Before you evaluate anyone else this review season, take a moment to evaluate yourself. In this episode of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, explores followership: whether the people you lead believe in your vision, believe you are committed to their development, and believe you have their best interests in mind. Your title gives you authority. Followership is earned one conversation at a time.

Drawing on research from Robert Kelley, Korn Ferry, SHRM, Steven Rogelberg, and McKinsey, Ray shows why one-on-ones are the clearest window into whether you have earned it. He shares a six-question self-check that reveals how well you truly know each person on your team, along with a personal story about what happens when a leader shuts down a team member's ambition instead of supporting it.

Firm leaders will leave with a practical next step: run the self-check for every person who reports to you, turn any gaps into the agenda for your next one-on-one, and ask the hardest question of all about what you might be making harder than it needs to be.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

1. What followership is and the three beliefs that define it
2. Why one-on-ones are the best place to see whether you have earned your team's followership
3. What the research reveals about engagement, meeting quality, and why people leave
4. Six questions every leader should be able to answer about each team member
5. How to support a team member who tells you who they want to become

THE SIX-QUESTION ONE-ON-ONE SELF-CHECK

1. When their week goes really well, what happens? When a week wears them down, what's usually behind it?
2. Do they know what kind of support they need from you right now, and have they asked for it?
3. How do they want to be recognized when they excel, and how do they want to hear about it when something misses the mark?
4. Where do they want to be in two to three years, and what skills, competencies, and experiences stand in the way?
5. What matters to them outside of work right now?
6. Have they completed their own professional development plan, and have you read and discussed it?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

1. What do you need to know about your team that would help you support them more effectively in achieving their career goals?
2. What is one thing you, or your organization, do that makes your team's job harder than it needs to be?

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Robert Kelley, "In Praise of Followers," Harvard Business Review (1988)
• Korn Ferry research on leadership and followership
• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) research on one-on-ones and engagement
• Steven Rogelberg's research and Harvard Business Review writing on one-on-one meetings
• McKinsey research on career development, attrition, and on-the-job learning
• ClientWise Executive Coaching and Team Development

Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026).

Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube