
Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
Things have been very difficult at our advisory firm since one of the partners announced his intention to retire. I’ve read a great deal about succession planning and I can honestly say, we don’t have one.
He will need to be bought out by the two other partners and there is a fight over valuation and who takes his clients. Those of us who are more junior in stature think there isn’t anything we can do to influence outcomes. Our partners are all very strong-willed, boisterous, pushy individuals. They don’t take kindly to being told what to do. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to know if there is anything we CAN do to help chart a new course at the firm.
We are all committed to being here and we believe there is a future but don’t know how to ingratiate ourselves to prove that during this big crisis. What direction or advice can you give us?
T.A.
Dear T.A.,
I’d like to take the opportunity to remind readers about the importance of succession/future planning in any advisory firm no matter how small or large. But you have already noted in your question to me this has been overlooked here so I won’t repeat what you already know!
I do understand any business owner’s hesitation about planning for their eventual exit, I run a business myself and am passionate about doing so, but having no plan for the future hurts everyone involved including the person or people in charge.
You say those of you in the more junior (by this I assume you mean non-partner) roles don’t think there is anything you can do, but have you tried anything at all yet to show you are interested in providing support? I’m wondering if you have tried and had your hand slapped, or if you just perceive the issue to be partner-related and therefore should not involve anyone else.
This situation provides a great opportunity for you, as the more junior people, to show you are willing and able to be a part of the problem-solving and future of the firm. I suggest you consider:
- Getting together with whomever else is in your position to present an organized front;
- Thinking together about what you can do to help – take on some of the client outreach, work with the departing partner on sifting responsibilities, take on some of the other partner’s work while they sort things out, etc. Notice what’s getting missed, or not done as well, and see what you can offer to get involved with helping on; and
- Showing a sincere interest in what the firm will look like post-departure. Perhaps you could suggest to the remaining partners the entire team holds an offsite, or in-office, meeting to talk about implications for the future. You could offer to organize this, structure the agenda and support them in leading the discussion.
Overall, I encourage you to get very specific and very practical. Not just, “What can we do to help?” but giving observations of what you see happening and offering to support certain areas as this situation unfolds.
Above all else, and this may not be happening but I’ve seen it many times in other firms, don’t “take sides” as the saga unfolds. Stay committed and focused on the business and what you all can do to ensure its continued success.
Dear Bev,
Do you think it’s helpful for a firm to have an offsite (a meeting away from the office) every year? We have had them in the past and this year proposed just having a dinner and talking about where we are on goals and where we need to be. Our team, surprisingly to us, is really pushing to do something offsite again.
It’s not the expense; it’s the problem of phone coverage, taking the time away from clients, and playing so much catch-up once we get back to the office. I don’t diminish the effectiveness because we’ve had some sessions where we have had great breakthroughs. I’m resisting the fallout to the business from doing this but I’m open to be wrong if you say the pros so greatly outweigh the cons when you’ve seen other firms answer this same question.
Pat C.
Dear Pat,
I’m impressed your team has both held these meetings in the past (and had breakthroughs during them) and that the team is eager to have another one! While I see many firms, large and small, conduct offsites (or in-office meetings) often times they are not effective enough so people resist having to do yet another one.
Being away from the ringing phones and the tendency to just run back to one’s office and normal day-to-day is best for focus and teambuilding. But you can have a very effective meeting in your offices as long as you plan for it and manage it well.
Most of the time these meetings are successful based on what the team does to prepare for them. Preparation: Knowing what you want to accomplish (the team’s desired outcome), what needs to be provided or researched in advance, who will play what role, how much time you will allot to each topic, who will manage the phones or client inquiries, etc. can determine how effective the meeting will ultimately be.
If you are going to do it in your office, set ground rules – one person covers phones (or perhaps you get a temp to do this for a few hours), no one checks messages until breaks, the room is a “safe zone” and people are asked to stay present unless there is a major client emergency and someone takes notes to ensure follow up.
Good for you for setting a tone that makes your team want to do this.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. In 2008, she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. 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.
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