The Advisor’s Studio is all about mindset, examining how successful advisors and other industry leaders approach work, life and the intersection of the two. These posts are more personal, more reflective and more about how we think than how we act. In the Advisor’s Studio this month is Rebecca Pomering, CEO of Moss Adams Wealth Advisors, a $2 billion RIA with 45 employees across nine offices.

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Lesson #1: Find a Way to Get Meaningful Feedback (About Yourself)

A focus on self-improvement is a given when we talk to successful people in any industry. Anyone reading this post has already demonstrated that you're looking for ideas to improve (and I can only hope you find a few here). Seeking out these ideas and writing about them is my way of doing the same. What sets successful people apart is the way in which they actively seek out upstream feedback as part of an on-going process of self-improvement. Rebecca shares how gathering feedback on her own performance is part of her DNA. More importantly, you’ll hear that this is an intentional process of looking for personal feedback, in the moment.

Lesson #2: Create a Vision For Your Own Legacy

Something happens when we have been in business for a while and achieved some level of success. We give ourselves permission to look forward, to think about what we want, rather than constantly focusing on the needs of others. We begin to think about our legacy. We begin to think about how we want to be remembered, focus on what is important and seek alignment between our personal and professional lives. Here’s the irony. When we finally allow ourselves to think about what we want,  we tend to think about others: our family, our clients or our team. The difference is that instead of feeling pulled in 100 directions and letting the agendas of others dictate how we spend our time, we take control. We begin to understand that if we focus on the activities that energize us and about which we are passionate, we can be more present and supportive for the people that matter in our lives. I asked Rebecca about how she thinks about her legacy.

Lesson #3: Create Alignment Between Personal Values and Culture

The more we think about our own legacy, values and priorities, the more it becomes apparent if there is a lack of alignment between our personal and professional lives. And let’s face, this is often the case. What is clear, when we talk to those who have achieved great success, is that the way they run their businesses -the cultures they create - is a reflection of their own personal values. If we operate in a way that is contrary to those values, failure is close behind. It’s not that you can’t run a good business, but it may never get to great and will almost certainly be less than fulfilling. I asked Rebecca how her personal values sync up with the culture she is helping to create at Moss Adams Wealth Advisors.

Lesson #4: Re-define Personal and Professional Balance

Like many successful people, Rebecca is not only the CEO of a growing firm but the mother of two young children. When you really get down to it, questions of balance and priorities are the tough questions we face. How do I focus on building the business while giving my family what they need? Can I find balance? How can I use this experience to teach my children about success in a way that makes hard work look appealing instead of like a compromise? I asked Rebecca how she deals with the challenges of family and work.

This conversation, like all of those I have with the people who are making a difference in this industry, reminds me that success demands humility, vulnerability, strength and vision in almost equal doses. Thank-you to Rebecca for taking part. If you are interested in learning more about her business and the team and tactics that have helped Moss Adams Wealth Advisors grow, you may want to consider subscribing to the Spotlight. It’s a complimentary program that goes behind the scenes of great advisory businesses. In this Spotlight you’ll hear from Rebecca as well as from Ken Evans, the firm’s COO, on everything they are doing to create and sustain a meaningful culture. You can register here.

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Thanks for stopping by,

Julie