Teamwork in Trading

from Dr. Steenbarger:

Using trading groups to move to the next level:
One of the most common concerns I hear from traders is difficulty "getting to the next level". Many have a sense that they've made progress, but can't quite take that next step toward consistent, significant profitability.

A tremendous advantage of trading within a firm is that you have multiple potential role models for getting to that next level. Within trading firms, you have colleagues who can discuss ideas with you, help keep you positive and motivated during dry spells, and inspire you to greater accomplishment.

Within a firm, also, you get regular feedback on your performance, assistance with risk management, and recognition for accomplishment.

All of these things are lacking for most independent traders.

I do not trade for a firm, but my work as a trading coach/psychologist brings me in contact with many traders and trading institutions. I cannot tell you how much I've learned simply by being around experienced, skilled traders. In such environments, you cannot help but absorb some of their knowledge and wisdom.

Does one need to actually join a trading organization, however, to benefit from group interactions with other traders? The popularity of chat rooms and Web 2.0 trading communities suggests that independent traders are using the online medium to create "groupness" and some of the advantages of affiliation with other traders.

But why not carry that forward yet another step and create actual virtual trading groups? Certainly the technology is readily available (instant messaging, Twitter, online conferencing) to facilitate interactions between and among traders in real time. If a truly committed band of traders decided to openly share ideas and trades, learning from mutual successes and setbacks, the gains in performance for the whole could be far greater than anything that might be achieved in isolation.

Such virtual trading groups would not require investments of capital or added risk. The only demand would be complete and total openness with trades, trade ideas, and trading results--and a willingness to both learn and facilitate the learning of teammates.

To be sure, such groups would require the right kinds of participants: ones sufficiently experienced to offer value to others, ones sufficiently committed to putting time and effort into learning, and--perhaps most of all--ones sufficiently secure to maintain an open kimono and share all the successes, failures, lessons, and letdowns.

A while ago, I conducted real-time postings of market observations, including my own trade ideas and trades. I then hit upon the idea of offering readers the opportunity to take turns leading these sessions via the blog, so that we could all benefit from multiple role models, myself included. Between 2000 and 3000 unique visitors access TraderFeed daily. How many responses do you think I got to lead even just one trading session by posting real time comments?

One.

Given that result, it's perhaps not so surprising that we don't see more virtual trading groups.

The most painful part of my training as a clinical psychologist was having to play tapes of my sessions for my supervisors. Every mistake, every missed opportunity was laid bare; there was no escape. In group supervision, getting a student to volunteer their tapes was torture. After initial hesitance, I pushed myself to volunteer; the worse the session, the more I forced myself to put it out there for learning.

That's what it took for me to get to the next level as a psychologist.

And that, I suspect, is why so few traders make it to that next level.

RELATED POST:

Performance and Profitability

Isolationism in trading:

A reader poses an excellent question:

What ideas do you have to help traders fight the isolation of trading alone with few outside contacts to discuss this style of making money? Most people are not very interested in discussing. Twitter is okay for news, but to share ideas it is just so so.

I addressed an important aspect of this issue in my post on virtual trading groups a while back; I also tackle this topic in the Trading Coach book. There is no question in my mind that, if I were to start trading full-time--knowing what I know now--I would either join a proprietary trading firm or would form my own "virtual trading group" by connecting online (and in real time) with a handful of like-minded traders.

Frankly, there is no guarantee that joining a prop firm will provide access to fresh perspectives and ideas, but at the good ones, the guys are always talking shop and you can pick up good stuff. My experience is that when you're prepared to give, you're likely to get. I often begin my interactions at prop firms that I work with by sharing my own ideas. It's surprising how often that leads to mutual brainstorming and exchange.

I know from my interactions with readers that there are many who are interested in mutual learning. Indeed, that is why many people responded favorably to my idea of a Chicago summer seminar in which the only "registration fee" was to bring one good, unique trading idea. My hope is that an event such as this could lead to further networking, from which could spring virtual trading groups.

Hint: Check out the most frequent participants in the comments sections of your favorite blogs and online forums. Many times, these will be the individuals most interested in networking and sharing ideas.

Finding trading teams:

In response to the posts on teamwork and performance and creativity and teamwork, several readers have asked how they might connect with others and enjoy the potential fruits of collaboration.

In her comment to the performance post, Michelle B. makes an excellent point. Teamwork cannot substitute for self-development. Before you have something to offer a team, you must first learn to coach yourself and bring the best out in you. Rarely can we offer more to others than we can provide to ourselves. Or, as Ayn Rand put it, one must have an "I" before meaningfully verbalizing "I love you."

This is why, in the Trading Coach book, Lesson 45 (Making the Most of Your Coaching Relationship with yourself) precedes Lesson 46 (Finding Positive Trading Relationships with others). Mastering our own self talk is helpful if we're going to talk constructively with others.

Michelle rightly points out that the Web offers a virtual treasure trove of potential collaborators. Take a look at your favorite websites and those that offer the best comments on those. Take a look at those who are sharing their work in blogs. Put your own comments and work out there. You'll be surprised at how many people you can network with and how many reach out to you.

Consider coaching in the world of athletics: the coach works with players in real time, during practice and during actual performance events. Teaching and coaching are seamlessly intertwined with the act of performing. Much of what makes teamwork powerful is that it occurs in real time, in the actual learning environment.

Real time electronic communications, from Twitter to IM and teleconferencing apps, make collaboration more possible than ever before. It is unfortunate that many of these efforts to date are pursued by performers who hope that teamwork will substitute for independent learning and gurus who desperately seek to profit from them.

You would not believe how many out-and-out frauds there are in the trading education, mentorship, and coaching worlds.

Don't let it get you down. Wherever and however it appears, seek out talent and let others share in your talents. Become your best and search for others who are doing the same. Over time, your team will coalesce.

Past posts have focused on the value of teamwork in trading and ways of finding teamwork in one's trading. The idea is to be part of a virtual trading group, even as one trades independently. This not only overcomes the problems associated with being isolated as a trader; it also creates a potential structure for accelerated learning.

A number of proprietary trading groups are recognizing the value of "groupness" and extending their work to independent traders. Trading RM in Chicago, for example, is offering a free trial of a service that enables traders to receive the actual trades placed by their prop traders, including stock and options trades. As their post points out, the idea is not to simply mimic their trades, but rather to use the information to highlight stocks showing trading promise. By tracking whether the traders are placing more long or short trades, subscribers gain an immediate measure of sentiment for the broad market.

Perhaps less obvious, such openness helps traders as well. Once all your trades become public, you become desensitized to losing. All your worst trades, as well as your best ones, are out there for the world to see. That goes a long way toward helping traders develop a thick skin during periods of slump. It's also harder for traders to lose discipline and "go on tilt" when they know that they're being tracked by colleagues within the firm and outside!