Building cohesiveness is not a one-time event however. You'll have to regenerate the feeling over and over again. In the fast-paced world of advisory services, it's all too easy to fall back into old ways of thinking. So you'll have to be constantly aware of how members of your team are faring, and be imaginative in devising ways for them to recommit to their shared goal of comprehensive and client-centered wealth management. One effective way to promote teamwork is to involve all of your specialists in strategic scenarios sessions, even though their expertise may not be needed in a given session, because it reinforces their importance to the team as a whole.
In The Driver's Seat
Keep in mind that as the team leader you have certain advantages. First, most advisors will see that within the context of wealth management, the team can get more business than members can get on their own. You're the one that put the team together, after all. The professionals on board already will have been vetted to some extent by the firm, clients, other experts who referred them, or by you-and if you're independent, they will have likewise examined you and your business to see if it's worth their while to work with you.
That means you'll have talked to them and their references, know they're capable of being team players and have established at the very least a working level of professional respect and trust beforehand. This spade work will make it that much easier to keep the group together and contributing.
Strategic Scenario Sessions
No matter what steps you take, some members of your team may not have the time or inclination to engage in the more touchy-feely aspects of team building-and that's not necessarily a strike against them, at the outset anyway. If they're so inclined, the best way to create cohesiveness is through the strategic scenario sessions that we've already mentioned, during which members of the team can brainstorm actual wealth management solutions based on an affluent client's specific financial situation. The issue on the table could involve a complicated business succession plan, a messy divorce, dissolving a trust or realigning a bond-heavy portfolio. No matter what the scenario, the act of bringing the team's combined knowledge to bear on the subject-and the respect shown for each advisor's expertise-will be binding when you convert those ideas into better serving the client and generating revenue.
During these sessions, it's important that there are no constraints on time or feedback. Specialists should be encouraged to offer an opinion or share an idea, even if it's still germinating. This is where your facilitative skills will come in handy. Constantly seeking feedback sets a valuable precedent for the give-and-take between experts, and it's also a sign of respect-you're making it clear to your team members that you, and the rest of the team, want to know what they think.
As anyone who's ever been on the receiving end can tell you, positive feedback from fellow professionals works wonders. And if you keep rewarding teamwork with public affirmation, you'll be communicating and reinforcing your client's interests as well as your business goals. Hannah Shaw Grove is managing director and chief marketing officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Russ Alan Prince is president of the consulting firm Prince & Associates.