Why Advisors Crave a Bolder Vision

Taking big swings often lead to big misses. Most high achievers can recite the details of their epic fails.

• You promoted a big group with a popular pied piper that led to a miserably small number and had to cover all the costs.

• You attempted a sure-fire collaboration that had you doing 90% of the work, with little or no return.

• You recruited a “million-dollar” advisor who brought with them a world of customer service issues, and half the volume they promised.

  
  

When we play big, we fail even bigger. Yet there is one thing that lasts even longer than the lessons learned from failure.

That is the example you set for your team in trying. Your advisors actually crave a bolder vision that carries both a small risk and a reward, just for being part of it.

We tend to learn from our failures and, over time, eventually we land the ship charter, or we collaborate with a luxury partner that brings in a steady stream of leads. As a leader, all eyes are on you for making it OK to fail and learn in order to win.

When you take big swings and you lead big, you win in many important ways, not the least of which is demonstrating what it takes to grow.

When you play small, you lead small. When you fail in small ways, it is easy to cover your tracks. You solve your mistakes, fix your own blunders, and cringe every time you have to re-do work in the name of perfection.

Playing small is directly related to perfection. You polish, fine-tune, and fix your way into the status quo. You make excuses for why trying something new is hard. Nothing ventured, nothing gained – and nothing new gets added to my busy load.

The idea of trying becomes a story we tell ourselves of “why not.”

Not trying is a solo sport. Trying, on the other hand, can only be achieved with the help of others.

Taking big swings means that the wins cannot be achieved by you alone. It means you need the contribution and buy-in from your team. Advisors crave being part of a bigger vision, as it helps them see a bigger future for themselves.

Playing a bigger game means the failures cannot be entirely covered by you. Your team is there to reduce the risk, and more importantly, share in the reward of being part of something much bigger than all of you.

Where are you playing small in your business? Where could you and your team take bigger swings together this year and what impact would that have on your overall engagement?