Hand selecting the right kind of leader is paramount to supporting your culture, by building further momentum, retention and increasing your bottom line. When the something important is exceptional financial advice, delivered by an extraordinary team of Financial Planning Advisors, how do you ensure your management techniques marry with your key objectives?
Having pivotal people aligned to your business strategy, leadership style and organisational philosophy truly enables success – Brian Tracy was spot on when he said that: “Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people.”
It goes without saying that a lot of what makes a good manager is inherent in the personality type, however there are also many other factors to take into account. As well as personality traits, techniques can be learnt, ensuring that you have a strong team who thrive.
If you are doing your job to the very best of your ability you can use this first and foremost to encourage your Financial Planning Advisers and inspire them as a team. By using a show rather than tell style of management, your guidance translates downwards much more fluidly to motivate your team to deliver exceptional service.
It’s all very well for us to say “lead by example”, but what exactly do we mean other than doing your own personal very best day to day? What kinds of things should you be looking to do well?
In all things business and managerial, with clients and colleagues alike, maintaining absolute integrity is essential. Ethical behaviour and a professional manner in all interactions should be second nature for you, so the whole team follows suit.
Creating an environment where people want to come each day, where they feel considered and appreciated, where they feel properly remunerated and where they can enjoy the company of their colleagues will maintain a healthy, happy workplace. It’s much easier to motivate a happy workforce in a positive work environment – the results will speak for themselves.
With integrity comes the focus of ensuring that the priority is always the client’s needs and satisfaction – after all that’s why we’re here! When the team mindset is positive and geared toward providing the best ethical outcomes in the best possible timescales, client satisfaction and retention will be much more attainable.
When a leader is seen to be adaptable and staying ahead of the curve in the fast-paced financial world, embracing new technologies and adapting to market shifts, this will set the trend for the team and become the norm. It’s easy for a department to become stuck in its ways, especially if the leadership has been doing the same thing year on year.
If your team sees excellence in everything you do: from your knowledge of the financial industry, to your understanding of what makes all of the individuals collectively tick as a team, together with your strong, fair leadership, a culture of excellence will be the backbone of the workplace and will underpin the commitment to providing a quality service.
Your carefully chosen team, no matter how well-oiled and knowledgeable, can always benefit from education and growth. Therefore, promoting a culture of lifelong learning by providing opportunities for training, mentorships, job swaps, workshops, and certifications will build resilience and ensure they stay excellent. Check out our article on Building Resilient Teams: Recruiting for Adaptability in Financial Services.
Being sure to celebrate all achievements, both big and small is a great way to maintain or even increase motivation within your team. Don’t we all like to receive praise and reward for being good at what we do? It’s great to be recognised when we have gone that extra mile and achieved something exceptional – it is having this acknowledged that means we continue to strive and thrive.
Lead from the top, by actively listening to your team to find out what issues are important to them. Be the first to hear about (and resolve) any team or personal issues before they become detrimental to the health and work of the individual or the team.
Fostering open and honest communication and encouraging feedback and suggestions in a non-judgemental environment where it is known that management will actively listen, totally free from prejudice, and more importantly act upon what they hear, creates integrity and trust between the ranks.
Showing genuine care and empathy for your team’s well-being, both personally and professionally will mean that your team feels they can come to you with any concerns. This creates a strong, trusting, meaningful and importantly, mutually beneficial relationship. If a team feels supported, they will be stronger, more cohesive and ultimately able to offer solid, lucrative advice.
For some leaders, learning to let go and resisting the urge to micro-manage can be tricky when you are so driven towards success. However, if you take that leap, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed – delegating and thus empowering can work wonders.
Learn to trust your team – after all, you picked them, you know how good they are and with all the effort you are putting in, how special they could become. By empowering team members to make decisions and allowing them to take ownership of their choices and their work, you instil a pride and value to what they do and the service they provide.
Allowing your team to take personal ownership of their work helps people thrive. Knowing when to let go is as crucial as knowing when to step in and provide guidance. Sometimes support will be asked for, but a good leader also knows when to spot the signs that someone is struggling, even before they acknowledge it to themselves and offer them the personalised help they need. They know their team’s individual strengths and skills and where the weaker areas are and provide training or assistance in these areas.
“Becoming a great leader is more about the inner qualities you possess than the title you are given. While a person may be in charge of managing people or heading a project, a genuine leader is one who can inspire others to accomplish something important.” Brian Tracy
By being a great leader, you will continue to create a high-performing team, or teams, who deliver exceptional results and build lasting colleague and client relationships. By creating clear goals and ensuring your team has the right tools and skills to get the job done well, you will develop and nurture a solid team of Financial Planning Advisers who are supported by your strong leadership style and feel valued, seen and heard.
Respected for our expertise, we are interwoven and connected with elusive talent, due to our 35+ years on average in Financial Services and Wealth Management. We personally know outstanding first and second line managers through to C-Suite leaders, who are not actively looking and are waiting for our career recommendations. Our profound industry knowledge and our discretion creates strategic placements that empower and enable the growth of our financial planning clients. Plus our expert multi-disciplinary team has an agile approach to the successful delivery of executive search solutions that are matched to your needs.
Brilliant managers build amazing loyal teams. They boost the productivity and performance of their Wealth Planners through focused coaching, performance tracking, and strategic resource allocation. We recommend managers who foster loyalty by actively listening and empowering their team to excel. They ensure advisers consistently follow regulatory standards and company policies, mitigating the risk of non-compliance and always putting clients’ needs first.
The most effective National Sales Managers accelerate revenue growth by implementing innovative sales strategies that deliver significant results. We choose people who motivate their teams to acquire new clients and strengthen existing relationships, fostering increased client satisfaction and loyalty through personalised service and effective relationship management.
