As advisors grow their practice, they hire more employees. But a burgeoning staff means more conflict can seep into the workplace.
XSome advisors have limited experience with managing people. They often discover it's not easy.
Part of the problem is that successful advisors oversee complex businesses. Aside from offering technical advice to clients, they must run internal operations smoothly, adhere to regulatory standards and adjudicate disputes among staff.
"A lot of it is the culture you create," said Scott Hammel, a Dallas-based certified financial planner. "How do you give grace to each other? How do you help everyone do their job?"
It's a challenge to spread kindness and forgive mistakes when people don't get along. Conflicts can erupt over petty differences, leading to acrimony, jealousy and lack of trust. Aggrieved support staff can spend more time pointing fingers than seeking conciliation.
Like all new managers, advisors learn that they should not strive to befriend all of their subordinates. Trying to be liked can backfire, especially when the time comes to make tough personnel decisions. Earning their respect is a more realistic goal.
Sometimes, unintended consequences can stymie an advisor's attempt to harmonize the team. In an effort to solve problems, the leader can accidentally make things worse.
In late 2018, Hammel added an associate advisor in part to lessen the workload of his client services specialist. But the situation did not improve.
"I thought it would take things off her plate," he said. "But she didn't know whether to go to the associate advisor or to me. She thought, 'Now I've got more work.' There was definitely tension at first."
Help Each Employee Prioritize What Matters Most
In any firm, personality clashes can erupt among employees. If their styles don't mesh, they might turn against each other and refuse to cooperate.
Hammel, who manages five employees, follows tips he learned from Michael Gerber's "The E Myth." The book encourages business owners to develop repeatable systems and help staffers focus on which processes matter most.
In Hammel's case, he worked with each of his employees to identify the three or four tasks they needed to prioritize. This clarified his expectations and reduced confusion in their roles.
"It gave them clear lanes of autonomy," he said. "Now they run with that. They're able to design their own workflows and make their own decisions" in pursuing their highest-priority activities.
Due to the pandemic, his team works remotely. To spur teamwork among far-flung staff, Hammel hosts a weekly virtual meeting in which he reviews each pending workflow item, assigns an employee to handle it and asks, "What do you need from anyone else to get this done?"
"It's not 'Why aren't you getting this done?' as much as what do you need to advance the open workflow so that you can complete it," he said. "It gets people working together better."
Train Staffers To Replace Bickering With Mindfulness
One of the main triggers for conflict involves the giving and receiving of feedback. Criticizing a colleague's actions or behavior can spark an argument. Workers might turn on each other if they think a peer is dishonest, lazy or unreliable.
To forestall such conflicts, advisors set up communication channels to offer constructive input on performance. Examples include adopting a "radical candor" approach (popularized by author Kim Scott) and administering 360-degree feedback so that everyone gets a detailed evaluation from other team members.
Jon Jones favors a training program that his firm developed for his roughly 200 employees. To create a harmonious workplace, he says it's crucial to hold staffers accountable for their performance while also providing psychological safety so that they feel secure enough to accept frank feedback without flinching.
"Through our program, we give feedback all the time using a common vernacular," said Jones, chief executive of Brighton Jones, a Seattle-based wealth management firm. "We develop mindfulness skills and focus on candor, curiosity and taking responsibility for your actions" without trying to assign blame.
If employees bicker, Jones will encourage them to talk it out while managing their emotions and addressing their conflict with clarity and compassion. They learn to share their perceptions ("I feel like…") and avoid accusatory phrases ("You never listen…").
"I might role-play with one of them so that they're ready to talk to (the other employee) with the right mindset," he said. By fostering a supportive, nonthreatening environment, he lays the groundwork for more open, honest conversations.
Advisors also need to avoid taking sides in disputes. Rather than play judge and jury, they're more apt to restore peace by guiding employees to resolve their differences on their own.
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