Veteran advisor shares how he came to value nurturing the next generation of talent, and how it's bearing fruit
Thane Stenner began his long multi-decade career as a financial advisor under the mentorship of his father, a 50-year veteran of the industry who introduced him to the rarefied world of wealth through kitchen-table conversations. But when it came time for him to foster the talent in his own practice, he didn’t take to the idea right away.
“Historically, to be honest, I haven't actually really enjoyed mentoring,” Stenner, who leads an award-winning team of wealth specialists at Stenner Wealth Partners+, told Wealth Professional in a video interview. “I found that I've gotten so busy, focused on clients at times that I've actually neglected some of the mentoring.”
For an independent advisor who takes pride in his work and business, stepping back and working on the business and its people can be a tough transition. But over the last decade, Stenner says he’s learned that mentoring not only has to be done, but is also crucial to help his team accomplish their goals and objectives.
“Mentoring my team and growing my team and developing a culture that is high performance for clients is constant,” Stenner says. “We've engaged with two top performance coaches from the US in the last few months, for example, to help everybody take their performance to another level on behalf of clients.”
Those efforts are bearing fruit early on, he says. Learning best practices on a global basis seems to have infused new energy into the members of his team. It’s also been a learning experience for Stenner, who says bringing on really seasoned performance coaches is helping him enjoy the mentorship experience.
“You're only as strong as your weakest link on your team,” he says. “Having the team energized by getting various mentors actually speaking into their lives, I think, is a winning formula from my point of view.”
To see Wealth Professional’s full video interview with Thane Stenner, click here.
