What 2025 Taught Me About Advisory
10 takeaways on shaping the future of client trust, communication and leadership.
For years I’ve said that our profession is about relationships. It’s about trust, listening, empathy and all the things that make our work feel human.
But I never really had a way to support that. I couldn’t measure empathy. It’s hard to explain what makes some conversations feel productive and full of clarity, while others feel muddled and confusing.
This year, something shifted — in the industry, and in me.
AI kept evolving faster than ever. (Like technology always does!) But instead of feeling threatened by it, I did what I always do. I leaned in. I started paying attention to what it was revealing in my own life and my own business pursuits.
It wasn’t replacing my expertise. It showed me where I was guessing, where I was relying on instinct. It showed me the disconnects I couldn’t catch on my own, the reasons why certain conversations weren’t landing the way I thought they were.
At the same time, my own understanding of what it means to really serve a client (not just inform them but guide them forward) started to sharpen.
The more I communicated with AI chatbots, the more I realized that what I was really looking for was a tool that could help me see the invisible parts of leadership.
The soft skills! The relationship dynamics! As I built my AI assistants around my interests, all that stuff I used to assume was just my own intuition as a professional businesswoman (who’s been in this space for decades now) became something tangible, something that could actually be defined.
That’s where Navi, our AI-powered communication tool for financial advisors, came from. Not as a reaction to AI, but as a response to something deeper: the need for tools that support the human side of advisory with the same rigor we bring to the technical side.
Navi is still evolving, and in 2026, we’re excited to keep growing it into something that supports real conversations, better decisions and more human advisory work at scale
This is where the real work is now. It’s about communicating better, not about knowing more information. Navi is a tool that can help advisors train, grow and lead with the kinds of skills we’ve all known were important but never had the language or systems to improve.
As we refined Navi, I started to see more clearly what’s changing around us and what’s staying the same.
They reflect the patterns I’ve watched play out over time and the pressure points that became undeniable this year. From how we define a “good” meeting to how we train for emotional intelligence and how effective leadership will be measured going forward.
These aren’t predictions, they’re the new standards that I believe will shape advisory in 2026 and beyond.
1. Experience Doesn’t Equal Impact
Time in the profession doesn’t guarantee clarity in the room. Without reflection, even seasoned advisors can plateau. In 2026, growth won’t come from years — it’ll come from feedback.
2. Long Conversations Aren’t Always Better Ones
Some meetings feel full of connection but still lead nowhere. Clients aren’t asking for more time. They’re asking for more alignment. Clarity, not airtime, is what moves things forward.
3. Soft Skills Can’t Stay Untouched
Empathy, listening, presence… We’ve called them “intangibles” for too long. In reality, they’re coachable. In 2026, these aren’t extras. They’re the foundation.
4. Confidence Has Been Hiding Confusion
We’ve all left a meeting thinking it went well, only to find out later that it didn’t land. We can’t rely on vibes anymore. If the client is still unclear, the job isn’t done.
5. Instinct Isn’t a Strategy
Yes, gut feel can be powerful, but it’s inconsistent, unscalable and hard to teach. What gets us to the next level is intentionality: knowing why something worked, and how to repeat it.
6. Knowing the Answer Isn’t the Same as Communicating It
Technical knowledge is expected. What matters now is how clearly you deliver it in a way clients can hear, understand, and act on. That’s your real value.
7. Advisory Should Feel Like a Conversation, Not a Performance
Too often, we treat meetings like stages. We deliver insights, hope they land and then we move on. Real advisory is collaborative. It’s about listening as much as you’re speaking, adjusting your message on the fly and building a trusting relationship with your clients over time.
8. Understanding Has to Be Mutual, Not Assumed
True alignment shows up when both sides can articulate the same next step with confidence. The future of advisory needs confirmation, clear next steps and confidence that everyone is walking away with the same understanding.
9. The AI Question Has Evolved
It’s no longer “Should we use it?” It’s “What are the actual issues my business is facing, and how can AI help solve them?” The real work is naming what’s unclear, what’s inconsistent, what’s not working, then finding and implementing the right tools to make it better.
10. The Best Tools Make You More Human
We don’t need automation that speaks for us. We need tools that help us show up with presence, clarity and confidence. The future isn’t about being replaced. It’s about being refined. The future is about deepening empathy, strengthening connection and making the human side of advisory our greatest asset.
