Chris Davies, of Wealth Professional, caught up with Kristen Zubko, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones, to discuss finding a sense of communal purpose in the financial services industry
This article was produced in partnership with Edward Jones
Financial services is a competitive industry, sure – but sometimes there are issues that create a sense of consensus rather than contest.
Among these? The need for greater gender equity and empowerment of future female leaders.
It’s a sector-wide purpose the whole industry can agree on – in particular Edward Jones, from whom a number of speakers will be sharing their thoughts at the upcoming Women in Wealth event on December 7.
Among them will be Kristen Zubko, Financial Advisor at Edward Jones, who insists that, while the pandemic had a regressive effect on gender equity, the industry can soon steer things in the right direction again.
It’s a topic she’s highly versed in, what with her membership of Everyday Heroes, a local female entrepreneur group.
“Different people from different industries – perhaps even competitors – can come together for the betterment of the community,” Zubko says. “That's always been positive. We all have our own experiences, we all have different corporations that we work for who have their different ways of doing things. The more ideas that we have, the better and stronger our communities will be.”
As vital as gender equity is, however, industry-wide agendas must also spread into other areas of diversity.
“If we're talking about empowerment or support,” she reflects, “I don't think that we have to necessarily just keep it to support of women specifically. It should be [support] of everybody.”
“If we have diversity of thought, we're not all just thinking and doing the same things. We can look for our blind spots that a homogenous group might not necessarily think of.”
As for those blind spots in question? They could be costing you business.
While diversity is indeed mainly a people-focused endeavour, it’s important to remember: people themselves are the ones who drive this industry forward. Profits don’t come without a human touch.
We shouldn’t just be celebrating our differences in the financial services industry, then. We should be actively using them.
“At Edward Jones,” Zubko goes on, “we often hear from our clients that people want to deal with people that look like them or have similar experiences. Having a diverse staff is obviously going to attract people who don't necessarily look or sound like me - and that's okay. We're here to provide advice to serious long-term investors, and they want different people to deliver that message to them.”
Change like this can, of course, come from many directions.
Individual employees can make it part of their daily purpose – but it’s also vital that organizations throughout the industry take a top-down approach and lead by example.
Among the ways this can be achieved, Zubko explains, is with the power of mentorship – something that can allow organizations to “hire the person, not just the experience”.
“When I was going through the interview process [at Edward Jones], I didn't have financial industry experience, but I felt like it really came through how passionate I was,” she remembers. “I met one of my mentors at Edward Jones … and we're completely different in a lot of ways. But I've called him with issues that are very ultra-specific to me or my background – possibly even my gender – and he's validated that and said that's important.”
While Edward Jones certainly seems to be ahead of the curve when it comes to support and diversity – Zubko is also quick to praise their “horizontal leadership” in which employees are directly listened to and “never taken for granted” – the industry still needs to work together to ensure that the future gets brighter and brighter.
So – as we’re slowly emerging from the pandemic into the ‘real world’ again, what advice would Zubko give to conference-goers looking to share their progressive purpose with others?
“Invite people to the table,” she says. “If you’re at a conference, and you notice somebody who's a little bit hesitant, or new, or has quieter demeanor … just literally ask them to join you at the table.”
“That's important literally, but also figuratively. Some people might feel like they don't have all the qualifications that they need to join a team or put their hand up for a promotion. And we need to be mindful of that and ask those people to join us. We’re going to learn from them because we’re broadening our experiences.”
Kristen Zubko joined Edward Jones as a financial advisor in 2016. She also recently served as a Board Member and Vice-President of the Yorkton Chamber and is a member of the local female entrepreneur group Everyday Heroes.
