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,
I am a financial advisor in a small practice. There are 12 of us working at the firm. The founder and current president, whom I’ll call Joe, is a control freak. No decisions can be made without his blessing. The problem is that he is semi-retired. He can be gone for two weeks out of the month sometimes. The business still has to run and we have to make decisions, but the last person who made an executive decision in Joe’s absence was fired. Is there a way we could conduct an intervention? It’s not good for Joe or for the firm, but he doesn’t seem to see it that way.
Name Withheld
Dear Financial Advisor,
It’s always fascinating when the person in charge cannot see the impact their choices are having on others but the people who can see are afraid to bring it up. I believe this is sometimes referred to as the “Emperor has no clothes” syndrome. Who will take the risk to let him know he is exposed?
The truth is that when someone is in a position of power — for example, in your case, he owns the firm — there is only so much you can do to help that person see the light. I would not recommend a mutiny or an intervention, because it could feel very threatening to him.
If you have a strong relationship with Joe and he trusts you -- or if there is someone else in the firm he trusts -- you could try having a low-key conversation pointing out the importance of timely responses and the ability to act quickly in his absence. Perhaps someone could suggest a system for decision-making when he is out that he could approve. Don’t point out the negative consequences. Instead, frame it as something that is good for him and good for the firm.
I’m afraid you can’t really point the finger at him any more than this. The person in charge is the one who gets to make the rules. This is hurting him and, from the sounds of your note, hurting the business. It’s probably to his detriment, but he may not be able to let go and behave differently. There are many people who make bad choices and refuse to shift, even when it would be better for them to do so. One of the quirks of human behavior.
Dear Bev,
We have never held an event at our office. We are throwing our first client-appreciation event at the end of March. We will talk about tax implications and planning going into April. I have to say that I was not in favor of the event, but now that we are planning it, the idea has grown on me. The problem is that our CEO is making all of the decisions. He doesn’t even have the client contacts – we do. I don’t agree with half of the decisions he is making. I don’t know quite how to intervene and get my ideas incorporated. Any ideas?
Joe R., Midwest
Dear Joe,
I included your question with the one above for this week’s column because they have similar themes. “How do I get through to the person in charge when I disagree?” I’ll give you some of the same tips, starting with treading lightly. Make sure any comments or feedback you give are offered as suggestions for improvement, not combative disagreements with what he is suggesting.
Use variations on the “why?” question in a non-threatening way. “I see we are doing gold-rimmed doilies at each place setting. I’m curious, what prompted you to choose those?” Or, “Did I see on the agenda that you are speaking for 2.5 hours straight? Do you think the clients will want to sit for that length of time? Maybe we could break that up somehow. Are you open to ideas?”
So, don’t pass on the chance to highlight opportunities for change, but be ultra-respectful in your approach. Use a “seek to understand” mentality. If you ask questions or ponder something with him, he may have the “a-hah!” moment and realize it was a bad idea.
Sometimes giving options can help, too. “I am not crazy about the gold-rimmed doilies, but I like the idea of having something appealing at each place setting. What if we did this, or this or this Instead?” Realize that you may not get heard and you may not like the final outcome. Be committed to making it a great event for your clients no matter what happens. They likely won’t see these decisions the way you do anyway.
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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