The Making of a Leader with Aaron Miller

May 17, 2022

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Aaron Miller is the Managing Partner of the Northwestern Mutual office in Downtown Boston. With over $265 billion in assets, Northwestern Mutual is a financial planning firm dedicated to helping its clients protect their wealth and prosper. Having served both as a financial advisor and industry leader, Aaron brings a unique perspective to his work. He has spent the last 18 years of his career supporting clients, financial advisors, and leaders in achieving their visions faster. Under Aaron’s leadership, Northwestern Mutual in Boston has become one of the fastest-growing offices in the country.

Aaron joins us today to recount his career in financial services and his path to becoming a leader in the industry. He shares how he faced and handled impostor syndrome throughout his career. He outlines the most common problems financial advisors face in their careers and offers advice on overcoming them. He also explains the value of systematizing one’s prospecting process and underscores the role of intellectual humility in leadership.

“My instinct got me into leadership—but the belief of the people who were leading me got me through it.” - Aaron Miller

This week on The Model FA Podcast:

Aaron’s background and journey in the financial services industry
The challenges and hurdles Aaron had to overcome at the beginning of his career as a financial advisor
Aaron’s path to leadership
Experiencing impostor syndrome in leadership and how Aaron dealt with it
Leading and coaching people who are older and more experienced
The importance of intellectual humility in leadership
The common challenges financial advisors of any experience face
Building a process for prospecting, marketing, and branding
Becoming the best at the art of saying “no”
The dynamics of systems, beliefs, and processes in organizations

Resources Mentioned:

Book: The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy by Jon Gordon
Podcast: At the Table

Our Favorite Quotes:

“If both leader and follower are open-minded and willing to listen and check their egos at the door, they can learn anything from anyone.” - David DeCelle
“Learning to fail can speed up the learning curve.” - David DeCelle
“I felt as if I had to play the role of a leader, but becoming my authentic self was the time everything started to click.” - Aaron Miller

Connect with Aaron Miller:

About the Model FA Podcast

The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.

Did you like this conversation? Then leave us a rating and a review in whatever podcast player you use. We would love your feedback, and your ratings help us reach more advisors with ideas for growing their practices, attracting great clients, and achieving a better quality of life. While you are there, feel free to share your ideas about future podcast guests or topics you’d love to see covered.

Our Team:

President of Model FA, David DeCelle

If you like this podcast, you will love our community! Join the Model FA Community on Facebook to connect with like-minded advisors and share the day-to-day challenges and wins of running a growing financial services firm.