the team to work it all out — often to disastrous results.
When issues arise and they aren’t addressed or they get buried, over time the team shows the cracks in the relationships while working together. It’s a rare situation that sees things repaired simply due to the passage of time. Without intervention, relationship issues typically get much worse instead of better. Helping people hear one another, see the viewpoint from the other’s perspective and understand what’s underneath someone’s concerns are all very important. If you, as the head of the group, don’t know how to do this or bring this about, bring in an outside party to help. The problems will only escalate without a proactive approach. - The team doesn’t always have the same goals and objectives you do. In a conversation recently with one of my longtime clients, who is with a team that was recently acquired by another financial advisory firm, she told me about how differently she and her previous firm owner/lead advisor see the transition. My client is stuck overseeing details rather than focusing on the higher-level strategic issues she’d like to focus on. However, the lead advisor doesn’t need to be involved in these minute problems and, as a result, isn’t concerned about them at all.
This is an all-too-typical scenario, of course, because the roles and areas of focus of my client and her manager are very different. However, if you want the team to work together effectively, you have to establish joint goals that everyone cares about and will strive towards. It’s also important to know what your team members are dealing with so you can support them appropriately. - Team members won’t always tell you what they are facing in terms of obstacles. Over my decades of doing this work, one common theme I find is that many team members are chosen because they are get-it-done people who do whatever is necessary for the team and the firm to succeed. They work hard, often behind the scenes, to make sure their lead advisor(s) succeed(s).
Unfortunately, this can mean they don’t share what might be going wrong or off-track and what needs to be addressed until the problem has ballooned into a larger problem. It’s important, especially as you transition, to check in with team members and ask about their day-to-day. I encourage asking them specifically about obstacles. Many times the team members who will just do what’s needed won’t respond if you ask about issues, problems, or challenges. Those words often seem like negative terms, and your team members might feel like they are complaining. The word “obstacles” is less threatening, and people will inevitably respond when asked about an obstacle in their way! - Lessen dependency on any one or two people as you grow your team and undergo a transition. It’s great to have someone who is your right-hand person, or even a couple of people you can trust and lean on, but it’s also dangerous to put too many responsibilities on the shoulders of just one or two people.
I’ve seen this happen many times: A team member decides they don’t want to be part of the transition or the growing team, and they unexpectedly make their exit. The lead advisors who are left behind are often in turmoil, because replacing someone quickly is not as easy as it sounds. Be clear about what’s needed on the team and then share responsibilities across the team. Make sure you have cross-training and backup plans as well.
It’s not that you don’t benefit from a confidant who is in your corner and always there to back you up; it’s just not wise to depend fully on someone who could need to be quickly replaced and who has taken on more than any new person could in a given role. You don’t want to be worried about it every day, but you should build your team thinking about what could happen if someone leaves. - Team members sometimes can’t get themselves unstuck. As a leader, you want to teach your team how to be problem solvers and how to navigate unexpected changes, like a transition. People get comfortable, and then they can get stuck when things don’t go as they had hoped. Give the people on your team the tools to navigate change, uncover answers to problems and help them see what they can control and influence.
