3 Key Responsibilities of Experienced Insurance Leaders

If you’re a close follower of Insurance Journal’s Academy of Insurance, you already know that we recently conducted a State of Learning in Insurance survey. You may also be aware that we are holding a webinar on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. There may still be room for you if you want to attend, just saying…

We learned a lot in putting this survey together, looking at the data, and creating an interesting and engaging report and presentation for our audience. There was a correlation between experience in the industry and awareness of training opportunities. I hadn’t thought about it much before, but we found that those with the least experience in the industry were not as aware of available training as those who were most experienced.

Now consider that the insurance industry is facing a talent shortage. It’s not on the horizon, but you can see it clearly from where we stand. There seems to be a connection here. If you have been in the insurance industry for longer than someone else in your office, you have some responsibility as a leader. I know, not everyone has the word leader/manager/supervisor in their job title. However, think back to when you were new at what you do. Hopefully, someone stepped up and helped you along, showing you the ropes and making you fit in with the team. That person was a leader, whether by title or job description or not. That’s the position that many of us are in now. We’ve been around the block and we can be leaders to the new folks that are coming into the industry. As leaders, here are three responsibilities that we have toward the new people around us.

Welcome them to the team. This may seem trite and common sense, but there’s a big difference between that first day welcome when everyone stops what they’re doing, smiles, shakes hands and says the obligatory, “If you need anything, come see me.” Here’s the truth. Most of us didn’t mean it when we said that because after about the second or third interruption, we make it clear (usually through body language, or putting our earbuds in) that no further interruptions will be tolerated. Figure it out for yourself, new person. Let’s not do that. You know how things work in the office. Take the time to fill the new person in. Take the time to help them to set up their email. Take the time to let them know who to avoid before 10 a.m. Take the time to help them figure out what training they will need and how to get it. Introduce them to key people. Let them know who else they can get help from. Show them the best place to get lunch. Welcome them in.

Model ethical behavior. Please don’t get your feathers ruffled. You know full well that there is a reason that most states require licensed insurance professionals to complete ethics training at least once every two years. We need to model ethical behavior. People that are new to the industry already have their own ethical compass, but they also have an image of what passes as acceptable behavior in insurance and it’s our responsibility as leaders to help them to understand what is appropriate in our industry so that we don’t have to deal with an ethical failure that puts your office in the news. Ethical behavior also includes how to get along in an office; avoiding gossip, not doing personal business during work time, etc.

Pass on what you know. If someone took you under their wing and helped you in your early days, this is your chance to pay it forward. You can’t go back and help that person, but you’re here and now and you can help the new person. If no one took you under their wing and you had to struggle through to learn even the basics to get your work done, remember how that felt. Remember how hard that was and don’t make someone else go through that. You already know the best classes to go to, the classes that will help someone who is new. You already know which CE instructors can hold a class, and which instructors can take a one hour class and make it feel like four hours. This goes to the heart of what we learned in our survey. You have knowledge that your new peers don’t have. They don’t even know what to ask for. You do. Help them to ask for what they need.

Your experience at your current company and in the industry gives you an edge and makes you a leader. A leader is someone who has influence with others and can impact their behavior or attitudes. Your new peer will pick up some of your attitudes and actions. They will look at you as someone who has successfully built a career where you are. Why not use that influence to make your office better by helping one person to get their career off on the right foot? Maybe if we all act like leaders and help bring along those that come after us, we will turn around in a few years and find that the talent gap has narrowed and there’s a crowd from the next generation following us in this industry.

Topics Leadership Training Development