By Sheila Cabacungan CFP®
I’ve always been drawn to servant leaders, people who inspire others around them to come together and work towards a common purpose.
As a financial adviser one of my favorite things is working with other professionals to build a “Wealth Forum” for my clients. A group of trusted advisers they can turn to for advice, mentorship and guidance as they embark on their money and life journey.
Combine that with a commitment to improving the financial capability of the community I live in, and you have the factors that led to my first role as a board member.
It was one of those unplanned opportunities that perfectly aligned – creating a new way for me to use my skills, time, energy, attention and motivation. It gave me access to a new way to serve causes that matter most to me.
You should be on the radio
I met Wayne “Busco” Buscombe at a small business networking event in 2019. He was breakfast host and sponsorship manager for my local community radio station SWR 99.9FM based in Blacktown.
I was on my soapbox, holding court in a circle of local business owners on the latest research linking poor levels of financial literacy and high levels of business closures in Sydney’s west. He listened, he laughed, and by the end of the night, I was booked to be a guest on his radio show. By the end of that week, I was signing up as a member.
At the end of that month, I was trained in media law and on air with my own one-hour show on money and life.
A month later I was invited to fill a casual vacancy as a board member of The Blacktown Community Media Association. A role I continue to hold today.
The weekly radio show morphed into a two-hour conversation on money, life and business and is now in its sixth year on air.
What on earth did I sign up for?
I had no idea about the inner workings of community radio or what it took to run a radio station, programming music, keeping broadcasters on air, creating content; it was all new to me. But I also knew that the people, the beating heart of the radio station, were a group of dedicated volunteers that needed the skills and support I could provide.
I had no experience as a board member or a broadcaster. I just knew I could talk underwater about money and contribute to the financial capability of my community.
I knew how to run a business and how to deal with every type of person in Sydney’s west. What I brought was my network of small business owners, community leaders and referral relationships that I had cultivated and nurtured as a CFP Practitioner.
I also brought the skills that we take for granted as financial planners because we see them as second nature – skills like negotiating, networking, prospecting for new clients and referral partners.
As financial planners, we are also able to see the stories behind a set of financial statements and bank balances.
We also have the capacity to ask questions that cut through the noise and get to the real answers needed to make great things happen.
All these skills were repurposed to serve the members of the communities that relied on us being on air.
You should be on the FAAA Board
I’ve been an active member of the FPA [now FAAA] since my days as a student and I’m looking forward to getting my 30-year badge soon!
When I decided to set up my own practice in 2009, moving away from being in a large financial institution, I knew I would need to find other financial advisers to learn from and to contribute to. I took the opportunity to get more involved in the Sydney Chapter.
Working alongside a dedicated tribe of volunteers running events, raising funds for Future2, working alongside the management, staff and board of the FPA provided more examples of servant leaders.
Women like Marisa Broome, Deborah Kent, Jade Khao, Tania Milnes and Sarah Abood, all provided me with the courage to step up and run for the board in 2023.
It’s a challenging, inspiring and exciting time to be a financial adviser in private practice and as Chair of the FAAA Community and Culture Committee, I see firsthand how our members are rising to meet the challenges, turning inspiration into action and making inroads into growing the ranks of the profession.
Building on the legacy of the FPA and AFA, the FAAA represents what is a unified voice for the financial advice profession. There are so many ways to become more involved from attending events in your local community, serving on your local committee, and contributing to the advocacy projects especially in a federal election year.
You can also get involved in our national communities Inspire, Gen Next or Emerging Professionals and champion financial literacy with our Money & Life Financial Literacy Workshop Pack. You can also encourage other financial advisers who aren’t members of the FAAA to join and benefit from what we’re building together.
Mutual benefits of a board
Serving on the FAAA board continues to be my way of giving back to my profession with a group of mentors and peers who I am proud to represent. It also offers me the opportunity to build my skills as an advocate for issues and causes that matter to me.
Prior to joining the FAAA board, I met with my Federal MPs to support the FPA Advocacy efforts to restrict the use of “Financial Planner”.
Meeting with Julie Owen who at the time was the Federal Member for Parramatta was my first little victory in demonstrating the value of financial advice. I left her office knowing that she understood the difference between a licensed financial planner and everyone else claiming to be.
I’ve participated in every advocacy “Call to Action” the FPA and now FAAA have made since. For me, grass roots advocacy is the right and privilege we have in a democratic country and even though at times it feels futile (‘my little voice’ vs the world), I’ve always found our local, state and federal leaders open to having the conversation.
Being a board member also provides me the ability to connect, network, collaborate and learn from the planning community. We are a profession that is open and generous when it comes to sharing.
