TD Ameritrade advisors got a double dose of leadership inspiration Tuesday at the firm’s Elite LINC conference in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
 
The invitation-only event for the firm’s top advisors, held at the seaside Ritz-Carlton resort, opened Tuesday afternoon with new TD Ameritrade president Tim Hockey and former NFL great Peyton Manning delivering lessons on leadership.
 
“Your leadership principles should remain clear and constant,” said Hockey, who became president of TD Ameritrade in January and will take over for retiring chief executive Fred Tomczyk in October.
 
“As stewards of your own organizations, do your people and clients clearly understand what you stand for?” Hockey asked.
 
Hockey offered up the top eight leadership principles he follows, counting down David Letterman style:
 
No. 8: "They don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care." In other words, it’s about knowing your people. Earlier in his career at TD Bank, Hockey studied leadership books, but Tomczyk told him to read biographies instead.
 
“That was the best piece of advice I ever got,” Hockey said about learning from history’s great generals, presidents and other world figures about how they overcame challenges and dealt with people.
 
No. 7: “Do things only you are uniquely qualified to do” and turn the rest over to associates. “If you don’t delegate, you don’t give your team a chance to learn.”
 
No. 6: “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” Hockey credits Peter Drucker for that dictum. Leaders need to take time to “understand deeply” an organization’s history and culture, he said, and understand what not to change.
 
No. 5: “Leaders rarely have the best ideas.” Encouraging employees to speak the truth “is the most valuable thing you can create” in a firm, he said. Bosses should “speak last and ask questions,” Hockey said.

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