We always talk about how we want our employees to approach their job with an "ownership mentality". It's pretty obvious why. The logic goes if they think like an owner, they will perform their job more effectively, right? Well, not so fast. It all depends on what kind of owner we are talking about. I was having a conversation with a really good friend whose agency recently sold to a large, national broker. When I asked how it was going, I was a little taken back by his response. It wasn't so much that I was surprised by that the…

Leader or zoo keeper? You kind of need to be both We all know the responsibility that comes with leadership. Leaders, through their actions, behaviors, and results, set the tone for everyone else in an organization. What we have to remind ourselves of from time to time is that being a leader isn't about a title. Maybe it's for lack of the title that most agencies don't always think of their producers as leaders. Or maybe its because, all too often, producers aren't acting like leaders – you know, taking the right action, demonstrating the right behaviors, and driving the…

Strong leaders drive the organization with unified vision, sense of purpose, and common set of values. Without a strong leader, you simply have a group of individuals working in the same office. The leader of the organization sets the tone for everything to come. The type of leader you have and the behaviors and actions they display will determine the type of behavior and actions seen throughout the organization. The power of the leader is a lesson I learned very early in my career, and it's one that I use all the time. I had my daughter not long after…

Well, to be more accurate, there are countless ways to define success, but as an organization, you should have one overriding definition to which everyone and every department is working toward and to which they ensure that their personal/departmental definition of success supports. Unfortunately, that's rarely the case. Walk through your office and take a sample of how departments define success: Does marketing define success as creating greater brand awareness for the organization? Is the sales department's definition that of adding to the top line? When you ask the account managers, do they say it's to respond to clients and…

 Guest Blogger Sue Mason is President and co-owner of Preferred Benefits in Ada, MI. She is a member of Benefits Growth Network and is actively making changes in the way thier agecny operates, both internally and externally, to better serve their clients. We are delighted to share Sue's ideas with you and hope they inspire you to to rethink your own "Why".     I recently read the book Start with the Why by Simon Sinek. The lessons in this book went straight to the heart of the insurance agency business. Agencies are trying to reinvent themselves because they have…

How many of you hold back on bringing change to your team out of fear? Your fear may be anything from simply wasted effort all the way to a fear of someone quitting. I think mostly this fear is unfounded but, to the degree it is valid, as a leader, you have the ability to address the issue successfully. Why do I think it's unfounded? Well, there is evidence all around you that your employees are willing to change. How many of them use smartphones? How many of them are engaged in social networks – Facebook or LinkedIn? Those may…

As you know, I'm a big fan of themes to help us shape behaviors and actions. I recently wrote an article on how to take your team through the exercise of choosing a theme. The same exercise can also work just as well for an individual. Following that article, I read a discussion in one of my LinkedIn groups where the question asked was for each of us to share our Word for the year. It has been an extremely popular discussion with nearly 500 people sharing their word so far. Some offer explanations for their choice; some just share…

While there can be a lot of repetition, I do enjoy the myriad articles that come out each year offering advice on what you should do to make it a successful year. I also think that information becomes far more effective when you use it as inspiration to create your own. Instead of just reading what other people are going to do and possibly bashing the future failure of those ideas and resolutions, set yourself and your agency up for success. I don't actually like resolutions myself, but I do like themes. I think themes can become extremely effective for…

As a consumer, do you ever see a business that is in such obvious need of fixing, or see a huge opportunity for improvement, that you just shake your head and wonder what in the world is the owner doing? How can they possibly miss this?! If they would just offer (this feature) I would pay a premium! Or How in the world can they continue to let that person be their front line representative?! They are losing business as a result and don't even know it. Or Why doesn't the coffee shop have someplace to pour out the excess/leftover…

Taking on a new modelCreating a new cultureStarting in a new position These are all times where we feel compelled to dig deep and focus on self-improvement or team development. As we're moving more and more into being knowledge-driven businesses, waiting for a major event before seeking new knowledge isn't what will make you a leader. Continuously finding ways to increase your understanding of topics and being able to articulate the ideas effectively is increasingly important and is what will make you stand out in the crowded field of look-alike agencies. We've written a few times about this and given…