From the time we were preteens, we’ve been asked to spend time getting to know our peers. Our parents and teachers would put us in group settings because the pack has more to teach one another. The power of the collective knowledge and skill outweighs many other strong suited, tribal groups. It makes sense that in modern living we reach out to our peers because their relationship to us has value. Back in the day, our peers would do things like mentor us or hold study groups so that none of us failed the final exam. As a professional, a financial advisor group can serve your development.
There is power in the thick of a tribe, and when a group of individuals forms a collective, beautiful work can be fulfilled. This work benefits more than just those individuals.
It will help the folks that they go on to work with and spread their wealth of knowledge for the rest of their lives.
When we build community together, whether, in our career or individual human experiences, we find peace in commonality.
The better we feel about the work we’re doing, the better work we do.
The Misunderstood
So many people remain misinformed about what a financial advisor really does.
You can be painted as a business professional who is only interested in your personal gain. You can be described as something that people don’t need because they can do it themselves.
But many people fail to recognize the incredible value working with someone like you, a financial advisor, can grant them.
And in your heart, you know that to be true. You spend your time and living looking for strategies to help people eradicate economic peril in corners that have been filled with cobwebs for decades.
You guide people to investment opportunities that would benefit them throughout the course of their life.
You sit down with them and go through the nitty-gritty of their anxieties, stressors, and worst nightmares. The structure that you collaborate on with your client comes from a place of education and life experience.
Imagine what it looks like to sit at the table with a bunch of versions of you. A room is full of professionals who have the same purpose and are interested in progressing the human experience to become financially secure, stable, and resilient.
When we operate as a community, we find solutions lying right in front of us, everywhere we turn. Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective from a colleague to start a domino effect.
Shared Wisdom
You’re thinking that you’re intelligent.
While that is likely true if you are in this field, it doesn’t mean that the collective wealth of knowledge from your peers can’t benefit you.
The wisdom of the collective is far mightier than what the individual thinks they know to be true. Your understanding of the way this industry functions has unprecedented value. That combined with your personal experience makes for a great launchpad.
There is nothing like sitting at the table with a bunch of professional, like-minded people who come from similar backgrounds. You sit together because you are interested in the same type of work.
A collaborative mind who shares their wealth of knowledge will see growth in their social life. They’ll honor their career development. Their professional life and their own fiscal experiences matter.
The trust and confidence formed during a collective conversation about meeting for work can’t be bought.
It’s a privilege to be a part of these incredible critical thinking skills, creative processing, and conflict resolution styles. They happen during peer group reflection. Opening a dialogue about the challenges, the positive experiences, and the will to keep getting better at what you all do can help every person at the table.
For example, maybe one of your fellow financial advisors is really struggling in their approach to a Social Security client.
They stumble through the initial conversation. They shut down when an ornery 80-year-old woman, short of walking them with her cane disagrees with the structure they’ve come up with.
And you, hypothetically having worked with someone just like her a month ago, can share your experience. What worked, what didn’t, and provide the necessary feedback for your coworker to excel thanks to your experience.
That is what peer groups and fostering community are all about.
Doors Long Closed Re-open
When peer groups get together to collaborate, incredible things can happen.
It could be that you’re five years into your role and you’re feeling stagnant in your practice.
The benefit of communal conversation is clear. Peer groups provide an outlet for individuals to connect reflect and suggest.
Bouncing solutions-focused ideas off of one another can do the brain well. All the while, you’re forming bonds of trust and confidence with your colleagues. The only other people who know how hard the work you’re doing really is.
This is a great time for self-expression, and to honor opening doors that we may have been closed for quite some time. Fellow alumni may want to reflect on what they really were able to take away from academia versus what this real-life role looks like.
And sometimes just knowing that you’re not alone in your experience is enough to foster authentic motivation and confidence to keep pushing forward and evolving.
Finding the right financial advisor group for you depends on your niche. If you’re interested in collaborating with other financial advisors from all sorts of specialized backgrounds, that could be a great networking opportunity to learn about the different fields and versions of your job.
It could be equally as interesting to dive into the niche you’re working in and hear how your peers navigate their own versions of dissonance and difficulty.
Regardless of the tone of your peer group, our human-ness comes through loud and clear. For some work-a-holics, this could be the only touchpoint they have through their week to reflect, slow down, and take a birds-eye view of their work.
It’s a chance to reframe tough situations, break old behavior patterns, and slide into a new era of forward-thinking.
A New Generation of Financial Advisor Group Thinkers
As the world shifts, financial advisor peer groups become the evolution of thinkers. New generations of financial advisors are collaborating to discuss how they can make their services more accessible, progressive and solutions focused.
In the modern era, a person-centered approach is becoming more and more valued. Gone are the days of “the customer is always right.” It is an honor to engage in constructive conversation with a colleague or client.
These types of conversations provide a path paved by visionary intellectuals who have the career experience necessary to change the industry.
It all begins by sitting down at the same table with vulnerability, tenacity, and a passion for serving folks through better habits. Financial advising is one of the most difficult roles to play in a person’s life.
An individual or family’s finances are loaded with context. There are great memories, bad ones, and old wounds that play a part in where their financial balance beam is settling.
Today, financial advisor peers have different methods for tackling perplexing mountains. At the round table, suggestions are shared, insights are surveyed and encouragement is bred.
When peer groups offer this level of communal thinking, it can encourage their professional autonomy. We want to be heard and validated by our professional support teams. From colleagues to supervision, all perspectives together create one powerful movement.
Some peer groups are intentional about the structure of each meeting. Perhaps beginning with a “high” and a “low” from their week. A little space for decompression and authenticity can bring the entire room together.
Finding answers in the experience of our peers is liberating because it shows us that we don’t have to weather the storm alone and that there’s always a solution at the end of the tunnel.
Take The Leap
If you’re contemplating joining your local financial advisor group, this is one of those dive on in types of moments. There’s no reason to live in an individual mindset when you’re navigating a career built on mutual practices.
There’s nothing to lose from a little collaboration. No one knows the game better than you and your peers, so why not invest in those relationships? You might be surprised at the information and camaraderie you’ll find in habitual brain massage.
If you want to learn more about how financial advisor peer groups serve this niche of professionals, connect with us. We’re happy to help guide you.
