The New Portrait Of Leadership: Andrew Rosen Of Diversified On Strategies to Shape Yourself Into A Modern Masterpiece
An Interview with Karen Mangia
Confidence — this one speaks for itself, but to lead effectively you need to be confident in yourself, in your ability, in your skills, and your leadership. Beyond that, have confidence in those around you, and in what you’re building together.
We are living in the Renaissance of Work. Just like great artists know that an empty canvas can become anything, great leaders know that an entire organization — and the people inside it — can become anything, too. Master Artists and Mastering the Art of Leadership draw from the same source: creation. In this series, we’ll meet masters who are creating the future of work and painting a portrait of lasting leadership. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andrew Rosen, CFP.
Andrew is the president of Diversified LLC, a comprehensive financial planning and investment firm that is ranked #9 in the top 50 fastest growing RIAs by FA Magazine. As a financial planner, he forges lifelong relationships with clients, coaching them through all stages of life and guiding them to better achieve their life goals. Andrew loves helping others by spreading his knowledge on finance, investments and the pursuit of happiness, and does so through his nationally recognized blog, his contributions to Forbes and Kiplinger, and his appearances in other publications and television programs.
Thank you for joining us. Our readers would enjoy discovering something interesting about you. What are you in the middle of right now that you’re excited about personally or professionally?
Right now our companies are in growth mode, and it’s very exciting. Growing rapidly means that there is a lot of change, so we constantly get to adjust how we’re leading and managing. It’s a fun and exciting process and I’m lucky to have a fantastic group of people to grow with.
We all get by with a little help from our friends. Who is the leader that has influenced you the most, and how?
My father is the leader that has influenced my life the most. He was a successful leader, not only of my family, but an amazing business leader as well. He was a wonderful example of how to be a good human, not just a good leader.
Sometimes our biggest mistakes lead to our biggest discoveries. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as a leader, and what did you discover as a result?
Trying to do too much myself was my biggest mistake. Often in life we like to think that we know best, and that we can take it all on ourselves. It takes a good leader to know when to step back and realize what you actually can’t do as well and what someone else has a better skill set for, and to let them do that work. It takes a team of people to get a project completed and we need to rely on each other to accomplish big goals.
How has your definition of leadership changed or evolved over time? What does it mean to be a leader now?
When I first started my business, I used to lead by doing the doing. Now, I lead by putting faith in others. I don’t have to do the doing myself anymore because I have trust in the excellent talent around me, and they know better than I do in their own specialties.
Success is as often as much about what we stop as what we start. What is one legacy leadership behavior you stopped because you discovered it was no longer valuable or relevant?
One legacy leadership behavior I stopped was worrying about what others were doing. Any form of micromanagement isn’t true leadership. True leadership is letting others lead their own departments and to be accountable for their own work.
What is one lasting leadership behavior you started or are cultivating because you believe it is valuable or relevant?
My favorite leadership behavior to cultivate is putting the right people in the right seat. We like to hire people for a culture fit at our company, and then make sure that they’re in the right seat. Sometimes that can change over the course of time — people change, roles change, and times change. We constantly evaluate if the people that we have working with us are the right people, in the right seats. When we have the right people working with us, and those people are in the right seats, everyone feels that they’re doing the best work that they can and that they feel secure in the company.
What advice would you offer to other leaders who are stuck in past playbooks and patterns and may be having a hard time letting go of what made them successful in the past?
What got you here won’t get you there — that’s one of my favorite quotes and it works well for leaders. It’s important to keep in mind that doing the same thing will often net you the same results. In our companies we have a core value of challenging the status quo, because if you don’t challenge the way that you do things, then things won’t change. You have to be innovative to instigate change, and this is what can bring you greater success as a leader.
Many of our readers can relate to the challenge of leading people for the first time. What advice would you offer to new and emerging leaders?
Follow your gut and surround yourself with great people. Creating a great team around you of people that you trust, that you can rely on, and that are brilliant and wonderful to be around is the most important part of being a true leader. When you’re building that team, rely on your gut instincts — you know at your core when you’re on the right path.
Based on your experience or research, what are the top five traits effective leaders exemplify now? Please share a story or an example for each.
Work ethic — you know how professional and elite athletes compete at their level? They not only have a natural talent, but they put in more effort than anyone else. It’s the same for leaders. A great leader also puts in tremendous work ethic and effort.
Confidence — this one speaks for itself, but to lead effectively you need to be confident in yourself, in your ability, in your skills, and your leadership. Beyond that, have confidence in those around you, and in what you’re building together.
Belief and faith in themselves and others — leaders need the utmost in faith in themselves and their team. There are so many things beyond your control (the stock market, the economy, etc.) that you’ll need to deal with as a leader, and you need to have belief and faith in yourself, your team, and your company that you can weather these storms together.
People don’t care what you know until they know that you care — I feel that this is so true particularly in the service industry. No one cares how smart you are, or how you can help them, until they understand that you care about them as a person. Caring about each other and ensuring that that value is coming across, should be priority number one — and then everything else falls into place.
Constant improvement — look, none of us are perfect. And you can’t expect anyone to be perfect. We’re always striving for progress, not perfection. As leaders, expect to break a few eggs along the way. It all comes down to constantly improving — not only with your team and your company, but for yourself as well. Strive to constantly improve yourself, your skills, and to constantly learn.
American Basketball Coach John Wooden said, “Make each day your masterpiece.” How do you embody that quote? We welcome a story or example.
I don’t look at it like you need to make each day your masterpiece, but rather that you should have progress and not perfection. Each day doesn’t need to be a perfect masterpiece, but an improvement upon the day before — and you’ll end up in a beautiful place.
What is the legacy you aspire to leave as a leader?
That the people I was lucky enough to lead with are better off because of me. That’s really all I can ask for, because at the end of the day it comes down to the people.
How can our readers connect with you to continue the conversation?
You can find me at https://diversifiedllc.com on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Pinterest.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience a leadership master at work. We wish you continued success and good health!
About The Interviewer: Karen Mangia is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career. As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she helps individuals and organizations define, design and deliver the future. Discover her proven strategies to access your own success in her fourth book Success from Anywhere and by connecting with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
The New Portrait Of Leadership: Andrew Rosen Of Diversified On Strategies to Shape Yourself Into A… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.