Being an effective leader of a financial advisory team is difficult, complicated and at least as important as client-focused activities such as business development and customer service, according to a team consultant for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.
Being an effective leader of a financial advisory team is difficult, complicated and at least as important as client-focused activities such as business development and customer service, according to a team consultant for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.
A team manager differs from a team leader in that he or she is responsible for creating a vision for the group and motivating the members through principles such as ethics and honesty, said Bill Stepanek, who spoke today at the Investment Management Consultants Association's annual conference in Las Vegas.
Mr. Stepanek, a former financial adviser, head of adviser training and branch manager for E.F. Hutton & Co., now works in the field coaching advisory teams at MSSB.
“You are being judged every day. You are dinnertime conversation for your teammates,” Mr. Stepanek told attendees.”
He went on to say that team managers aren't leaders, but they execute the vision of the team, measure and report performance, and motivate through the position that they hold, he said.
Many times, however, advisers wear both hats if they don't have a designated operations employee to manage the team or firm, Mr. Stepanek said.
This can pose problems for those who, as leaders, need to look toward the future and outward in terms of serving clients but as managers, need to be there for their team members, he said
“The team is looking for you to be in the present with them,” Mr. Stepanek said.
Team leaders must provide a clear mission of what is expected by each team member and keep team members apprised if goals change, he said.
One way to accomplish this is to hold a daily 10-minute morning meeting to go over the schedule and the priorities for the day, and to review notes about clients from the previous day, Mr. Stepanek said.
In addition, ensuring a collaborative environment is essential, he said. Team leaders need to walk the talk by keeping their egos out of the equation and “managing yourself so that you're the most collaborative person on your team,” Mr. Stepanek said.
And while “conflict is good on a team” if disagreements are professional and respectful, those on the team who don't follow the rules must be dealt with immediately, he said. Mr. Stepanek recommends first telling the offender that undesirable behavior was noticed, then asking the team member to provide information about why the behavior occurred and, finally, letting the person know how to handle similar situations in the future
Other important responsibilities of a team leader include building team confidence by keeping members in the loop and giving recognition during meetings for jobs well done, Mr. Stepanek said. He also said that team leaders must manage priorities and demonstrate competence.
In terms of managing the performance of team members, leaders must take into consideration role performance and collaborative behavior and apply the same rules to everyone.
“You can't skew it one way or the other because you like someone better,” he said.
When asked about building a team, Mr. Stepanek said that he likes the Mayo Clinic approach, a reference to the medical practice and research group, where physicians with different specialties work together on behalf of patients. Financial advisory teams should include members who specialize in different types of services for clients, he said.
