What do you do with an uninspired junior PE / banking team? The best thing to do is learn to be a better coach
Let me explain...
A lot of clients tell me their junior team is underwhelming today. Analyst / associates (even some VPs) go "dark" for 24 hours, go on vacation and refuse to answer emails, don't reply to emails at all, and many straight up quit. They miss deadlines, can't multi-task and don't take the time to "think"
Over the past 15-20 years, many of my clients worked 70+ hour weeks, canceled vacations, and delivered perfection to get to the top. And now that they are at the top, they find it frustrating / infuriating that the high quality support they once provided, is not there for them today.
What to do? Accept it. "It is what it is"
While bank/PE HR & executive teams tackle the thorny knot of how to attract and incentivize junior talent today, you have a business to run! As a PE Partner, that means mapping out sectors, sourcing deals and putting capital to work. As a banking MD, that means calling on clients, winning mandates and collecting fees for your service.
Becoming disillusioned or annoyed by poor work quality you'd never imagine delivering, missed deadlines, or unaccountable behavior is fine -- you are human. But focusing on this is exhausting, and it drains your energy. You being annoyed and snarky with the juniors will not improve their behavior.
What does becoming a better Coach looks like? First shift your mindset: you're not LeBron in Cleveland, you're a coach working with whatever players have been sent to your team today.
A great Coach never gets angry at the shortcomings of his/her players -- a great coach Prioritizes and sets a simple strategy, then aligns the players according to what the coach thinks they can deliver.
What can you do today to make your life better and stop being annoyed with your juniors?
1. Write a list of the top 3 Priorities in your business: deals / client etc
2. Explain your strategy to your team so they get the bigger picture
3. Delegate the book / diligence to your VP... empower them to drive the process
4. Check in frequently and ask how you can help
When, inevitably, the work product doesn't show up on time / of desired quality, check your anger / frustration, and instead ping the VP in charge and say in a genuine way "Hey, I notice this isn't done." "Hey, can we speak about XYZ, it's not quite there yet"
If juniors feel that you care, you are giving them ownership, and you're not a transactional a-hole, you will get a better result from your team.
With the war for junior talent, it's not an easy time to be a revenue generating partner. But it's where we are in the cycle, and my clients who are excellent Coaches are winning the title.
What steps can you take to reorient your thinking and get better results with the team you have?
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