Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Dear Bev,
My partner and I have worked together for a long time. We are polar opposites, but it is like a marriage. We can finish each other’s sentences, we know what we like and what drives us crazy about one another, and we respect each other deeply.
We want to name a third partner, one of our existing financial advisors. We have talked with her about the mechanics of ownership and from a quantitative perspective we are in alignment. But I read your article recently about an advisory firm dealing with someone who didn’t get their culture. We have that problem with her.
She complains about the fact that we are like a married couple. She thinks it diminishes the professionalism of our firm and that it paints us as old guys who are not terribly smart. I am relaying what she has said to us, not what I believe to be true. But I am starting to think if we want her to join as a partner we have to change and after 17 years of working together I don’t know if this is possible.
G.M.
Dear G.M.,
Has this potential partner worked with you for some time and observed this behavior but never said anything? You mention she is an “existing” advisor, so I assume she has been with you for some time. If your communication approach is troubling to her my first question is why hasn’t she brought this up to you before the partnership discussion? This is a good place to start the discussion in a non-combative, curious manner. Does she see the behavior as problematic only now that she will be working closely with both of you?
If the behavior you exhibit bothers her from a communication standpoint, have you asked her what communication she prefers? How does she like to communicate and be communicated to? What about the way you and your current partner interact is a problem? It sounds like you need to have a discussion on specifics to understand her view and needs and learn what the two of you want to consider doing differently.
Depending on how this conversation goes and what you learn about her style or her expectations once she becomes a third partner, you can then decide together whether it makes sense for her to join the two of you in this capacity.
Consider your motives for making her partner: Has she earned it by her performance? Is she going to be able to contribute to growth? Are you seeking diversity on the leadership team? Is she a risk to leave if you do not make her partner?
Examine why you are doing this and validate the importance (or not). If you have solid ground for taking this step, and it is an important strategic move for the firm, then you want to work hard to make this communication sharing possible in a comfortable way all around.
If you find, once you examine motives, you don’t have a solid ground for doing this and it could jeopardize the excellent working relationship you have with your current partner, reconsider if this is the right person and the right timing to make the change.
Dear Bev,
We have a very supportive culture at our firm in terms of work-life balance. Now that we are returning to the office, we are examining how much freedom we should give to our team members. No decision has been made, but one of our female advisors (and a very successful one) sent an email to the three partners saying that if she didn’t have ample time to continue to work from home once we return to the office in September she was going to consider other options.
I found this distasteful. We have told the team we are considering options and we have been overly generous in the past even when we were in the office. I know it is my reaction when I say that her note made me want to say, “Everyone else can work from home but not you.” I didn’t send this response yet, but I want to! Is there a better way to frame my response, especially since we haven’t fully decided?
Are most advisors insisting on a full return to the office?
L.S.
Dear L.S.,
To answer your last question first, it is all over the map. Some advisory firms are returning to the office full-time in September and many of those firms have started a slow migration back, say two to three days a week over the summer to get ready. I have a few clients who have said, “no return until 2022,” and a handful who have already returned fully and most people are going in every day. It is about the firm, their geographic location, their culture and what they have agreed to do with their team members. I am seeing most firms, just like yours, take the decision very seriously and give it thoughtful consideration before announcing a final answer to team members. In many cases, I have heard advisors are traveling into the office just for the purpose of meeting with clients who want the face-to-face interaction.
Before you send a response you might regret, consider that working mothers have had an extremely stressful time during COVID. Not everyone has, but it has been especially difficult for the primary caretakers of children to meet their needs all the while maintaining a high level of professionalism at work. I have had countless discussions on this topic with female advisors (and other staff) in our profession, as well as many outside of it. Your advisor might be stressed trying to figure out what she will do and, depending on the age of her children, she might be struggling to find adequate coverage for them.
Her approach could have been softened, but she might have sent it in an anxious state after thinking about what she will do if she is forced to return. Consider responding by saying something along these lines, “I can hear the stress in your response and understand the transition might be difficult. We are trying to take a number of things into consideration. I promise to keep the communication open and let you know as we decide.”
Then, you and your leaders will have to determine if you can offer her flexibility or whether that is not optional. She has put you on notice that there could be a consequence if you are unable to do so.
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 and graduate students Entrepreneurship and Leading Teams. 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.
Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here. 
