It’s an opportunity that presented itself to Jason last year, even if he’s the first to admit a career change wasn’t something he’d been expecting. “If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d have said there’s no way I wanted to become a Team Head,” he says. “I had a clear progression plan as a senior relationship manager. I’d known my clients for so long. I knew their family members. It was all running smoothly and I felt very comfortable in my role.”
Following the departure of the previous Team Head, Jason, one of the most experienced relationship managers on the team, was invited to take over temporarily. The experience opened his eyes. “I soon realised how much I was enjoying the greater variety in my day, the more strategic aspects and the chance to lead people,” he says. “It was personally rewarding to bring through the next generation to help us make a much bigger difference as a team.” Jason found he couldn’t imagine going back to being an individual relationship manager. “The change gave me a new sense of impetus and I was excited about what we were doing as a team. The new challenges made me feel alive again.”
Opening up opportunities for others to develop
Fast-forward a year and Jason is now Team Head of seventeen including ten relationship managers in Julius Baer’s Dubai office. Following his transition to Team Head, he’s in the process of transferring parts of his client book to team members Patrick and Hamza, both former assistant RMs, who’re making their own change to new roles after being selected to take part in the first global cohort of the Associate RM programme starting in July. “In terms of educating Patrick and Hamza on investment knowledge, there’s not much more they need to know,” says Jason. “It’s more about supporting them to ease into the role of relationship management and apply what they already know to individual clients.”
Hamza is focused on ensuring that clients that he has inherited don’t feel that the excellent service level they’ve been receiving does not change in any way because they’re confronted with a new face. “Especially at the beginning, you don’t want to walk into a client meeting without knowing absolutely everything there is to know about the client in our system,” he says. “Of course, the expectation is that you will eventually develop your own style, but initially it is important that clients feel a sense of continuity they are comfortable with. The quality of output must be at par with a brand like Julius Baer.”
The importance of a secure environment
While he has had extensive experience in the industry, Patrick is aware of the additional responsibility this role brings. “It can be challenging to find yourself in the position of having to deliver straight away. But Jason has been great at reminding us that development is a process, often a slow one.”
Jason says it’s imperative that the next generation like Hamza and Patrick are given the time and space to develop: “New relationship managers tend to view more senior colleagues as the finished article without seeing the 15 to 20 years of hard work it took to get there.” This carefully managed transition includes providing a secure environment for fledgling recruits to put what they’ve learned into practice.
“You typically make dozens of wobbly pitches before getting them right, so we set up a situation where colleagues like Patrick and Hamza could pitch to one other in-house.” Patrick highlights that this has been especially helpful. “When it comes to introducing Julius Baer’s value proposition to prospects, I feel that I am in a much better position today than I was before.”
According to Jason, it’s a common misconception that you need to be an extrovert to be a good relationship manager. “I’m anything but an extrovert, but what you do have to be is a good people person – and you’ve got to be a good listener. Luckily, those are things that you can learn as long as you’re willing to put in the time.” This work ethic was something he was looking out for when selecting candidates to join the team. “With Patrick and Hamza, we’ve chosen well because they have the same mindset as our team in the sense of being proactive, punctual, and responsive with clients. Qualifications are important, but you can learn a lot of things on the job, so above all we wanted to find candidates with an open mind and a willingness to learn. That’s the biggest prerequisite.”
Embracing a growth mindset
In keeping with Julius Baer’s entrepreneurial spirit, Hamza and Patrick are taking a proactive approach to driving their own career development by devoting time outside of work to expanding their knowledge and overcome perceived weaknesses. “Initially I studied mathematics,” says Hamza. “When I was an assistant RM, I challenged myself by taking advisory exams, which allowed me to advise clients if I wanted to. It gave me a good platform and meant senior colleagues also invited me to advisory meetings with clients, which is how my advisory experience began. He also took on the role of managing assistant relationship managers in a previous role. “Dealing with people is the core of our business. I am excited to combine my skills as a mathematician and a good listener to help me excel in this new role.
Patrick, who took the opportunity to move to Dubai two years ago from Julius Baer in the UK, has made a conscious effort to create a robust professional network in the Middle East. “I’ve been trying to get out and meet 3 or 4 people a week from different walks of life, because that naturally leads to conversations about what you do professionally. These connections can lead to unexpected opportunities and valuable introductions further down the line.” Patrick highlighted that one of the main attractions of becoming a Relationship Manager is working with a diverse range of clients. “I get to meet and interact with clients with diverse interests across a wide range of industries. This is one of the main attractions of relationship management and opened my eyes to the fact that there are very many different ways of generating wealth”.
Giving employees the freedom they need to perform at their best
The role of Team Head has been a journey of self-discovery and improvement for Jason, too. What lessons has he learned? “When I was an RM, I had my own way of working, so when you’re new to team leadership, you have to learn to bite your tongue. It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about ensuring everybody finds a style that works for them and an environment they can thrive in. The most important thing, whatever your style, is to keep the ‘client first’ mindset.”
After a long career in financial services, Jason has worked under many managers with different approaches. “I always enjoyed working under those who took a differentiated approach by managing each individual according to their needs. It’s important that I support Patrick and Hamza differently to more senior colleagues.” He adheres to a philosophy of adaptive leadership. “I’m here to assist them in any way that I can, be that by attending meetings with them, showcasing the bank, or encouraging them to sit in meetings with me and other senior colleagues so that they can see different styles in action.”
Jason says that taking on the Team Head role has been the proudest moment in his career. “It was a genuine surprise to me. My focus had been on my own book of clients. But I’ve been inspired by Hamza and Patrick and by the wider team. We’re building something special here, a real team spirit, a team culture, and team ethics. We’re determined to produce strong relationship managers and assistant relationship managers who are second to none. We might not be there yet, but we’re certainly striving towards it.”