Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Dear Bev,
I read your article about the person with a boss who falls asleep and it inspired me to write. What about a boss who is a fluffy, “everything is beautiful” person who never admits anything is wrong?
She founded a very successful firm and has grown it significantly. But we have problems. We need new systems and a couple of new team members. Our back office is in bad shape and clients are starting to notice. If we say anything to her, she will respond by telling us to be positive, look on the bright side and consider the things that are going well and so on. It’s not like we are “masters of complaint,” but the things we are bringing up are real and are noticed outside of the firm.
Is there a way to make her see the truth of what we’re trying to express? I would think in financial services there are enough outside forces, like the market and concerned clients, that would motivate her to fix what’s wrong.
J.P.
Dear J.P.,
You bring up a behavioral and communication issue that is often an underlying problem. Your leader could have a high-Influencing approach to work and the world. These are people who truly see the glass half full, operate with positivity at all times and generally think things will work out. You describe it as “fluffy.” But to her, this is the reality of life. If you and your colleagues are not wired in a similar way you might see her responses as being fake or not serious. Conversely, she will hear your feedback as overly critical and negative and will likely try to over-compensate by being overly positive and upbeat. It’s a cycle – you get more concerned and try harder to get her to listen, she sees you as more stuck and unwilling to consider positive alternatives.
To break this cycle, approach her differently. Ask her to work with you to define success for the client experience in the firm overall. Ask her to create success outcomes, both quantitative and qualitative, and be clear on ones that are related to the operations/back office area and what clients are seeking.
Next, talk about “obstacles”. I always like that word instead of problems, issues, concerns or even challenges. Those four words connote something bad or insurmountable, whereby an obstacle is simply something to overcome. If you can help her see, more objectively, the obstacles connected to the success outcomes you are striving for as a firm, she should be willing to look at what can be done. Obstacles fall into three categories – those you can control, those you can influence and those out of your control. Work with her to identify the categories of technology and systems and the human capital issues. Work with her on what can be done and what can be influenced or changed.
Work with her on steps to take. Are there minor things that could be done, rather than investing in entire new systems? Could you hire a consultant to help you navigate the systems changes more effectively? Could the underperforming people be coached to be more successful?
If you stop pushing and expecting her to respond in a new way, you will partner with her to think through what you want and what’s in the way – then how to get there. She will see you as an ally instead of an opponent and will work with you to make some changes.
Dear Bev,
What do you do when clients are freaking out? Politics, trade concerns, viruses, drops in the market. We’ve lived through difficult times before and we’ll live through these and other ones. Sometimes a market drop is a positive thing. What do I do when clients won’t be rational or objective?
W.U.
Dear W.U.,
Therein lies the problem. You are using words like “rational” and “objective” to describe responses and behavior that are fear-based and emotional. In much of the training I do, I present a slide that quotes an international conflict mediator (Douglas E. Noll, Esquire) who once said, “The truth is that we are 98% emotional and 2% rational.” I use this to illustrate the difficulty in a financial, numbers-based and mostly objective business that is anything but objective and rational! People’s life savings, their retirement hopes and dreams, their ability to send their children to college, their legacy and membership at the country club are tied to how much money they have and how much money they are able to keep. As their advisor, you help them to reach the pinnacle and fulfill their dreams or you stand in the way and disrupt their plans. It isn’t rational but it is their money.
Try seeing this as the fear-based response it is. Investors become scared and fearful. They read the news, they see their account go down and they worry what’s going to happen next. They are largely powerless to do anything (except call and yell at their advisor) and so they take the only step they are able to take.
If you can remove the judgmental words from your own vocabulary, and be patient and communicative with them, it will go a long way to calming fears. You don’t want to make it about them – “I understand you are fearful but we are doing our best” because this won’t work well. They see you as the link to success or failure so you want to adopt an attitude of care and concern. You can’t control what’s happening but you can control how proactive you are in communicating with clients and how you react to their worries.
It’s hard because you probably think they are being disrespectful and not trusting your good judgment during ups and downs. But be objective and watch your own reactions. Remember you are being paid to deliver a service and the service you deliver is one of the most important (and emotional) aspects of any person’s life – their money.
It’s not easy but it’s essential to calm their fears and continue providing your good services.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. The firm also founded and manages the Advisors Sales Academy. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate and graduate students Entrepreneurship and Leading Teams. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
Read more articles by Beverly Flaxington
Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here. 
