Over more than two decades working as a planner, advisor, coach, and leader, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring how financial professionals can develop and improve, both individually and at a firm level. Unsurprisingly, much of my work as led me to one fundamental question:

“Why do some financial professionals continue to develop while others plateau?”

It’s an important question because the answer affects much more than individual success. At the enterprise level, this topic influences how firms serve clients and develop talent, and how teams continue improving over time. For individual planners and advisors, continued development is critical to remaining competitive.

The challenge is that there isn’t one obvious explanation. Professional growth is influenced by a wide range of factors, making it difficult to identify exactly what keeps some professionals moving forward while others eventually plateau. These factors include:

• Professional experience
• Work environment
• Access to coaching
• Evolving client needs
• Countless day-to-day decisions

Each plays a role, and it’s often the combination of these influences, rather than any single factor that determines long-term growth.

It’s tempting to believe the answer comes down to technical skills or expertise, experience, or talent. In my experience, those things matter, but they’re rarely what separates the most successful planners and advisors I’ve worked with.

Habits of High-Performing Wealth Professionals

The most successful professionals I’ve worked with are typically the first ones to say, “I want more of this,” or “I want more of that,” or “I want that for my team.” Those who plateau are often more likely to say, “No, we’re good. We’re already doing everything.”

Over the years, I’ve come to recognize that this isn’t just a difference in attitude or even a highly developed skill set. It’s part of a larger pattern. Professionals who consistently develop into high performers tend to share a common set of behaviors that eventually become habits:

1. Learn
   They maintain a growth mindset and continually invest in their development.

2. Adapt
   They embrace technology to enhance their capabilities and scale their impact.

3. Demonstrate
   They leverage planning to demonstrate value in ways clients can clearly understand.

4. Collaborate
   They seek coaching, specialization, and collaboration rather than trying to do everything alone.

5. Connect
   They invest in things technology cannot replace, such as their own interpersonal skills.

Over time, these habits create something even more valuable: a disciplined approach to improvement. As our industry continues to evolve, especially with the rapid advancement of AI and planning technology, I believe that discipline will become an increasingly important differentiator.

The Behaviors Behind Consistent Growth

As our industry continues to evolve, especially with the rapid advancement of AI and planning technology, the professionals who thrive will be the ones who remain curious, keep learning, and continually look for new ways to create value for clients.

Here are the five ways I have seen successful professionals continue to develop:

1. The Single Biggest Differentiator: Growth Mindset

Every financial professional I talk to wants to grow. However, only a few are willing to do the things growth requires. After years of working with financial planning professionals, I’ve found that those who continue to develop never stop investing in their own professional development.

When a new planner or advisor training program becomes available, they’re often the first to sign up. When they encounter a complex client situation, they don’t pretend to have all the answers; they look for opportunities to learn from it. When they identify a gap in their expertise, they treat it as an opportunity for growth rather than something to avoid.

These are examples of habits that I’ve seen keep successful top performing professionals in constant development mode:

• Enrolling in training programs before anyone asks them to
• Building expertise in specialized planning areas
• Seeking coaching on communication, leadership, and client relationships
• Asking peers and mentors for perspective on difficult client situations
• Looking for ways to improve the experience they deliver to clients

The consistent throughline is discipline. But what stands out isn’t that they’re trying to become experts in everything; it’s that they’re rarely satisfied standing still.

2. Use Technology as a Force Multiplier

A commitment to growth also changes how financial professionals think about technology. The most successful advisors I know don’t see technology as a threat to their value. They see it as a way to amplify it.

One of the most common questions I hear is whether AI will replace advisors. My answer is simple: I don’t believe financial professionals will be replaced by AI. I do believe those who fail to embrace AI may be outpaced by those who do.

The reason has less to do with technology itself and more to do with how professionals choose to spend their time.

According to industry research, advisors spend just 41 percent of their week supporting clients and prospects.¹ Reclaiming even a few additional hours for client-facing and growth-oriented activities can have a meaningful impact on practice growth. That’s why I view technology as a force multiplier, not a replacement for expertise.

In my experience, planners and advisors who create significant value use technology to:

• Reduce time spent on administrative work
• Accelerate research and meeting preparation
• Create greater consistency across the client experience
• Improve coaching, feedback, and professional development
• Spend more time with clients and prospects

The goal isn’t to use technology so that financial professionals can do less. The goal is to free them to spend more time doing what only they can do:

• Help clients navigate and understand complexity
• Guide clients through important financial decisions
• Provide context when trade-offs aren’t obvious
• Build relationships and trust during moments of uncertainty
• Give clients the confidence to move forward

3. Learn to Demonstrate Value Through Planning

One of the biggest opportunities I see for financial professionals is using planning as more than an analytical exercise. Planning is one of the most effective communication tools we have. It helps transform complex advice into something clients can understand, engage with, and act on.

Technology can improve efficiency and enhance planning, but its greatest value is what it helps clients see. Explaining expertise has value. Demonstrating expertise is far more powerful.

The most effective opportunities to demonstrate value often occur in areas where clients already recognize uncertainty. Tax planning, estate planning, retirement readiness, and major life transitions naturally create engagement because clients know there may be opportunities they’re missing.

In my experience, the best professionals continually work to improve their ability to:

• Show, don’t tell. Use visuals and planning outputs to demonstrate the impact of a strategy.
• Turn planning into a communication tool. Connect recommendations directly to a client’s goals and priorities.
• Use scenario modeling effectively. Compare potential paths and help clients understand trade-offs.
• Focus on areas of uncertainty. Start with questions and decisions clients already recognize as important.
• Quantify outcomes. Make tax savings, retirement scenarios, and planning benefits tangible.
• Help clients make decisions. Move beyond recommendations and create confidence to act.

When clients can see the impact of a strategy before making a decision, advice becomes less theoretical and more actionable.

4. Know Growth Compounds When Capabilities Work Together

One of the biggest misconceptions in our profession is that growth comes from finding a single advantage. The most successful planners and advisors I’ve worked with don’t rely on one skill, one tool, or one strategy. They create momentum by combining multiple growth behaviors.

The professionals I’ve seen grow consistently tend to:

• Invest in continuous learning
• Seek coaching and feedback
• Adopt technology that expands their capacity
• Collaborate with specialists when client needs become more complex
• Apply new ideas quickly rather than waiting for the perfect opportunity

Each behavior creates value on its own, and together, they compound. In my experience, the best planners or advisors aren’t trying to prove how much they know. They’re continually expanding what they’re capable of doing for clients.

5. Double Down on What Technology Can’t Replace

As technology becomes more capable, the qualities that set great advisors apart become even more valuable. AI can improve efficiency. Planning technology can make analysis faster and more interactive, but neither can replace the skills that help clients make better decisions and move forward with confidence.

I believe the future belongs to professionals who continue developing the capabilities technology can’t replicate. The planners and advisors who stand out are continually working to strengthen their ability to:

• Build trust. Clients aren’t looking only for answers. They’re looking for confidence in the person providing them.
• Communicate with clarity. Complex planning strategies create little value if clients don’t understand them.
• Guide decisions. Clients often need help evaluating trade-offs, priorities, and competing goals.
• Educate effectively. Great advisors simplify complexity without oversimplifying important issues.
• Demonstrate empathy. Understanding the emotions behind a decision is often just as important as understanding the numbers.
• Exercise judgment. Technology can generate information. Planners and advisors provide context, perspective, and recommendations when the stakes are highest.

These skills become especially important during moments of uncertainty: market changes, life changes, priority changes; clients need more information; they need someone who can help them make sense of what those changes mean for their financial future.

That’s why I don’t view technology and human connection as competing forces. The most successful professionals use technology to strengthen their expertise, demonstrate value more clearly, and create more time for the work clients need most.

In the end, technology can support the planning process, but it can’t replace the confidence clients gain from a trusted advisor who helps them navigate important decisions.

Learn more about professional development in Gaining Confidence as a Financial Advisor.

¹The Time-Value Equation: Optimizing time to unlock growth, Fidelity Investments, 2025

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Chad Hamilton is affiliated with Mariner. The views expressed are those of the author. This material is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized advice.