A New Transition Opens Up New Possibilities

For the benefit of our Clients and the firm, we’re always planning for the long-term. In this vein, we’re excited to share that our long-term team is growing – Ryan Kelly is officially a permanent member of our team!

Over the past three years as a Financial Planning Resident, Ryan has demonstrated an exemplar ability to connect with Clients, prepare thorough financial plans, and enhance our firm culture, and we simply couldn’t imagine losing such a valuable team member at the end of his residency with us.

Both Ryan and the Yeske Buie team look forward to all that lies ahead, and in this space, we share more about the transition including why Ryan “feels like the possibilities are just beginning to open up” for him.

There is a lot for me to look forward to in this new role, and I’m sure that there are still plenty of new responsibilities and opportunities of which I am unaware. With that in mind, I think I am most looking forward to discovering the new doors that have been opened to me in this more advanced role, especially because I know how much more I have to learn. My overarching goal is to challenge myself more and to live up to the examples set by the more senior Financial Planners on the team. I think the new role itself will provide plenty of motivation to grow, and I look forward to continuing my development as a planner and ultimately leading Client relationships.

Something I look forward to continuing is mentoring and teaching some of the newer members of the team where I can. I also think that my renewed, long-term commitment to the firm (coupled with my continuing education) will contribute to a greater desire to contribute to our various team meetings. I hope that I will apply what I am learning to dig into why we do things the way we do and continuously look for ways to improve my skills and Yeske Buie’s processes.

The first two accomplishments that come to my mind are becoming a Certified Financial Planner^® professional and becoming an Enrolled Agent. Both of these accomplishments have boosted my confidence tremendously. They were the product of many months of studying and were goals that I had set for myself years earlier. And, more than just serving as a few more letters after my name, these two credentials represent one of the ways that Yeske Buie has supported my continuing education and professional involvement.

Other gratifying experiences I’ve had include volunteering as the Director of Technology for the FPA of San Francisco and attending FPA Residency, FPA Far West Roundup, and Money Quotient’s Fundamentals of True Wealth training course. Each of these experiences has been richly rewarding by furthering my sense of community in this profession and deepening my appreciation for the true value of financial planning.

At Yeske Buie, something I’ve been excited to work on in the past and that I look forward to continuing is learning from Yusuf about our ongoing reviews and evaluations of our investment approach. Yusuf has shared that he hopes for me to be his “apprentice” in this area, in the same way that he has been for Dave, and thinking of myself in that way contributes to my vision for how I will add value to this firm beyond the work that I do for my Clients.

Lastly, this may be simple, but I take pride in being useful to people and being a valuable member of the team. So, I feel a sense of pride and satisfaction any time I am trusted with greater responsibility or autonomy in my work life. The greatest example of this came when I took on a somewhat increased role in order to support Lauren during her maternity leave. In the months since Lauren’s return to work, I have been working to refine the lessons I learned and the skills I gained during her maternity leave. I think this sense of trust is also expressed in the relationships I’ve built with Sydney and Rachel. I am grateful to be seen as someone who can be approached to answer questions and offer advice on ‘The Yeske Buie Way.’

Success for me is very simple, though it has proven difficult to achieve in its entirety. I feel I have been successful if I can stay organized and if I can complete whatever is asked of me. During busy seasons, it is easy to let projects lapse, and I often have three or four to-do lists going simultaneously. But if, at the end of a busy week, I can return to a state of clarity around my responsibilities and priorities, then I consider that to be a success.

Another easy way that I find success is by looking back and witnessing the progress that I have made in my career and the personal growth that has occurred along the way. Just knowing that I am continuing to be improve myself is a great source of pride. With that, I am always uplifted by positive feedback from family, friends, coworkers, and Clients. It always helps to be reassured that I am doing things well because I am definitely my own harshest critic.

I’ve never been great at setting goals for myself. This likely stems from a fear of failure and an acknowledgement that I am easily satisfied by the life that I’ve been blessed with. However, throughout the course of my journey, a few goals have sprouted up that have driven me to push myself just a little bit harder. A few of them I have accomplished already, such as becoming a CFP^® professional (which was arguably my biggest goal for the past several years). Now that I’ve reached that milestone, I’ll have to search for something even better!

Truthfully, another goal of mine was just to make it to this point where I’m no longer seeing my place in this team as temporary. I feel like the possibilities are just beginning to open up for me, and I’m excited to see what’s coming my way.

Lastly, I have recently identified a few goals that I see as an ongoing journey to pursue throughout my career at Yeske Buie. The first is to dive deep into Discovery with my current and future Clients. It is imperative for us as financial planners to identify our Clients’ values and motivations and to connect the plans that we create to our Clients’ core values, and there are opportunities for us to do that throughout the relationship – not just at the onset. And second, I intend to build deeper, more authentic relationships with the Yeske Buie team by more intentionally setting aside time to connect with each person, especially my colleagues on the East Coast.