Moments of Judgment

I was sitting in a meeting with some family wealth advisors recently when someone said:

“We want to offer coaching and facilitation to families we work with — but we don’t know when to suggest it, or how.”

It didn’t sound like a problem to solve. It sounded like something advisors feel before they can name it.

I’ve heard versions of this from many advisory teams, and over time I’ve started to notice some patterns.

Often the conversation has already shifted when:

• the data are clear, but the next step isn’t

• silence arrives and nobody fills it

• someone says, “I’m not sure what to tell my kids about this”

• the joke doesn’t land

• one family member keeps looking down instead of across the table

It’s natural for advisors to feel a bit uncomfortable in these moments.

That discomfort isn’t a problem — it’s a signal that something relational has entered a financial conversation.

I’ve been collecting these signals for years and recently pulled them together into a simple two-page aid for advisory teams — just to help make the shift easier to recognize.

I’m still learning, but I’m curious:

• How do you notice that moment?

• What tells you the conversation has changed?

— Paul

#familyoffice, #advisorypractice, #clientconversations, #facilitation, 

#decisionmaking, #momentsofjudgment