After nearly 30 years in the advisory business, Colleen retired as partner from a $4 billion San Francisco Bay Area RIA in 2015. During the final 8 years under Colleen’s leadership, the team grew from one associate and $80mm in assets under advisement to a superstar team of Gen Y advisors serving nearly $1.4 billion upon her retirement. They earned industry awards and recognition for quality in wealth management, education, customer service and growth. Two of her protégés became partners shortly after her departure and they continue to be praised and recognized in the industry. Colleen credits a system of mindsets and practices she developed over the years for the success and the growth of that team.
Some teams coalesce, breaking through obstacles and reaching new levels of success consistently, while others fail to get and maintain traction. What’s the secret? The main variable is you. Research done by Gallup found that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement.
The bad news: only about one in 10 people have the specific talent to manage.
The good news: if you’re one of the nine without the natural leadership talent, you can grow an A-team by committing to lead using a strategic system of mindsets focused on your team as your best client, psychological safety, inspiration & clarity, ownership, and becoming a strength-based team.
Colleen is Chief Transformation Officer of Qii Consulting, a firm inspired by that system, the foundation of which is the leverage one experiences when prioritizing quadrant ii (important, not urgent) activity. The more time you dedicate to quadrant ii, the less you will suffer in stressful and limiting quadrants i and iv.
Outside of Colleen’s financial advisory work, she has worked as a political consultant and Congressional Aide, a Councilmember in Redwood City, a commissioner on the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and a Founder of the Women’s Achievement Network and Development Alliance, a partnership focused on increasing the economic self-sufficiency of low-income single mothers in San Mateo County.
In her encore professional life as a coach and consultant, from a base in the mountain-biking mecca of Sedona, Arizona, she served five years on the board of the Financial Planning Association of Greater Phoenix. She, her husband Paul, and their three furry felines now live in Sandy, Utah “one traffic light away” from world class rock climbing and skiing.
