The ability to make a living whilst helping clients to achieve financial security makes a career in the insurance industry both rewarding and noble. However, even with the best of intentions it is not uncommon for agents and agency leaders to feel down from time to time given the number of objections and rejections they face on a daily basis. We take a look at are some lessons we can gleam from community leaders in Singapore to stay motivated.
Leadership
For agency leaders, Mr Lim Siong Guan, Group President of GIC – one of the world’s largest global investors, with well over US$100 billion of assets in more than 40 countries worldwide, said: “All leaders should seek to be teachers – to make the people you work with and the people who work under you the best they can possibly be. That is the fundamental responsibility of the leader in any organisation.”
He said that leaders must change outdated attitudes to fully realise and maximise the potential of their subordinates. Leaders are in a good position of privilege to be able to discover what motivates the people they work with and the people who work under them, allowing a leader to give subordinates a sense of purpose and worthiness to their efforts and ensure a framework is in place to give subordinates the maximum possibility to be able to do their jobs the best they possibly can.
The leader is no longer the guy on top who has an idea and forces everyone to meekly obey and to follow blindly. There must be an acceptance of the fact that everyone has their own ideas and systems of working that should be collectively harnessed so as to create the best possible solutions that achieve more than the original idea, said Mr Lim, who previously served as permanent secretary at the Ministries of Defence, Education, Finance and Prime Minister’s Office.
Overcoming negative preconceptions
And for agents and advisers out there who suffer from being view with scepticism and apprehension, a lesson or two can be learnt from Mr Benny Se Teo, CEO of Eighteen Chefs, a popular Singaporean restaurant chain cum social enterprise that employs ex-offenders and troubled youth.
Life was not always as rosy as it is now for this successful businessman. Earlier on in his life, Mr Teo had spent time in prison and rehabilitation centres for drug-related offences. He faced lots of difficulty in being able to find employment after his release from rehabilitation due to his criminal record. Through his hard work, sheer force of will and ingenuity, Mr Teo along with two partners, created the Eighteen Chefs restaurant and slowly grew it to the successful company it is now
What Mr Teo did was to attempt to change the mind-set of the public and the views they had towards ex-offenders. Through his restaurants policy of hiring ex-offenders and troubled youth, Mr Teo is slowly acclimatising Singaporeans to the idea that ex-offenders can be trusted and that they can be reintegrated into society. With actions and sincerity, much can be achieved and new grounds broken.
“I never imagined that one day I can run a restaurant, or even a chain restaurant. So I always believe that if you’re passionate enough to believe in something, work on it and it can happen,” he said.
Catch inspirational “In Search of Purpose” talk series by Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC). Speakers from the region and abroad share their personal life experiences on a wide range of topics as the series of talks encourage and inspire adults to give back and to contribute towards a more inclusive and caring community.