Optimize Your Results With Collaborative Planning

by Michael Searcy

A savvy businessperson will orchestrate their advisors making them collaborate with one another. Many advisors don't collaborate because their clients don't demand it.

What do Eileen Collins, John Elway, and President George W. Bush all have in common? These three people, from vastly different backgrounds in unrelated careers, all understand the value of collaboration and its role in increasing their effectiveness. Air Force colonel, and astronaut, Eileen Collins no doubt understands collaboration as the first woman to command a space shuttle mission. Now recognized as one of the finest all-around athletes to ever play football and one of its most successful quarterbacks, John Elway enjoyed a 16-year NFL career embracing collaboration as a part of everyday life. President Bush works collaboratively with an array of advisors in one of the most prestigious leadership roles in America.

Most people have collaborated at some point in their life or career. People do not hesitate to collaborate to raise money for their favorite charity. When running their business they demand collaboration between their various facilities, departments, and personnel. But many people fail to see the usefulness of collaboration when it comes to their advisors.

Have you ever felt like you were playing "advisor pinball", bounced around from advisor to advisor in search for a complete and accurate answer to a question or dilemma? For example, you ask two advisors for their insight and each of them gives you an answer that seems to contradict the other's response. While neither advisor is wrong, neither is completely correct. Aside from being time consuming and frustrating, this is also ineffective.

What if you could go to one advisor and ask for their insight, knowing that they would work collaboratively with your other advisors to find the best answer or solution, keeping everyone apprised so you don't have to spend your valuable time trying to communicate the responses, wishes and concerns of each advisor to the others involved? Sound like a dream? Actually, there are advisors that actively pursue collaborative opportunities to accomplish the best interest of their clients. In fact, there is a national organization with a local Chapter right here in Kansas City devoted to teaching professionals collaboration; Wealth Advisors Institute (www.The-WAI.com).

A savvy businessperson will orchestrate their advisors making them collaborate with one another. Many advisors don't collaborate because their clients don't demand it. When talking about collaboration with your advisors, consider the following steps:

• Schedule one appointment with all of your advisors simultaneously so that everyone is clear about your intentions. Yes, this may be expensive, but not as expensive as all of the money and time you waste bouncing between advisors.
• During the meeting discuss your desire for all of your advisors to set aside their differences (and ego's) so they can work in a collaborative fashion, keeping your best interest in mind.
• Appoint a "leader" to coordinate the team, report back to you, and oversee the implementation of your decision. Whom-ever you choose, make sure that they genuinely listen to your other advisors, maintain a collaborative approach, and have the knowledge and experience to be an effective team leader.
• Be sure each of your advisors has any authorizations they need prior to the end of the meeting to discuss your situation with one another and other appropriate outside resources.
• Make sure that each advisor has contact information for all of your other advisors. Eileen Collins, John Elway, President Bush and countless others experience unprecedented success due, in part, to their collaborative nature. Woodrow Wilson showed his collaborative mindset in the statement, "I not only use all of the brains I have, but all I can borrow." Be encouraged to begin requiring this same collaboration from your advisors. If you do, you will redeem your time, eliminate frust-ration, and develop a far more effective method for working with your advisory team.

Michael J. Searcy, ChFC, CFP® is President of Searcy Financial Services, Inc. a fee-based financial planning and wealth management firm. He may be reached at 913.814.3800 or at mike@searcyfinancial.com.