How Can I Make a Suggestion Without Getting Shut Down?

I’m not the type of person who tries to tell everyone what they should do. I’m a quiet person. I originally went into banking in the back office but then found I liked helping people so moved to a front-facing role. But I’m quite comfortable taking a back seat. I see areas we could improve, and I want to make a difference.

Did I make the wrong move? Is it more prudent to stay with what is known and not try to enter another world? I see so many corollaries to what we are doing here with what I have done in the past.

T.K.

Dear T.K.,

It’s such a funny industry. We use the moniker of “financial services” to encompass everything related to finance. Yet if you don’t have experience or come from a particular aspect of the business, narrowly defined, you can’t possibly know any other area! I started my career in retail banking, went into leasing, then institutional sales, ran a team in a mutual fund company, then institutional product development and even spent time in interim management roles in a financial advisory firm and with a major custodian. There isn’t a ton of difference; it is the language, product focus and sometimes the technology or outside systems that differ. You are seeing the world accurately in one sense, but you may be delivering your ideas in a way that is turning off Tom.

There are many people who take offense when a new idea is raised because they think it means what they have been doing, or the way they have been doing it, is wrong. Defensiveness and a sense of “we’re doing just fine, thank you!” can arise. The new idea (even if a very good one) gets pushed to the side.

You may also inadvertently be giving ideas in a way that diminishes the work the firm has done to date. I find this a lot when new leadership takes over; there is a disregard for what’s had to happen to grow the firm and get it to where it is today. I understand Tom is senior to you, but try prefacing any comments with compliments about what is working and what you admire about the firm. Don’t be disingenuous. I am going to guess you see some things working really well, and these could be focused on in conversations as you recommend new ideas.

There is a stigma with retail banking versus the advisory profession. The concept of pushing checking accounts or fixed rate CDs is considered quite different from working with sophisticated investors who need everything from estate and tax planning to portfolio diversification. I am not saying retail banking is lesser, but there could be a stigma in Tom’s mind about your background and experience. With this in mind, go out of your way to illustrate the linkage for Tom and show him how the two aspects of financial services connect. I often refer to this as providing context; someone might hear what you are saying but not know exactly how it connects to something they care or are worried about.

Don’t leave; you have not made the wrong move. In the scheme of one’s career, four months is not very long, and you are still learning about them. They are still learning about you. Take more of a look-and-listen attitude to consider the culture and the needs and how you can deliver your ideas in a way that allows for more receptivity.

Dear Bev,

I work in a team environment in a larger firm. There are five of us who work closely together and have collaborated very well on behalf of our clients. Two of us are senior advisors; we have one junior advisor and two client-support administrators. We have a great value proposition and are focused on working with business owners and helping them sell their business, transition and then invest appropriately for their next moves. This includes finding interesting investments, using the money toward another new business or helping with retirement and estate planning. We have developed a process and a way of talking about what we do, and we have a great following by our clients. They send everyone they know who is thinking about transitioning their business to us. It has taken us 12 years to get it right and we are in a good place.

Our junior advisor has started pushing to transition much of our focus to the younger generation. These are the children of the business owners in some cases, or younger people still running their business or starting one. This advisor is 32-years old, and wants to work with clients who are closer to him in age (most of our clients are 55-75 years old). I understand the interest, but this would mean transitioning our website, changing our marketing material, and identifying new product and solutions to meet the needs.

I’m not adverse to considering another channel for our firm. But I am concerned with investing the time and money for this focus and finding out it doesn’t work, or – even worse – disrupts what we are doing and takes the focus off all we have built. Is there a middle ground? Is there a way to make him happy without major disruption? I can’t see options that are workable, but I don’t want to discourage new ideas.

L.G.

Dear L.G.,

What a wonderful opportunity you have the chance to offer your junior advisor. You can ask him to develop a business plan for this area of focus:

• How will he go about finding prospects to work with?
• How will their needs be different from the current client focus?
• How does he describe the ideal client profile for this initiative?
• What will it cost to create materials or updates to the website for this new endeavor?
• How will this focus disrupt/enhance/change what your firm is currently doing?
• What role will he play?
• What resources will he need from the rest of the team or the greater organization?

Don’t use this to dissuade him. But you can be much more supportive of this if you have a clear view o where he wants to go and his plans to get there. It is a great idea, but it sounds as if there is no substantive planning behind it. Just like I am sure you tell your business owners who are selling and transitioning, there isn’t much that goes smoothly without a clear plan! Explain this to your junior advisor. In addition to being able to see the plan, it’s a great discipline to instill in someone who is 32-years old. Wanting to do something, but then creating a specific plan of action and thinking through all of what needs to be addressed are two completely different things. Most people are good at seeing what could be, or what they want, but just as many lack the skills to carefully and artfully plan for how it will unfold!

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. The firm has won the Wealthbriefing WealthTech award for Best Training Solution for 2022 and 2023. Beverly is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate and graduate students Entrepreneurship and Leading Teams. She 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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