Building a Five-Star Team: How Advisors Attract, Retain, and Empower A-Players

Episode Summary

In this episode, Adam Figura sits down with Shasta Hague, Vice President and Business Consultant at Assetmark, for a practical, unfiltered conversation on building high-performing teams in an advisory practice. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience coaching advisors across the country, Shasta shares the real-world principles that separate thriving teams from the ones that quietly stall — from hiring for the full KASH framework (knowledge, attitudes, skills, habits) to firing based on culture, running a disciplined interview process, and paying competitively in a tight talent market. Adam and Shasta also dig into the chief-of-staff role as a growth unlock, the intentional leadership cadence that keeps teams engaged, and why communicating a long-term career path is one of the most overlooked retention tools in the industry. Advisors walk away with a clear, actionable roadmap for evaluating, hiring, onboarding, and developing the people who drive their firm’s success.

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⏱️ Chapters

00:01 – Welcome & Guest Introduction Adam welcomes Shasta Hague of Assetmark and shares the backstory of their nearly decade-long working relationship, setting up the episode’s focus on building and leading high-performing advisor teams.

01:18 – The Foundations of a Five-Star Team Shasta pushes past the polished corporate answers to describe what actually matters when building a team: hiring beyond skills alone and thinking about culture fit, attitude, and long-term alignment.

02:01 – The KASH Framework: Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, Habits Shasta breaks down the KASH acronym and explains why knowledge is the least important of the four — because attitudes, skills, and habits have to walk in the door; they can’t be trained.

03:42 – Hiring A-Players with a Business Owner Mindset Adam and Shasta discuss why advisors need team members who approach the role like owners, are hungry to grow, and align with the firm’s vision and values.

04:31 – Hire and Fire Based on Culture Shasta explains why keeping a cultural mismatch on the team stalls growth more than almost anything else, and how advisors underestimate the energy drain a “rotten apple” creates.

05:04 – Psychological Safety and Google’s Project Aristotle Shasta references Google’s research showing psychological safety — the ability to speak up and be valued for a unique perspective — as the single biggest predictor of high-performing teams.

06:07 – Do You Really Need to Hire, or Is It a Structure Problem? Adam asks how to tell when overwhelm signals a hiring need versus a clarity or structure problem, and Shasta introduces the “right person, right seat” audit.

07:45 – Running a Capacity Analysis Before adding headcount, Shasta recommends advisors audit how they’re spending their time, flag the $25–$40/hour work they shouldn’t be doing, and redesign roles to match unique abilities.

08:51 – The Biggest Hiring Mistakes Advisors Make Shasta shares her “greatest hits” list of hiring mistakes — starting with advisors who weren’t trained to hire and fell into the role by necessity rather than design.

09:35 – Don’t Hire Out of Desperation Shasta cites Gallup research estimating a bad hire can cost 50%–150% of the employee’s salary and coaches advisors to slow down rather than settle for a warm body in the seat.

10:43 – Stop Selling in Interviews: The 80/20 Rule Adam and Shasta discuss how passionate advisors often talk too much in interviews — telegraphing exactly what they want to hear — and why the candidate should do 80% of the talking.

11:51 – Why Skill and Behavior Assessments Matter Shasta makes the case for Kolbe, DISC, and StrengthsFinder as non-negotiable due diligence, sharing a story of an assessment that revealed a great interviewee would have hated the job.

13:05 – Competitive Compensation in a Tight Talent Market Shasta warns that advisors still trying to hire executive assistants at 20-year-old salaries are losing talent fast, and suggests hiring an A-player at 32 hours rather than a B/C player full-time.

14:22 – Onboarding and Training the Right Way Shasta explains how too many advisors fail to block calendar time for new hires, killing enthusiasm before it starts, and outlines what a thoughtful onboarding plan looks like.

15:30 – The Intentional Leadership Cadence From daily huddles to weekly team meetings, monthly deep dives, and semi-annual business planning, Shasta lays out the communication rhythm that keeps teams aligned and engaged.

17:51 – Harvard’s Finding: 67% Higher Engagement Shasta cites Harvard Business Review research showing that consistent one-on-one engagement drives a 67% lift in team engagement — and warns about the hidden cost of skipping those meetings.

18:12 – When to Add Leadership-Level Roles Adam asks when advisors should stop adding support and start adding leadership, and Shasta maps a progression from admin to paraplanner to chief of staff.

19:33 – The Chief of Staff / Integrator Unlock Borrowing from EOS language, Shasta describes the chief-of-staff / integrator role as a game-changer that frees advisors to focus on vision, new business, and top-client relationships.

22:45 – Ongoing Systems for Developing Talent Shasta explains why communicating a long-term growth vision — from the very first interview — is one of the most overlooked retention tools small firms have.

23:01 – Career Paths, Performance Reviews, and Pay Benchmarks Shasta recommends documented career paths, semi-annual (or quarterly) performance reviews, and benchmarking compensation so A-players aren’t lost for $10,000.

26:13 – Two or Three Practical First Steps Shasta closes with actionable first moves: run an honest team audit, benchmark compensation, create a career-path document, and don’t try to figure it out alone.

29:35 – Closing & How to Reach Shasta Hague Adam wraps up the conversation and Shasta offers to be a resource for advisors navigating team-building challenges.

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✅ Key Takeaways

• Hire for the full KASH framework — knowledge, attitudes, skills, and habits. Knowledge is the only one you can train. Attitudes, skills, and habits have to walk in the door, so screen for them deliberately.

• A-players come with a business owner mindset. You can give them direction and let them run. B and C players require micromanagement that quietly drains your capacity — and your margin.

• Fire based on culture fit, not just performance. A single cultural mismatch can stall an entire firm’s growth. The cost of keeping the wrong person is almost always higher than the discomfort of letting them go.

• Psychological safety is the #1 predictor of a high-performing team. When people feel valued for their unique perspective and empowered to speak up, they spot red flags earlier and contribute more.

• Before you hire, run a “right person, right seat” audit. Overwhelm often signals a structure or clarity problem — not a headcount problem. Redesign roles around unique abilities before adding bodies.

• Don’t hire out of desperation. A bad hire can cost 50%–150% of that employee’s salary. Slow down, raise your bar, and protect your team’s time and energy.

• Let the candidate talk 80% of the time. Advisors who sell the role in an interview get scripted answers back. Make candidates comfortable, then ask, probe, and listen.

• Treat Kolbe, DISC, and StrengthsFinder as due diligence, not optional. Assessments surface work-style mismatches that even great interviewers can’t mask.

• Pay competitively or expect to lose talent. If the full-time A-player salary is out of reach, hire at 32 hours. It still beats the cost of a B-player you have to manage at $250/hour of your time.

• Block real calendar time to onboard new hires. Nothing kills a new hire’s enthusiasm faster than being handed a stack of videos on day one.

• Run an intentional leadership cadence. Daily huddles, weekly team meetings, monthly deep dives, and semi-annual business planning compound into 67% higher engagement (per Harvard Business Review).

• A chief of staff / integrator is the leadership unlock. When your business can operate without you in the weeds, you’re free to focus on vision, growth, and top-client relationships.

• Communicate a career path from day one. A-players want to see a future. A documented career track is one of the most overlooked retention tools small firms have.

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🎧 Quotes from the Episode

• “We can train somebody, we can give them knowledge — but we can’t train somebody to have the right attitude. We can’t train them to have the right skills or the right habits. Those things have to walk in the door.” — Shasta Hague
• “There’s nothing that’s gonna keep a firm from growing more than keeping somebody on the team that’s a rotten apple poisoning the well.” — Shasta Hague
• “You’re much better off having an A-player in the role working less hours than hiring a B or C player that you have to micromanage.” — Shasta Hague
• “Focus on the attitudes and the habits — the knowledge and skills we can teach you will come with time.” — Adam Figura
• “Nothing is going to kill a new hire’s enthusiasm and excitement for their new job more than just sticking them in front of a computer and saying, ‘Hey, watch these videos.’” — Shasta Hague
• “When this role was put into place, it was like the lights turned back on — and they were suddenly free.” — Shasta Hague, on the chief-of-staff role
• “Hire slow and fire fast.” — Adam Figura
• “Talent flies off the shelves. You need to make sure you’re benchmarking your comp and attracting A-players with competitive compensation.” — Shasta Hague

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📇 Contact Information

Guest: Shasta Hague Vice President, Business Consultant Assetmark Website: assetmark.com

shasta.hague@assetmark.com

Host: Adam Figura Horizon Financial Group Email: afigura@horizonfg.com

Resources Mentioned - KASH Framework: Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, Habits - Google’s Project Aristotle research on psychological safety - Harvard Business Review research on one-on-one engagement - Kolbe, DISC, and StrengthsFinder assessments - EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) — Integrator/Implementer framework - Assetmark Business Consulting and Compensation Benchmarking

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⚠️ Disclosure

The views depicted in this material are for informational purposes only and are not necessarily those of Cetera Advisors, LLC. They should not be considered specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Neither Cetera Advisors, LLC nor any of its representatives may give legal or tax advice.

Pete Bush, Bill Bush, and Andy Bush are registered representatives offering securities and advisory services through Cetera Advisors, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, a broker-dealer and registered investment adviser.

Adam Figura is a registered administrative assistant of Cetera Advisors, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

Today’s guest is not affiliated or registered with Cetera Advisors, LLC. Any information provided by our guest is in no way related to Cetera Advisors, LLC or its registered representatives.

Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

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