Hightower unveiled its new Hightower Center for Leadership, an education and training program designed to empower the next generation of leaders in Hightower advisory businesses. The program – designed for soon-to-be partners, lead advisors, relationship managers, operational professionals, business managers and those involved with strategic decision-making – is focused on preparing wealth management leaders at a time when many practice founders are transitioning to retirement.
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“Preparing future business leaders is critical for client retention and continued growth. While many second-generation professionals may be highly skilled in client services, they often lack management and leadership experience,” said Hightower’s Chief Growth Officer Scott Holsopple. “The new Center for Leadership provides members of the Hightower community with the opportunity to gain intensive training in the skills they need to grow their businesses organically and inorganically – including strategic planning, financial analysis, team management, marketing, governance, M&A deal structuring and more.”
The two-year, certificate-granting program provides simulation-based training delivered by top Hightower leaders and industry experts, including Philip Palaveev of The Ensemble Practice. Trainees are organized into teams of five or six members and given a simulated firm to manage for the duration of the program. The firm comes complete with a history, team dynamics, operational decisions, staff and compensation situations, equity structures and obstacles to growth. Teams work closely with a coach to address the firm’s challenges. Hightower expects to have over 40 team members participate in the initial launch of the program. In addition to learning through the rigors of the two-year curriculum, they will also benefit from the peer-to-peer networking and community that is created.
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The training program involves 100 education hours, with monthly course work, quarterly conference calls and four in-person meetings, when safely possible. The curriculum includes:
- Foundations of Business Management: Articulating a vision, defining a firm strategy, establishing target markets, performing a SWOT analysis, using financial & business analysis to drive decisions
- Human Capital: Implementing a clear career track, motivating teams, developing compensation structures, incentivizing staff, managing, coaching, mentoring, and building a positive culture
- Growth and Business Development: Understanding business development fundamentals, marketing and branding, growing through referrals
- Applying Knowledge to Practice: Applying strategy and vision, making a personal commitment to the business, evaluating M&A opportunities, analyzing deal structures
“Training and empowering our next leader is one of the most strategically important things we can do as a business,” said Hugh Anderson, Managing Partner at Hightower Las Vegas. “While I plan to work for as long as I’m able, I know there will be a day when I’ll need to entrust my clients and practice to someone who can carry on my dedication to uncompromised service. The Hightower Center for Leadership will be an invaluable part of that process.”
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