The Growth Mindset

Chapter 10Creating Outstanding Teams

“An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.”

—Stephen Covey

The future of an effective wealth management practice is not solely based on how good their strategy is, or how successful their asset allocation models are, or how advanced their technology is; it will be about attracting the right people who embrace teamwork. The ultimate competitive edge will be that firm, office, or team that makes teamwork part of the culture, vision, and strategy. It all starts with who is on the team, and if any member of the team prefers solo endeavors, it probably means the team is already at a disadvantage. My brother, who is also my best friend, loves to ride his Harley Davison. He logs about 20,000 miles a year. He likes to ride alone because he doesn't have to compromise. If you ride with a group, you need to ride at the speed of the slowest rider. You may need to stop more often when in a group. You need to come to an agreement on destination. Therefore, my brother would rather ride alone most of the time. He clearly is a free spirit who marches to his own drum. For him, being on a team would be like cutting off his oxygen. On the other hand, if he found a few riders who shared his values, destination, endurance, and so on, the team approach would work for him.

The bottom line is that some people don't have ...