Every person has a superpower! The tricky thing is that until you identify your superpower, and how to apply it, it’s unusable. 

Women have superpowers that translate exceptionally well for financial advisors. In fact, 30% of CFPs believe women are more likely than men to have what it takes to be a great wealth planner. Harnessing our inner superwoman doesn’t happen overnight. Yet daily work can lead to distractions which ultimately make us miss out on discovering what our special power is. 

As a female CFP myself, here’s a  piece of advice: focus on these five main areas and you will organically start drawing out the power you have as a female advisor. 

1. Self-Awareness

Be aware of yourself. You have strengths (which are not necessarily the same as your superpowers), weaknesses, inclinations, and intuitions that are unique to you. While each of these aspects is part of your singularity, they cannot be harnessed unless you actually know what they are. 

There are two main exercises I have found helpful when trying to raise my self-awareness. First, start by listing out your top strengths and weaknesses. Second, ask your close friends, family, and colleagues this same question. 

Then, based on the results you get, choose your top three strengths and one weakness. Once you have clarity on these, you can start thinking about what qualities would complement you and what types of clients would benefit most from you. For me, my top strengths are positivity, efficiency, and empathy. My weakness is indecisiveness. With that in mind, I know I am great at working with people who are empathetic and results-oriented. Plus, being aware of this enables me to lean into my strengths to navigate situations where my weakness may appear. 

2. Customization AND Consistency

The golden rule is: be great at what you do. After all, as a woman in the personal finance industry, you might face some unique challenges. Oftentimes, clients and peers will be paying special attention to how you do things, so put in the work to be outstanding and earn the trust that you deserve. 

Part of doing so is finding the right balance between personalization and consistency. Each client deserves an experience tailored to their unique needs and wants. At the same time, they deserve to have an experience equally exceptional as the other clients you work with. 

Meetings should not be so customized that they aren’t repeatable. You need a consistent process to deliver value to clients. For example, going to Disney World will be a unique experience for each person, but the structure and organization on the front end ensure each person has the potential to have this enjoyment. Exceptional experiences are created and escalated through consistency. 

3. Intentionality

Growth and power are not automatic, and they do not happen by chance. Attention and intentionality are necessities for progress. Think about growing your practice: while it is true that prospective clients are requesting more female advisors, you cannot just wish more clients into existence. Scaling your business growth takes effort, planning, and lots of communication with prospects, clients, and centers of influence. 

Being intentional when planning out what you want for yourself, your business and your clients is crucial. Create a game plan on what growth and success look like to you and then start executing that plan with intent.

4. The Good Kind Of Pain

Sometimes you learn the most from difficult clients. “Growing pains” are different from “destruction pains.” When the pain isn’t worth the gain, it’s time to pivot. However, it will be great for your growth as a person and professional if you start understanding the value of discomfort. This doesn’t mean that you should set up camp and live in the pain indefinitely. 

You always need to assess if the “growing pain” is making you lean into new skills and opportunities or if you need to lean out of unnecessary grinding to reprioritize. Careers are not simple, linear, or even painless… but women are tough, harness this power! 

5. Your Right Fit

Find the right place for you. Just like everything else in life, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to where you will feel comfortable and successful. At Zoe, as well as in the overall wealth management industry, female financial advisors are in high demand and there are multiple environments available to set yourself up for success. 

Explore alternatives and find the place where you feel comfortable being who you are and doing your thing, your way. This means finding the right company to work for, while also choosing the right clients and partners to work with. 

How It All Adds Up: Being a Financial Advisor Superwoman

While female wealth advisors are still a minority, we possess a great amount of the superpowers necessary for creating exceptional client experiences. Understanding our unique powers will allow us to be intentional about how we use this with clients and colleagues. Consistently put yourself in an environment where you feel you can be successful and comfortable. 

Doing so isn’t easy, yet it allows you to grow in your professional and personal life. Overall, always keep in mind that settling is not an option. There are too many skills to be utilized, powers to be harnessed, and impacts to make, to settle for anything less than being Superwoman.