I take my new years resolutions seriously. I love the idea of taking time to think purposefully about how I'm living my life, where I want to be, and how I want to better myself. I hadn't given it much thought when Paul Wilson, Editor in Chief at BenefitsPro asked me about mine, so it was a welcome impetus to give it some thought, and contribute to a story published this morning. I was excited to join the ranks of some power players in the industry sharing our intentions for this year, and I thought I'd share my full thoughts. Read the full article here, and my full thoughts below.
Last year, my resolution was to address areas of inertia in my life. I had been living in Boston for four years and had seen Maxwell Health through three years of incredible growth. I had it going on - family close, friends that were like family even closer, a great job with an inspiring company, incredible technology, and an empowering manager, but I was comfortable. So when an opportunity arose to join HealthJoy and move to a new city and force myself to meet new people and try new things and develop new habits, I decided to jump in with both feet.
Change isn't easy. Nothing was what I expected it to be. Everything is different, but I'm a better person because of it. I'm uncomfortable every day, and I'm pushing my limits, and I'm growing and learning and building new skills and thought processes— physically, emotionally, and intellectually— and even if I'm learning is what I don't want, that's incredibly valuable. I've already developed the foundation of a whole new network of wonderful people in Chicago, and I'm working on making this city feel like home.
This year, I'm focusing on two core values in everything I do, and I think they're relevant for the insurance industry as well: empathy and authenticity. I believe they must exist together: Empathy without authenticity is superficial and off-putting. Authenticity without empathy is abrasive.
Especially in sales and marketing, we forget that whatever we're selling isn't about us, it's about our customer. Too often in insurance, we forget that it's not about our bottom line, or even our client's: it's about the health and financial well-being of real families and the experiences they have during the scariest times in their lives. This isn't an industry that should have any tolerance or space for smoke-and-mirror tactics, superficiality, or abrasiveness. We need to work together with people that think differently to solve problems for people with real impact and implications. I think this mindset will be helpful while navigating not only new friendships and tough sales cycles but navigating a very polarizing political environment as well.
Both personally and professionally, this year I'm focusing on empathy for the people and situations around me first, and to represent myself and what I stand for authentically, always. I want to learn to better lean in to tough conversations that need to be had, and to listen and learn from people and places that provide a different perspective.