Stewardship is the practice of ethical and prudent decision-making; it encompasses accountability and responsibility, as well as the behaviors we often associate with the subject of leadership. Note that in defining stewardship we are able to retain the essence of fiduciary responsibility without stopping at the bare minimum of rules and regulations.
If the essence of a fiduciary standard is diminished through regulatory devices, such as disclosures, how will serious-minded men and women in the financial services industry be able to differentiate themselves? Perhaps the answer is in defining a new hybrid term-the "fiduciary-steward." This could be a continuum aligning prudent decision-making with accountability and responsibility, and it could define a relationship based on credibility, trust, loyalty and integrity.
Donald B. Trone, GFS, is the founder and CEO/Chief Ethos Officer of 3ethos, and serves as a facilitator (instructor) for Academy Leadership, which provides executive leadership training and coaching. Trone was the founder and president of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies, and is the former director of the Institute for Leadership at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.