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Building Trust Through Competence and Compassion: Insights from the Military to Financial Advisory with Phillip Hulme
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What separates leaders who earn trust effortlessly from those who struggle, even with all the right qualifications?
In this episode, Stars & Stripes Financial Advisors founder Phillip Hulme reflects on why understanding someone’s language, background, and lived experience isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s often the difference between trust that grows easily and trust that never forms at all.
Phillip grew up in a military family, enlisted at 17, and spent over 7 years in service before transitioning into corporate America—and later financial planning. In our conversation, he shares how competence and compassion work together to build trust, why reliability is a superpower anyone can develop, and how one painful leadership experience taught him what not to replicate.
Listen in to hear stories about showing up fully, even when your time in an organization is coming to an end, and why listening without defensiveness is one of the most underrated trust-building habits a leader can have.
What You’ll Learn:
- How cultural competence creates immediate trust with military clients.
- Why reliability is one of the strongest signals of character.
- How compassion and competence work together in trust-building.
- What Phillip learned from a leader who lacked emotional intelligence.
- Simple habits he uses to invite feedback and strengthen relationships.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
- “One of the biggest components of trust is competence. And if I'm coming from a similar background—if I know your language, I know your culture—it allows me to be competent.” - Phillip Hulme
- “Competency is a part of trust, but competency is not all-encompassing… It is necessary, but insufficient.” - Phillip Hulme
- “Allowing people to speak their truth, to be honest, to operate with integrity requires that you have enough compassion to hear somebody out.” - Phillip Hulme
Resources:
About Phillip Hulme:
Phillip Hulme is the founder and Chief Financial Advisor at Stars & Stripes Financial Advisors, where he serves military members and veterans through culturally competent, accessible financial planning. A U.S. Army veteran himself, Phillip spent over 7 years in active service before moving into corporate America and ultimately discovering that financial advising was the perfect intersection of his love for personal finance and his desire to serve the military community. Phillip built his firm with a model that works for real military households — focusing on pensions, disability, healthcare, and GI Bill benefits rather than traditional asset-based requirements. Today, he helps clients navigate life transitions, build financial clarity, and make confident decisions rooted in trust and shared understanding.
Connect with Phillip: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube
Connect with Anne: LinkedIn
Connect with Us
If you enjoyed this episode, follow The Rise and Fall of Trust wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’re thinking about launching a podcast that builds trust and drives results, that’s our jam. Schedule a free call at Cashflow Podcasting to learn more.
Chapters
1. TRFT10 (00:00:00)
2. Introduction (00:00:44)
3. Philip's Military Background and Career Path (00:01:14)
4. Building Stars and Stripes Financial Advisors (00:02:36)
5. Understanding Military Culture and Language (00:04:41)
6. Trust Through Competence and Compassion (00:07:07)
7. Rising Trust Story: Proving Reliability in the Military (00:08:51)
8. The Power of Showing Up Every Day (00:13:19)
9. Falling Trust Story: When Competence Isn't Enough (00:14:36)
10. The After Action Review Incident (00:21:02)
11. Lessons on Compassion and Feedback (00:23:22)
12. Creating Safe Spaces for Client Feedback (00:24:33)
13. Reading Body Language and Building Trust (00:27:29)
14. Key Takeaways and Closing Thoughts (00:29:00)
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