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 read an article you wrote about doing a hypnosis session for an advisory client. I’ve never been hypnotized and it intrigued me. It raised a question – are financial advisors more stressed out than other professions?
On the one hand this is a career where one can make a lot of money and many days not work terribly hard. But there is a great deal of unpredictability (markets, clients leaving and the like), so it can be stressful. Does this job require more of a focus on wellness and keeping oneself in good shape in order to de-stress? Or is it a lot easier than most careers?
L.I.
Dear L.I.,
Yours is an interesting musing and a question that I have never been asked, nor have ever thought much about. Are you asking it because you feel stressed out? Or because you don’t experience much stress and are not sure if this is right or wrong? It is a great theoretical question, but dealing with human nature as much as I do, I’ve learned most questions have an underlying reason behind them.
I don’t think this career is more stressful than, for example, being an air traffic controller or heart surgeon. But it is more stressful than being a retail store manager or college professor (of course depending on the types of customers in your store, or the types of students in your classes!) It depends – stress is relative. There are too many variables and people deal with stress in many different ways.
Because of that, I know many stressed-out advisors and many who are reasonably low-key about their career. Neither is more successful than another; it’s just how they play out the stress.
For those who find this to be a stressful career, or who are experiencing stress, here are a few tips to work your way to a state of less stress and greater wellness. I’m not going to give the standard advice about getting rest, exercise, doing meditation, etc. (all good things, by the way). I’m going to point out the things I see advisors do in their practices and their firms that cause them the greatest amounts of stress and how to correct them:
- Focus on communication! This is an overlooked area that can cause a great deal of stress in an advisory firm. Does your firm have ground rules? Do people believe they can raise conflicting or dissenting opinions? Does the leader understand their own style? Do others understand the style of the leader? I do a lot of work using the DISC tool as a main resource and it can clear it up so much confusion and streamline efforts minimizing stress and confusion.
- Define your culture. Many times an advisory firm’s employees have stress because they aren’t sure how they are being measured, what’s valued and what’s not. Having a clear vision, mission and set of cultural values that align with each other tells everyone what’s important and ensures team members are working together instead of against one another.
- Share progress or lack thereof. The leaders/partners may have goals for the year in terms of new AUM, client referrals, fee revenue and the like. But does everyone know those goals? Are the wins communicated and the obstacles discussed? Stress arises when employees wonder whether the firm is doing well or on target. Share this information and update your team on a regular basis.
- Define clear roles and responsibilities and measure people appropriately. When someone is confused about what they are supposed to be doing and how it might interact with other roles, this leads to stress and upset. Most people want to contribute and want to do well. But they need to know exactly what this looks like. Be clear and specific and give feedback on what’s working and what’s not.
There are many business decisions you can make that will alleviate stress Stress often stems from the unknown, or from having too much to do and not enough time to do it. Remove as many of the unknowns as you can and let people know what they should be doing and how they are contributing.
Dear Bev,
I don’t think you will dare any this question, but what do you do when the person who runs your advisory firm, the president and CEO, is unstable. This woman rants in meetings, calls people names in front of other people, makes fun of vendors we have in for demos and proposals and generally runs through our office looking for trouble.
At first I thought she was just angry but now I am worried she is nuts. We have a turnover rate of 70% - meaning that only 30% of us have lasted more than 18 months here. If you dare say to her people might be leaving because of the (abusive) work environment, she will put you on her sh*t list and refuse to speak to you for weeks – or worse she might call you out in a meeting in front of your peers and berate and embarrass you.
I’m not making this up – it is scary.
Sometimes she gets so red in the face and screams so loudly it is as if an alien force has taken over her body. Besides leave, as 70% of our 19-person team has done, what do we do? I like my job, enjoy working with my clients and think we have a great investment process. And, years ago, when I was on her good side, she gave me a portion of ownership that locks me in. Can I get through? Do I bring in a psychiatrist or a medium to try and help her?
T.S.
Dear T.S.,
If you have been reading my column for any length of time you already know my answer. You are not going to be able to do much.
This is not an uncommon experience. I once had a boss who threw his telephone at my head (and that of other team members) if he didn’t like what we had to say sitting in his office. I had another one who told me it was his goal to make me cry in public. Another one relished getting up on his desk in the middle of the office and picking out someone to swear at and embarrass. Believe me when I say I understand the environment you are experiencing.
But she owns the place. She is president and CEO. She is calling the shots. You can certainly try to take her aside or out to coffee and ask her if she realizes how her behavior is affecting everyone. But you can’t make her stop. I’m not a defeatist, but I am a realist, and I have learned that when someone is in the highest chair they can get away with a lot. They will pay a price for it (in this case the 70% turnover in 18 months), but they won’t connect their behavior. I often recommend someone, like yourself, who is in your position look for another advisory role – not to definitely jump ship but to remember that there is a world outside of your advisory firm and there are other opportunities. Separate yourself from the firm and the office – have breakfast or lunch with friends, get to the gym, spend extra time with your family. For sanity purposes, make sure you keep the outsider/insider view and remember she is just a person. She can only hurt you if you let her so choose to strengthen your resolve. Don’t let her get to you. It is hard to do this but very fulfilling once you master it!
By the way, I practice what I preach – I never, ever let that boss move me to tears and he tried everything in the book to do so. I just kept remembering it was his problem to act like that, not mine. That kept my perspective and focus on my job.
Good luck to you – I do know how hard it is.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. The firm also founded and manages the Advisors Sales Academy. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Entrepreneurship. 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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