Building a strong culture to inspire your team

Independent financial advisors know how crucial a good team is for running their business. Having the right people — in the right roles — can make all the difference to a firm’s success. And it can make all the difference in creating a great place to work, too.

Advisors understand the importance of their team, but they may not be paying enough attention to developing and maintaining their firm’s culture. When a team is fairly small, it’s easy to make sure that everyone understands what’s important to the firm, but it becomes more difficult as the practice grows. If you’re the owner or leader of a firm, it’s incumbent upon you to ensure that your employees grasp your firm’s mission and values.

So, what pattern of thinking and behaving is encouraged and rewarded at your firm? Why do you do what you do? It’s crucial that everyone at your firm not only understands the culture — but willingly participates. But what’s the first step?

HOW TO ESTABLISH A STRONG CULTURE

Outline a clear mission. Advisors should spend time and attention ensuring that their firm’s culture is fully understood and acted upon, as it’s essential to overall growth and success. Research from Forbes shows that companies with strong cultures have seen a 4X increase in revenue growth. But at a time when more companies are bringing employees back to the office, citing a fear that their culture is eroding, it seems that the problem may be deeper than that. According to research from the Gallup Organization, just 23% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they can apply their organization’s values to their work each day, and only 27% strongly agree that they believe in their organization’s values. How would your employees answer?

Culture is closely aligned with a firm’s mission, values, and purpose, and if you haven’t spent time discussing what’s important to the firm and how you help clients and the community, take the opportunity to do so now. McKinsey and Co.’s research shows that 89% of employees at all levels in an organization want a significant purpose in their lives. Moreover, 70% of the employees surveyed said that their sense of purpose is largely defined by work. So it’s important that your team fully understands all the good you do for your clients and how you change lives for the better.

Identify the “why.” For example, one large firm we consulted with discussed its mission and vision and concluded that its commitment to giving back to the community is what made it a cohesive unit. As individuals, each advisor and team member had already donated time and money to worthwhile causes in their local area. And after further reflection, they realized that giving back was part of their DNA — they felt strongly that making lives better was who they were personally and professionally.

Now, as a firm, they support several charities as well as supporting each other in their personal endeavors. Their firm is known for having the biggest heart in the area, and while they don’t give back as a prospecting play, they have gained referrals and new clients at a rapid pace. Why? One high-net-worth prospect, who eventually became a client, told the firm’s president at a charity fundraiser that he had seen the firm in the community for years, always helping others. He reasoned that if the team was doing all that for people who may never become clients, the firm would probably take good care of him as a client, too.

UNITED IN PURPOSE

By establishing a culture that allows everyone on the team to understand the firm’s mission and have a sense of purpose, you can create meaningful, inspiring work for your employees. And by aligning everyone with the goal of helping clients and their families, you can create a firm that people happily recommend to others. And that’s a definition of success you can be proud of!

[More: Correcting the blind spots in our practices]

Kristine McManus serves as chief advisor growth officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.