Supernova Advisor Teams

CHAPTER 14The Leader/Manager Role in Building and Coaching Teams

“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.”

—John C. Maxwell

It's our belief that managers are an undervalued resource; they're the unsung heroes – they move advisors toward a vision for success as well as helping them with their development. The manager leader must create the right environment in which teams can thrive. Without leadership, it's going to be very hard for teams to thrive. The right environment is created through building a culture that is sustainable. In other words, the leader must be fully engaged with the advisor teams.

We see the leader as your business strategist and coach. The manager as coach facilitates the building, creation, and leading of advisor teams. This is an individual who helps to promote collaboration among teams, both internally and across organizational silos. The leader is establishing a common vision among all the advisor teams in the market area of responsibility, and the vision is a unifying purpose among all the advisors. As a business strategist and coach, he or she meets with advisor teams at least on a quarterly basis and helps to shape business plans that meet the objectives of client, the advisor, and firm.

When you think about this role and how busy this individual is, it seems overwhelming. The leader must create an infrastructure in the office and build his or her internal team to be able ...