The Secret Weapon of a Successful Advisor
DEAR ADVISORS,
A 1999 study done by Cornell psychologists identified a cognitive bias that causes people to be unable to recognize their own incompetence. In fact, the more incompetent we are, the more likely we are to overestimate our abilities! This lack of self-awareness can hinder us from building healthy relationships with our clients, effectively managing a team, and even achieving our personal life goals. Even though I’m juggling a lot at work, I regularly take time to grow in self-awareness because understanding myself is my secret weapon, and one of the best investments of my time for my family and the future of my business.
Self-Awareness - A study of the stock performance of 486 publicly traded companies found that companies with strong financial performance usually have employees with higher levels of self-awareness. Yet self-awareness seems to be in short supply among leaders. While women in management tend to exhibit more self-awareness than men in the same positions, the percentages show a huge opportunity for growth overall. Here are 3 indicators of self-awareness:
Humility - People with self-awareness grasp their limitations and know which strengths they need on their team to complement their own. They give other people the chance to be in the spotlight.
Confidence - Having self-awareness means being secure in your identity. Rather than covering up mistakes or hiding weaknesses, they already done the self-evaluation to come to grips with who they are and who they are not.
Honesty - Those who are self-aware do not try to make themselves sound better than they might be. They also, however, do not sell themselves short.
Arrogant Incompetence - Incompetent leaders result in anxious, alienated workers who practice counterproductive work behaviors and spread toxicity throughout the firm. Consider that the economic impact of avoiding a toxic worker is two times higher than that of hiring a star performer. We cannot rely on those in power to measure their own capabilities because people who are really bad at something rate their own skills as highly as people who are really good at something — mainly due to a lack of self-awareness. The good news is that science has found a way to combat this problem. Use this free quiz to see to what degree you may be an incompetent leader. Unfortunately, nobody is perfect, so learning your degree of incompetence puts you one step closer to becoming self-aware, which is the ultimate goal!
For more information on this topic, check out this article, “Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.” How do we become more self-aware? Several of my favorite methods include the Enneagram Personality Test, the Clifton Strengths Finder, and the Kolbe A Index. A career counselor, mentor, or therapist can help you see yourself more objectively as well. I’m also considering taking the Johnson O’Connor aptitude test this year, which is about $1,000. These are easy ways to secure the future of your family and your financial advisory firm.
Warm regards,
Brooklyn
P.S.
At Ellevate Advisors, we believe that advisors deserve to retire too. What does that look like for you, your family, and your business? Let’s figure it out together! Click here to schedule an initial phone call with our team today or get to know me on my bio here!