Improved coaching from advisors also can go a long way toward improving the skill sets of younger team members. Yet the desire for coaching versus the quality of coaching provided is where we discovered some concerning gaps.
As we reported in What Next Gen Advisors Need to Succeed, younger advisors want coaching and 88% believe it should come from their lead advisors. Yet, fewer lead advisors — 77% — say the same. In addition, those that are being coached typically receive less than they’d like. And there’s some space between how effective team leaders believe their coaching is versus the reality.
Bridging The Future
You can’t simply model the behavior you want to see. When it comes to growing the next gen of advisors — including those who may be able to take the helm of your firm and ensure its continued success — you need to take an active role in developing their skills.
To provide improved coaching, lead advisors can:
• Make coaching a priority. Provide your next gen advisors with regular and expected feedback. While offering tips and advice in a casual manner is fine, make sure that you also schedule postmortems after important client meetings or the completion of significant projects. Give your younger advisors detailed feedback on what they did well and where they need to improve.
• Find ways to fill the gaps. You may not be able to provide all the training and expertise that your younger advisors want or need. Check in with next gen team members often about whether they have the tools they require to be successful and find creative ways to provide them, if you can’t yourself. That could include introducing next gen advisors to others in the firm who have specific expertise in topics of interest, or scheduling educational lunch meetings with outside subject matter experts.
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About
 BreakthroughGrowth
Breakthrough Growth, LLC is a joint venture between The Collaborative and Purpose Consulting Group. Established by two industry veterans to meet the need for effective hands-on resources to accelerate productivity of the next generation of advisors and their leaders.
Christine Gaze is president of Purpose Consulting Group, a practice management consulting firm that works with financial services leaders to develop strategies and thought leadership programs that engage and advance financial advisors. In the last 20 years, she has held a variety of leadership roles in practice management and human capital at firms such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, AllianceBernstein and TD Ameritrade. She is a frequent speaker, avid researcher, and writer.
Beverly D. Flaxington (The Human Behavior Coach™) has spent more than 25 years in the investment industry as a sales and marketing expert, corporate consultant, college professor and Gold-award winning author She has been quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com and USA Today. Her latest bestselling book is titled Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets to Human Behavior.
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