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 Readers,
I am often asked about how best to turn managers into leaders. It is hard because most are not trained to be leaders. Many great educational programs focus on technical skills, but disregard the soft skills needed to make best use of those technical skills. Thankfully, this is changing in many programs, but for in this week’s column, I offer some thoughts you can use to assess your own leadership skills and approach, and inform your current and future leaders.
What do the best leaders do to gain the trust and respect of their followers? They master these seven key skills:
- A balance off humility and ego. It’s important for leaders to be confident and show that they know what they are doing and excite their team with their confidence. However, the best leaders balance ego with a healthy dose of humility: They self-reflect, they take corrective feedback even from those who are levels below them and they seek ways to grow and change.
- Mentoring beyond just “do as I do.” Successful people get where they are because they do many things right and have a set of talents and style. Unfortunately, when leading, it’s not realistic to expect everyone else around you to do it the same way you did it. Strong leaders recognize style differences – just because you are an assertive and results-oriented person doesn’t mean the person working for you with a calmer, more thoughtful style can’t be just as effective in their own way. Being able to mentor, and to shift style while doing it, is the mark of a talented leader. It takes effort and focus and it’s a lot more work, but the payoff is much greater.
- Listening as strongly as giving guidance. The adage “seek to understand before you seek to be understood,” which Stephen Covey eloquently articulated, fits here. Leaders should teach, guide and train their constituents, but the best leaders listen and learn first, then guide second. Listening takes patience and strength, so a leader can’t be running so quickly that they miss out on the important nuggets they can glean by listening.
4. The best ideas may not be yours. Leaders need to have the vision and strategy to accomplish the vision. The team looks to the leader for encouragement and enthusiasm, but the leader doesn’t have to know it all. A good leader paints a picture of where the team should go, and then lets others on the team create pathways and avenues to get there. A good leader stays open and recognizes that his or her gift can be in leveraging the ideas of others, not in giving away all of the answers all of the time.
5. People want to be led. While good leaders should listen, take others’ ideas into account, and be interested in hearing what their team has to say, most employees want a strong leader they can be excited about following. Communicating a clear and effective vision, showing the team where they fit in the overall picture, and helping them to be the best they can be in order to contribute, are among the most important and fulfilling aspects of leadership.
6. Trust is earned. In the past common wisdom said that the person in authority is right and in charge, but the times, they are a-changin’. Now, trust is developed over time, and employees are skeptical of those in charge until they can see the leader has their best interests at heart. Recognize that they might not trust you, or want to follow you, until you give them a reason to do so. Do what you say you will, and communicate when you make a mistake. Put a priority on earning trust over time.
7. Give credit to the team. Strong leaders don’t hog the spotlight. They aren’t the ones taking the accolades all of the time. In fact, a good leader wants their team to succeed and wants others to get credit for their great ideas and accomplishments. Know that when your team does well, you do too, and enjoy the glow that comes from celebrating the work of others.
Being a consistently strong leader takes time, energy and focus. Be willing to invest all three to be the best leader you can possibly be.
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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