How to Manage a Conversation About President Trump With Your Clients

Whether you are talking to your financial advisor, doctor, therapist, friend, partner or in line at the supermarket, somewhere the conversation will turn to President Trump.

Coping with significant change is difficult for most people. Then add a sense of disappointment in outcomes, and people feel unsettled.

When organizations make changes, the conversation around the coffee machine focuses on “What’s going on?”, “Are our jobs safe?”, And so on. We’ve all experienced this in some form or other. It’s somewhat different when there is a change of country leadership, the questions tend to be broader, “What’s going to happen to my investments?”, “Are we being led by a safe pair of hands?”, and so much more.

For most people change is never comfortable. It is, even more, trying to cope with if the change feels traumatic. Understanding our response to change is the first step to managing it. Everyone responds differently. Regardless of whether the change is in relationships, work environment or the Whitehouse, fear of the unknown can trap and even isolate us. We’re usually scared of change because were afraid of the unknown.

Soumya Karlamangla writing for the LA Times records that therapists are having a hard time talking to their patients when presented with concerns about Trump. At the most recent board meeting of the L.A. County Psychological Assn., therapists also discussed how to talk about Trump, especially with patients whose political beliefs might differ from their own. It turned into an hour long discussion that Hillary Goldsher, a therapist on the board, described as emotional, challenging, and difficult.

Thomas Coyle writing for the Financial Advisor IQ says in his article titled Talking to Clients about Trump , “for many financial advisors, U.S. President Donald Trump is a necessary topic of conversation with clients. It’s not that all FAs are especially eager to share their opinions of the White Houses latest tenant. Rather, advisors tell us, Trump is difficult to avoid in the context of long-term financial planning. They say the scope of his proposals, from renegotiating trade deals – to pushing for renewed infrastructure and reducing taxes – stands to impact portfolios whether these initiatives succeed, fail, or fizzle out.”

The US Presidential election is now over, Donald Trump won. Some will be excited about the outcome, others will be apprehensive. Whether we like it or not, it is what it is, and the question now is how to roll with the conversations taking place around us?

We all handle change in different ways. If we knew in advance how we are likely to react, we would navigate them much more effectively.

Those that embrace change will be excited, perhaps because they saw something of themselves in Donald Trump. They want to speak up and be provocative. Trump champions that for them. They want to throw society up in the air in the hopes that when it lands it will look different, be more caring, be fairer, be open to taking risks to achieve a better life for everyone. Trump champions that for them. Others will be having conversations about opportunities, taking risks, and becoming a great country again; their conversations will be about being a part of something different and unpredictable.

And how exciting to have someone who’s controversial? Speaks their mind? And Tweets!

But many people will be alarmed, disappointed, and maybe even fearful of a personality that seems larger than life. Some will be significantly concerned to seek therapy to talk about their fears; they may rush to their financial advisors to offload stock. They will find Trump’s outspokenness unsettling; they will be alarmed at the proposed speed of change.

Donald Trump is not the first to be controversial and certainly won’t be the last. President Theodore Roosevelt (in office 1901-1909) said that his office gave him a “ bully pulpit ” a powerful platform that lets him draw attention to key issues.

People who seek therapy and panic about their investments?are facing personal challenges for sure. This post-election distress is not to be laughed at. But for a while, these like-minded disappointed voters will group together and feed each other’s distress. But eventually, as is the way with human nature, they will begin to see the good stuff that impacts their lives, and the pendulum will begin to swing to a more balanced position.

Here are some pointers to managing a conversation about President Trump either with clients or anyone else who raises the conversation.

President Trump can cause a change in behaviors.

He has the ability to persuade and convince others.

He will stimulate conversation based on his vision.

He will set ambitious goals based on the vision and carry others along on the journey.

He will look for the quickest route to deliver success, and this might bring resistance from those whose decision making is more contemplative.

He will be prepared to take risks to achieve goals quickly and will understand, sometimes this will mean losses.

Yes, he can be emotional and impulsive and make decisions too quickly to get into an opportunity. Yes, he may act too early not recognizing a temporary downturn or slowdown is part of the growth journey; but President Trump needs to get to the bottom line quickly. Too much reliance on detail and the small print will frustrate him. However, learning how to pay attention to detail will be valuable to ensuring his enthusiasm is reigned in and that his spontaneity does not lead him into making poor choices.

He has the ability to draw people together, and can quickly harness appropriate skills and talents to implement plans and ideas. President Trump is able to channel diverse skill sets into delivering successful outcomes. As a multi-tasker, he needs to be presented with a range of opportunities to hold his attention. He needs information flow to be in a summary format with the bottom line clearly demonstrated.

We are all different, that’s what makes the world so fascinating. Personality is such an interesting topic. The way we communicate with each other, the way we deal with challenges (such as post-election trauma); our ability to take a risk; how we communicate with each other; how we manage our behaviors, all make for better conversations.

The DNA Behavior Natural Discovery process offers deep, accurate, highly validated insight into why we react the way we do in given environments. It delivers understanding on how to manage behavior gaps. As the world’s only all-in-one cloud-based behavioral analytics platform it reveals how to know, engage and grow every individual using all dimensions of a person’s personality traits.

I love what Jon Ten Haagen of Ten Haagen Financial Group in Huntington, N.Y., says in this quote, “my biggest Trump-related message to clients is turn off CNN and the talking heads because there is no interpreting what they are blabbing about. The man has not been in office for 100 days yet, he has a total of 1,459 days to accomplish what he wants to – or not.” Given the Trump administrations newness and the fact he’s a catalyst for controversy and pushback, Ten Haagen says, “clients should look at the economy and interest rates and consider what companies are doing and saying.”

Above all, Ten Haagen, who manages more than $30 million and is mostly paid with a trail, tells clients to look at the big picture and be diversified, advice he says holds true no matter who’s in the White House.

People tend to figure out what to do to feel secure again, financially, physically or psychologically. Understanding why we react or respond in the way we do is important and worth finding out more about.