MODULE 5 | ROLE, ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES
Stage 1 | Foundation Qualification
Understand Claim My Legacy before you represent Claim My Legacy.
FOUNDER VIDEO 5 | ROLE, ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES
PURPOSE OF THIS MODULE
Families trust a Legacy Specialist with important information, important decisions and conversations that can affect the people they love.
That trust carries responsibility.
This module is about using good judgment, staying within your professional role and making decisions that protect the family, Claim My Legacy and the integrity of the Legacy Specialist role.
THE FAMILY COMES FIRST
There will be times when doing what is best for the family may not be what is easiest, fastest or most profitable.
Our standard is simple:
TELL THE TRUTH EVEN WHEN IT COSTS A TRANSACTION.
Never manufacture fear or urgency to move a family toward a decision.
Compensation does not change the recommendation.
If a family needs time, professional guidance or a different next step, help them take the appropriate next step.
KNOW YOUR ROLE
A Legacy Specialist is an educator, guide and facilitator.
You are not expected to know every answer.
You are expected to recognize when a question moves outside your role.
If someone asks you to interpret legal language, provide individualized legal or tax advice, diagnose capacity or answer something you are not qualified to answer:
STOP. CLARIFY. GET THE RIGHT HELP.
Knowing when not to answer is part of professional competence.
PROTECT FAMILY INFORMATION
Families may share financial information, family circumstances and other personal information with you.
Treat that information with care.
Collect only what is needed for the work being performed. Protect confidential information and share it only as appropriate to complete the family's work.
TRUST INCLUDES HOW YOU HANDLE WHAT A FAMILY TELLS YOU.
WHEN YOU MAKE A MISTAKE
Mistakes should never be hidden.
If you discover that something you said, entered or communicated was incorrect:
Recognize it.
Own it.
Correct it.
Document what happened when appropriate.
Make sure the family receives the correct information.
INTEGRITY IS NOT EVER MAKING A MISTAKE. IT IS WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU DISCOVER ONE.
THE DECISION TEST
When you are unsure what to do, ask yourself four questions:
IS IT TRUE?
Am I saying something I know to be accurate, or am I guessing?
IS IT WITHIN MY ROLE?
Is this something I am qualified and authorized to explain or do?
IS IT GOOD FOR THE FAMILY?
Am I making this decision because it serves the family, or because it serves me?
WOULD I BE COMFORTABLE IF THE CONVERSATION WERE REVIEWED?
Would I be comfortable explaining what I said or did to the family, another professional or Claim My Legacy leadership?
IS IT TRUE? → IS IT WITHIN MY ROLE? → IS IT GOOD FOR THE FAMILY? → WOULD I BE COMFORTABLE IF THE CONVERSATION WERE REVIEWED?
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, NOT TERRITORIES
Claim My Legacy does not provide protected territories or exclusive locations.
Another Legacy Specialist working in the same city, community or facility does not take away your right to build relationships and serve families there.
Likewise, being there first does not create ownership of the location.
NO ONE OWNS THE GEOGRAPHY.
But open geography does not mean someone else's specifically created business opportunity belongs to everyone.
If a Legacy Specialist creates, organizes, funds or markets a specific business opportunity, respect the opportunity they created.
Working in the same market does not entitle another Specialist to their leads, marketing investment or specifically created opportunity.
NO PROTECTED TERRITORIES. NO OWNERSHIP OF LOCATIONS.
WORKSHOPS CAN BE COLLABORATIVE.
RESPECT THE LEADS, INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ANOTHER SPECIALIST CREATES.
PROTECT THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE, NOT THE TERRITORY
When your path crosses with another Legacy Specialist, conduct yourself professionally.
You do not have to work together.
You do have to coexist professionally.
Families should never be placed in the middle of conflict between Legacy Specialists.
YOUR GREATEST COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS NOT GEOGRAPHY.
It is becoming the Legacy Specialist people want to work with.
OPPORTUNITY FOLLOWS READINESS
Larger opportunities sometimes require more than availability.
They may require demonstrated experience, professionalism, follow-through and the capacity to serve families well.
Completing Academy training does not create an entitlement to another person's business opportunity.
It gives you a path to becoming ready for opportunities of your own.
BUILD YOURSELF INTO SOMEONE OTHERS WANT BESIDE THEM WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY IS TOO BIG TO HANDLE ALONE.
PUT YOUR JUDGMENT TO WORK
Consider these situations:
A client asks you to interpret a paragraph in an existing trust.
Where does your role stop?
You realize something you explained yesterday was incorrect.
What do you do next?
A family wants a week to think, but you need one more client this month.
Whose needs determine your recommendation?
You created and funded a specific workshop, and another Specialist works in the same area.
What does no protected territory mean, and what does it not mean?
Another Specialist is already active at a community you want to serve.
How can you proceed professionally without claiming or surrendering territory?
WORK IN YOUR ACA-101 LEGACY SPECIALIST WORKBOOK
Complete the Module 5 Practice, Candidate Reflection and Ready to Demonstrate sections in your ACA-101 Legacy Specialist Workbook.
By the end of this module, you should be able to recognize professional boundaries, protect confidential family information, make family-first decisions and distinguish open geography from another Specialist's specifically created opportunity.
YOU SHOULD BE PREPARING TO:
- Recognize when to stop and escalate.
- Keep compensation from influencing your recommendation.
- Protect confidential family information.
- Own and correct mistakes.
- Apply the Decision Test when judgment is required.
- Distinguish open geography from another Specialist's specifically created opportunity.
READY TO CONTINUE?
Before moving forward, complete the Module 5 activities in your ACA-101 Legacy Specialist Workbook.
When you can demonstrate sound judgment, stay within your professional role and explain how you would protect both families and the Claim My Legacy standard in difficult situations, continue to Module 6.
When prompted, use the same Foundation password you used to access this module.