A few weeks’ ago I was at a function about the Asian investment markets, when one of the speakers decided to veer off into a discourse on career advice for some of the younger people in the crowd.

The presenter proceeded to illustrate the number of employees in his current organisation (140,000) followed by the statement (quoted verbatim):

“This means: You mean nothing!”

*Cue surprised faces*

Now, this gentleman was correct in his sentiment, that in large organisations, it is easy to be lost in the crowd. And the intent of his statement was certainly not to (I hope) scare anyone, but to share his advice with some the audience that in order to make a difference, they would have to do something different to stand out from the pack.

But because of the negative angle he used, instead of passing a good message along, the only result he achieved, from looking at the stunned faces in the room, was to make the audience focus on the delivery of the message, and not the lesson behind the message itself.

And this example illustrates how difficult it can be, and how important it is, to strike the right tone in your own messages if you wish to affect meaningful change and action from your staff.

I liken it very much to the highly charged tension that exists in the industry around fee-for-service. While I strongly believe that the long term will show it to be a very positive change for the industry as it moves to a profession; if we look at how that change has been communicated to date, we can see that there has been a significant amount of negativity to it. For example:

• A punitive punishment on the industry because of collapses like Storm, MIS, Opes Prime, etc.;
• The professionalism debate which has invited very much an “Us vs Them” mentality;
• The industry funds vs retail funds vs financial planners debate;
• And so forth.

Without dwelling on the history, the key lesson from this that we can apply to your business is that, if you want to get genuine buy-in from your team, then relying on negative messages, such as fear, will rarely achieve what you are looking for. Negative messages only result in people becoming defensive and questioning the message, rather than the significance behind it.

Therefore, as the new year gets closer and you start to prepare your team for the changes ahead, here are a couple of things to keep in mind to help engage your team in an effective and positive manner:

Paint a positive and realistic picture

Staff, like most people, can inherently sense BS. You don’t want to paint a negative picture, but you also don’t want to paint one that is too rosy or unbelievable. Keep it upbeat but realistic. Highlight the challenges ahead, but that they can also be overcome.

Have a plan for moving forward

Show your team the plan for how you will be tackling the challenges ahead and what part each of them will play. There is no greater buy-in for staff than knowing that their contribution makes a difference.

Highlight the end goal

Every change has its reasons and intended outcomes. It could be reducing effort for staff. It could be improved customer service. Whatever it is, it is vital that everyone involved understands “why we are doing this”.

Repeat, repeat, repeat

And don’t be afraid to repeat the message again, and again, and again. With the right message, if you repeat it long enough, people will start to 1) remember the message, and 2) believe in it. If it’s important enough to say, then it’s important enough for people to remember it.

In a services profession like financial planning, which is very people-dependent, managing change in the right way is crucial. The tips above should help make sure that you are on the front foot in engaging your team effectively and in a positive fashion.

Until next week,

Lap-Tin