Higher Calling - To Serve
This is Part 1 of "Higher Calling - To Serve and Protect" blogs. Click here to read Part 2, "Higher Calling - To Protect".
“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.”
Servant Leadership
Robert Greenleaf popularized the term and concept of servant leadership. After a long career at AT&T, he spent the remainder of his life teaching and training organizations in servant leadership. Today, the Center for Servant Leadership and many consultants continue his efforts on a much larger scale.
I had the opportunity to speak at their national conference a few years ago, and was encouraged by the number of companies from around the globe seeking to develop servant leadership skills and cultures. There were public institutions from police forces to universities. There were a variety of private and public companies representing manufacturing, distribution, technology, and banking. I don’t recall many investment-related firms being present.
It would do well for our industry - financial and wealth management - to study servant leadership and apply these important concepts and principles to our practices. Clients need to be served first, particularly as we are invited into a relationship built on trust.
How Does Servant Leadership apply in Our Industry?
It starts with taking a client-first approach to all you do. Whether you are a fiduciary by law or by practice, clients’ interests should be put first. This is what most expect and assume. This can mean the loss of revenue at times – bypassing commissions, perhaps, to guide clients to what is more appropriate. Or, it may mean managing internal conflicts as you steer clients away from proprietary funds, when there are cheaper/better options elsewhere. As Robert Greenleaf wrote, servant leadership “begins with a natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first, as opposed to, wanting power, influence, fame, or wealth.” What a great way to approach the wealth management business!
It also means meeting them where their needs are and being available during times of critical decisions to provide wise counsel. We have been invited to serve clients in many ways not laid out in our general “business plan” or standard service offerings (e.g. business philanthropic advising, family meetings, divorce mediation), yet these are areas where clients needed quality, unbiased counsel. These sessions take time, yet this is the opportunity to go deeper and add more value.
These services aren’t about increasing assets under management or selling a product. They are about servant leadership and building a trusted relationship.
Lastly, servant leadership can mean passing up business opportunities and revenue when there is a better alternative for the client.
Do you refer clients to other firms when you are not the best fit?
Do you encourage clients to keep their 401k or pension because costs are lower, or investment options are better, than if you managed?
Have you ever counseled clients to pay off debt (e.g. house, vacation home, car) using assets under your management?
Do you encourage your clients to take part in philanthropic endeavors? To give away the assets you manage?
Do you present clients with all their options and disclose full costs including any commissions so they can make more informed decisions?
The Best Test
A firm focused on serving clients first would. Robert Greenleaf gave us a test (he called it the Best Test) for servant-leaders and servant-led organizations. I think we can apply this to most of our client situations too:
Do those served (our clients) grow as persons?
Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?
And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?
You can do this for clients by helping them develop a deeper understanding of money and wealth. And, that true wealth is more than money. It includes family relationships, community service, philanthropic impact, and legacy. Certainly, a more meaningful opportunity than just building a book of business.
Wherever the fiduciary laws may land, we always have a choice. I believe our industry would benefit greatly from choosing a higher calling – to serve first. Servant leadership provides some great principles that can improve your firm's culture and your clients’ lives. And, I know for me, it makes my life and work feel more meaningful and rewarding.
Our next blog focuses on protecting clients from poor decision-making.
Serving and Protecting: a great way to add ongoing value to clients!
