Episode summary
Ep 492: Getting Your (Virtual) Team's Best Work Through Steward Leadership On The Growth Path To ...
Financial Advisor Success (Kitces)
· · Hosts: Michael Kitces, Adam Van Deusen · Guests: Mary Chapman
Summary
Mary Chapman argues that hybrid advisory firms do not succeed by accident; they succeed when leaders make expectations explicit, build repeatable workflows, and tie day-to-day behavior back to the firm’s mission. At Cummings Wealth Management Group, a Charleston-based firm with $500 million in AUM and about 260 client households, that has meant a functional team structure, clear role definitions, and a deliberate hybrid model that supports both client experience and staff flexibility.
The firm found that 80% of clients preferred virtual annual meetings, while about 20% still wanted in-person meetings, so it groups in-person meetings into two months of the year to reduce context switching and make preparation more efficient. Mary says the firm also uses onboarding, 30-60-90 day reviews, and regular real-time feedback to set standards such as how quickly the phone should be answered and what punctuality looks like. Her view is that “clarity is kindness,” and that explicit standards create freedom rather than micromanagement.
Mary’s research on steward leadership shaped the firm’s approach to knowledge sharing and accountability. She argues that virtual teams need strong communication, accessible systems, and shared documentation in a CRM so information is not trapped in one person’s inbox. The result, she says, is a culture where team members feel safe, know the standard, and can do their best work without constant supervision.
Key takeaways
- Mary Chapman says Cummings Wealth Management Group’s hybrid model is built around client preference, with 80% of clients choosing virtual meetings and 20% preferring in-person meetings.
- Mary groups in-person client meetings into two months each year to reduce context switching and make prep work more efficient for the team.
- Mary says the firm’s expectations include specific service standards such as answering the phone on the second ring and arriving five minutes early to meetings.
- Mary argues that “clarity is kindness,” and that explicit standards create freedom rather than micromanagement in a virtual team.
- Mary’s steward leadership framework emphasizes knowledge sharing through systems like a CRM so team members are not siloed from one another.
Notable quotes
“clarity is kindness when it comes to communicating these expectations”
“We have 500 million in assets under management and we have serve about 260 client households”
“How do you do that? Well, where it's not the knowledge isn't hoarded”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, where you go behind the scenes with financial planner, speaker, and consultant Michael Kitsus to hear stories of how leading financial adviserss navigated the inevitable challenges that arise on the path to success and get insight from leading industry consultants about how to break through to the next level in your advisory business. And now, here's your host, Michael Kitsus.
Welcome everyone. Welcome to the 492nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast. My guest on today's podcast is Mary Chapman.
Mary is the chief operating officer of Cummings Wealth Management Group, a hybrid advisory firm based in Charleston, South Carolina, that oversees $500 million in assets under management for 260 client households. What's unique about Mary though is how she has applied lessons from her research into steward leadership to build communications mechanisms, processes, and expectations to help her firm continue to thrive as it transitioned into a hybrid work environment. In this episode, we talk in depth about how Mary leverages the steward leadership approach to set high and specific recommendations for team members.
For example, picking up the phone after the second ring so they can see who is calling on caller ID. how Mary finds that clarity is kindness when it comes to communicating these expectations both upfront when interviewing new employees and during regular evaluations after they join the firm. And how Mary created processes and workflows in her firm's CRM that create accountability for employees while allowing for the flexibility benefits remote work can offer without her having to micromanage them.
We also talk about how Mary's firm operates a time and location hybrid model that has client-f facing team members spend more time in the office while allowing the firm to tap into talent nationwide for back office employees.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- hybrid workplace
- steward leadership
- accountability
- workflows
- client experience
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Cummings Wealth Management Group
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
More from Financial Advisor Success (Kitces)
-
Helping Clients Who Want A Retirement They Can't Afford - Kitces & Carl Ep 203 -
The Top Factors To Consider When A Client Plans To Move Abroad, With Ashley Murphy -
Ep 515: Crafting Deeper Client Relationships To Drive Loyalty, Referrals, And Gain Career Flexibi... -
Key Rules And Pitfalls To Execute Qualified Disclaimers Successfully, With Dave Haughton -
Ep 514: Optimizing A $160M AUM Solo Practice For Client Impact Over Scale with Nick Ibello -
Value-Based Pricing And Charging As Much As The Market Will Bear - Kitces & Carl Ep 202
Financial Advisor Success (Kitces), this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Kitces. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
