No stories from me today.
Instead, I amplify the voices of three Black industry professionals whose own stories we need to hear.
Deidre Wright’s disturbing - and disgusting - experience in the workplace: Read more
Adeola I. Adele on the difference in the sense of belonging and privilege that white employees feel in comparison to their African-American colleagues in the industry: Read more
Sha'Ron James asks how far do you have to scroll to find someone who doesn’t look like you? Read more
P.S. Amy C. Waninger, CPCU (she, her) reminds us that we don’t need an invitation to support our non-white colleagues: Read more
Fake it till you make it
When can I stop faking it?
And how do I know I’ve made it?
“Fake it till you make it” is very well intended advice, after all.
I’ve had adult-types throughout my life share this wisdom with me - intending to encourage me to take chances in my life and career, even when I didn’t feel ready.
Or qualified.
Or deserving.
Or enough.
But “Congratulations! Now you can stop faking it...because you’ve made it!” said no Hallmark greeting card ever, right?
So once you’ve stepped into the uncertainty, how do you know you belong there?
Sometimes the outcome isn’t within our control - like the cheerleading squad I didn’t make or the cute boy who said no when I asked him to prom.
But we can learn what it feels like when we defer our expertise to others - and when we shrink from opportunities for *all the reasons.*
When we feel the feeling - we can make a different choice.
We can stop faking it and honor the fact that we’ve made it.
I’d love to know: what’s a chance you took before you were ready?
“Faking it till you make it” is part of a larger discussion about imposter syndrome hat I'll be facilitating along with Erin Brown. The 6-week series kicks off Thursday, and we’re saving a seat for you. Learn more here.
CTRL - ALT - DEL
I woke up yesterday to a laptop that wouldn’t power on.
I did the troubleshooting I know how to do (hello, Google!), and then made a plan to call the repair shop as soon as they opened.
As I looked at my day and all that required my laptop to do it, I felt my anxiety rise.
But when I took a deep breath, I also felt relief.
Relief?
Relief.
I’ve been working this week to draft the perfect message to send to my newsletter subscribers. The not tone-deaf one that would leave every reader feeling supported and empowered and none offended - and inspire everyone that would read it to action.
Yesterday, of course, was the self-proclaimed deadline to hit “send.”
No laptop = no newsletter, right?
Sigh.
I know that procrastination and perfectionism are how imposter syndrome shows up for me - the excuses to not take the next step - and “just one more day” to get it right.
A perfectly-timed session with my business mastermind yesterday helped me to remember why I do what I do - and the newsletter WILL be going out this afternoon.
And if you’re curious about imposter syndrome, join Erin Brown and me for a six-week guided exploration; we’re getting started on June 18th. Join us here.
Can someone hand me my megaphone?
I‘m pretty sure I’m ruined for any future work in corporate America.
As if all my talk here about feelings - fear and inadequacy and self-doubt - hasn’t proven it, my feelings following the events of the past couple of days just might.
Last night, the chants of peaceful protesters floated through my Chicago neighborhood.
And, this morning, I felt the crunch of broken glass from store windows below my feet as I walked down familiar streets to get my coffee.
Truth?
If I keep my eyes closed long enough, the broken glass will be cleaned up and the neighborhood will soon return to “normal.”
My eyes have always been closed in so many ways, after all.
As I consider my experience in the insurance industry - where every boss I’ve ever had has looked like me - and where social media policies and corporate communications departments gave me permission - made it easy even - to keep my eyes closed, today they are wide open.
My dear friend closes her emails with this quote: “Do something, even if it’s wrong.”
I know I may get it wrong, but I will do something anyway.
The Values at Your Core
The first cubicle I ever worked in had walls the color of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
That cubicle, and every one I’d occupy as I made my moves within the insurance industry - regardless of its shade of gray or brown - would have a piece of paper tacked to the wall that read “Core Values.”
Sometimes it was a black and white photocopy - and in others, you could tell the marketing department had added their flair; it was colorful, with imagery and a glossy finish.
In some cases, the Core Values were handed to every new hire - and on that cubicle wall they’d remain.
In others, they’d be referenced in meetings with clients and colleagues.
“We embody our core values,” we’d say. “We have integrity, we put people first and we do the right thing.”
And in others, a task force would review and revise them every year as part of the corporate strategic plan, swapping last year’s buzzwords for the new.
When you left your office for the last time, did you unpin those Core Values from your cubicle wall?
As we consider future plans for the organizations we serve - sorting through the guidance, the recommendations and the rules and regulations - your core values might be just the place to start.
Core values: What’s your number one?
Who Do You Think You Are?
“Hi Meg,” she said. “Just confirming we have the correct mailing address for you?”
Yes, the controller at the firm had the correct address.
The reason I hadn’t cashed the check wasn’t that I didn’t receive it - it was because I didn’t believe I’d actually earned it.
When would they learn that the guidance I provided was bogus? When would they decide that the fee I charge wasn’t worth it? That the better-known firm (that wasn’t mine) was the better option after all?
Of course, none of those things were true, but the narrative I’d crafted about my ability to deliver on the promise I’d made was very real.
This narrative has a name: Imposter Syndrome.
And how it manifests for me will be different than it is for you.
Next week, I’ll be alongside Erin Brown - founder of Lead Connext - as we engage in a candid dialogue about imposter syndrome. We’ll learn what it is - and isn’t - and how it manifests for us, and for you, too. We invite your questions - and your stories - as we bring awareness to a topic that is so relevant for so many.
Our first session sold out - so we’ve added a second. With complimentary and pay-what-you-can options, join us here.
Where did all the interns go?
Do you know a famous underwriter? Or a claims adjuster with her own reality show?
Twenty years ago, I didn't even know what an underwriter or a claims adjuster was.
Later this afternoon, it’ll have been that many years since I crossed the steps leading up to the library on the quad at Illinois Wesleyan University to collect my diploma.
A few days later, I’d pack up my car and head to the middle of Ohio where I’d begin a new job with an insurance company there.
But my insurance career actually began the year prior - as an intern in insurance sales.
And today, I am 100% certain that if not for that experience, and for the insurance agent license that I earned in the process, I would not be doing the work I do today.
I didn’t, after all, have a famous insurance agent in my purview to emulate as a little girl.
The insurance industry will look so very different for the young professionals of today than it did for me so many years ago.
And as I learn every day about internships that have been halted, for obvious reasons, I wonder how many career trajectories are changing as a result?
These days I daydream about re-imagining the internship experience - and what this can look like in our next normal. What do you think?
The One Thing
Yesterday I paid someone else so that I could re-caulk my own bathtub.
Writing this, it makes zero sense, I know.
This task, though, has been on my to-do list since before Illinois’ shelter in place order went into effect in March.
And knowing myself as I do, it would still be on the list until the eve of the lift of the SIP.
Yesterday, while participating with others in Saya Hillman's Cross It Off Day, I caulked that tub - and the sense of accomplishment is still with me this morning.
When I said the words out loud, the goal became real - and there was no way I wasn’t going to finish it.
Accountability is a natural byproduct of the work I do with insurance salespeople. When we meet each week, we set short-term goals that also become real:
Did you:
✔️Follow-up on those open proposals?
✔️Update your LinkedIn profile to include virtual appointments?
✔️Set aside 20 minutes for self-care?
✔️Do that thing you said you’d do?
Like it or not, we are so much more likely to keep the promises we make to others than the ones we make to ourselves.
What’s been on your to-do list for way too long?
P.S. Sign up for Saya’s next Cross It Off Day here, and learn more about the work I do here.
Feel the Feelings
I knew the tears were coming - instinct told me they were long overdue.
That they would start flowing during a recorded Zoom call wasn’t exactly ideal.
“Is it hard because it’s supposed to be? Or is it hard because it’s not right for me?”
For days (weeks?) I’ve been turning these questions over and over in my head - and my heart.
“I’m a sales coach, for goodness’ sake...I’m supposed to have the solution! My 'Expert Guide to Selling Insurance in a Pandemic' should already be published!”
I must, therefore, be doing it all wrong.
But what if that feeling of misalignment meant that I’m doing it exactly right?
I do not - now or ever - offer a “five-step system to 10X your revenue overnight.” I do not promise you X hot leads per week or a pipeline that is perpetually full.
What I offer is space - at the intersection of personal and professional development - for you. To show up fully, exactly as you are as you move forward - day by day - in your sales career.
What if your job was not to sell insurance, but rather to become the person your future clients wanted to buy insurance from?
If you see the difference, I’d love to talk; I’m holding space in my calendar for you.
Momentum
My word for 2020 is “momentum.”
Let’s just let that settle in for a moment.
Sigh.
Like you, I’m sure, I’ve become really discerning about the information I take in these days. There’s so much “advice” that’s really just noise, and it makes my head - and heart - ache.
And then there are the cliches. So many cliches.
My current least favorite: This too shall pass.
What seems like overnight, the trajectory of the work I do has changed. Most of the time, I choose to believe it will be for the better.
And yet there are moments, usually just before I consume an episode of Tiger King (what is that show?!), I’m a little less sure.
This morning I’m revisiting my goals - it's the most practical advice I’ve received to date. They will be focused on the immediate term rather than the long.
These new goals feel possible and I feel capable.
Did you choose a word or intention for 2020? How does it feel now? I’d love to know more below.
P.S. If you’re a manager of salespeople, please lean in deeply in your support of them; they need your leadership now - more than ever - as what feels possible for them, too, is shifting. And if you make your living in sales, please don’t forget that you’re allowed to ask for help if you need it.