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advisor’s edge | October 2019 . Volume 22, Number 05 EDITOR’S NOTE Finding the courage to be a leader Industry research can make advisors feel vulnerable. Use that feeling as a call to action. You work in an industry rife with tech disruption, regulatory impediments, intense competition and com- plex products. Meeting these challenges requires various skills, but the most important one is arguably leadership. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, asked various C-suite leaders what was needed for success in a complex world with intractable challenges and an insatiable demand for innovation. The response across the board: braver leaders and more cour- ageous cultures. In her book Dare to Lead, Brown defines a leader as anyone who recognizes the potential in ideas and people, Michelle Schriver is assistant editor at Advisor’s Edge. Reach her at michelle. schriver@tc.tc or on Twitter, @copyeditcat. New owner for Advisor’s Edge Last month, Newcom Media Inc. purchased Advisor’s Edge and our sister publications from Transcontinental Media. We’ll be moving offices in the spring, joining our new colleagues at the various business-to-business publications operated by our new owner. Other than that, nothing has changed. We’re committed to producing the same high-quality financial journalism to which you’re accustomed, and we’re happy to do so within a family-owned publishing company that shares our focus on serving readers. — Mark Burgess, managing editor, Advisor’s Edge and has the courage to develop that potential. In the advisory world, a leader could thus be described as any advisor who embraces ideas that are based in evidence and courageously incorporates them into their advice, with resulting positive client outcomes. Unfortunately, such leaders are few and far between. In STANDUP to the Financial Services Industry: A Practical Guide for Canadians, John De Goey, a portfolio manager at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth in Toronto, warns clients about advisors who don’t use evi- dence to inform their practices. Advisor bias and misguided beliefs persist, resulting in poor advice with potentially dire client consequences. Examples of bias include advisors’ tendency to favour costly, actively managed funds for both clients and themselves despite poor returns. Mis- guided beliefs include past performance being a reliable metric for fund selection (it’s not) and the irrelevance of costs (they’re relevant). Advisors who recognize their biases and misbeliefs, and want to incorporate established research into their advice, face a difficult path. Speaking the truth can be bad for your career, De Goey writes. Advisors must “avoid run-ins with regulators, product suppliers and employers. If those folks have a certain viewpoint, it’s likely just easier to go about your business by not saying anything that contradicts it.” In other words, it’s easier not to let yourself be vulnerable. In her book, Brown recalls telling a group of U.K. bankers, many of whom had tried to stand up for certain values, that no single act at work requires more vulner- ability than holding people to ethical standards. “People will put you down, question your intentions, hate you and sometimes discredit you in the process of protecting themselves,” she writes. Vulnerability, she says, is having the courage to show up when you can’t control the outcome and not walking away from situations that make you feel uncertain or exposed. That means being open to learning when con- fronted with challenging information. Being vulnerable can help advisors understand where they add value, instead of hustling for their worth. When we don’t understand our value, “we often exaggerate our importance in ways that are not helpful,” Brown says. “We put more value on being right than on getting it right.” For advisors ready to get it right, De Goey’s book offers seven steps for implementation, including embra- cing empirical evidence, standing up to detractors and making amends to clients for poor advice. For advisors not ready for the career risks that may come with rocking the boat, a willingness to sit with vulnerability as you assess De Goey’s assertions is a commendable first step. AE 6 OCTOBER 2019