Just today, one of my advisor clients said during our coaching call, "Hope is not an investment strategy." Things were hard enough last fall; now they are even harder. More clients are clamboring for attention. Staff is over-wrought. Everyone is cutting back. In this environment, hope can begin to run thin and it just doesn't suffice as a foundation for making the best decisions. he was beginning to lose hope.

It is absolutely normal to have doubts. No one knows for sure when the market will make a real turnaround and advisors are hanging on the best they can. Hanging onto hope gets more and more difficult. As the owner of your firm, you do your best to present a positive attitude, encouraging both staff and clients alike. Inside, you may not be feeling so sure.

One of the best things you can do for yourself and your staff is to get real with each other. Just having the opportunity to talk about your fears, unfounded or not, relieves the pressure of holding all of that back and pretending you're feeling just fine. If you truly are, that's OK. If you aren't, that's OK. We all have our constant internal chatter to keep us company and some of what it says to us is downright scary! Much of it is false, of course. Until we let it out by talking with someone else, it stays inside roiling around and creating more and more pressure for us.

So bring your staff together and talk about your fears and concerns. Saying it aloud takes the pressure off so you can get yourself grounded again. When this client talked with me about his doubts and fears, I could hear and feel his mood lighten. He could then talk about the reality as he sees it, focus on where he has control and how he can take action that will have a positive impact.

Get real with yourself and your staff. They will thank you for it.