Fellow Members, this month has been one big roller coaster of a ride! It has been most successful for me. I'm hoping that most of the people that read my blog are doing so because they are interested in mentoring due to being new to insurance or the association. Because I want them to see exactly how mentoring has brought me to success. Successes this month include:
1) Attending National Convention
2) Winning Rookie of the Year
3) Being Installed as Local President
Attending National may not seem like a "success" or have anything to do with mentoring, but for me it does. This mentoring lessons was taught to me about a year and a half year ago. I was lucky enough to be on a short road trip with one of the leaders of my local association. At the time I had been in the insurance industry only about a year and a member of Insurance Professionals for about six months and was headed to my first Council meeting. I was looking for any way I could to save money on the trip and this local leader had offered for me to ride with her for the three hour drive. I was grateful not only to save the cost of travel but mostly to have her captured attention to ask her all sorts of questions about Insurance Professionals and the insurance industry. It was during that trip that she told me that she had always negotiated the financial cost of being a member of Insurance Professionals into her employment contracts. This surprised me, it had not even occurred to me that you could do that! I knew that many employers would support employees in industry associations and I had asked my employer to support me in the yearly and monthly dues. Considering asking for anything beyond that wasn't even a possibility in my mind. Well, I took that little nugget of information home with me and thought about it quite a bit. I finally decided to try it myself. I wasn't able to negotiate a new contract for my employment so I decided to just simply ask! My confidant at my employer discouraged me but I decided the worst they could do would be to say "No". So, fighting my personal fears, against others advice and with hope and encouragement from the original conversation I planned my approach and was very pleasantly pleased! They said "Yes". Since then my employer has supported me through one council, two regionals and two nationals! I'm certain that I would not have been able to attend any of the regional or national conferences without their financial support. All of that from a conversation with one of our local association leaders. (I knew that was going to be a great trip) I learned several things from this lesson: have courage, don't listen to the naysayers, and recognize my value and the value of Insurance Professionals. This built a lot of confidence for me.
Winning Rookie of the Year at National was phenomenal! If you think I did that on my own you must be crazy! My road to Rookie started before I even knew there was an award to win. From the very beginning of my membership my local association brought me in and put me to work. When I joined Insurance Professionals my local was revving up for the regional conference they were hosting. Luck of all luck, the conference was literally just across the street from my employment. I was only a member for a couple of months by the time we attended the conference so my understanding of Insurance Professionals was still pretty weak . Everything and everyone was so new to me that it's hard for me to remember a lot of details about the event. Though, I definitely remember the evening in the hospitality room when the then current International President, Margaret Wildi, took the time to talk with me. I was so impressed that the international head of our association would bother to take so much time with a new member. We spoke for quite a while and I will always find inspiration in that memory. The support and encouragement from not just my local but also state, region and eventually national is why I was able to accomplish so much. I have to tell all those new members out there. Go to all the conferences you can. Network as much as you can. Even when it seems like a short simple conversation, that conversation can take you to unexpected and great places. It has for me. I have friends all over this country because of Insurance Professionals.
My next greatest thrill after Rookie is being installed as Local President. I LOVE my local association because they are exceptional. I hope everyone feels that way about their local association. If you don't feel that way then make it exceptional! We are all responsible for our association. Whew, have I received a lot of mentoring for this. I didn't have to be talked into this position, as some may. I was ready to take on this role (I just didn't necessarily know what to do). My Main Mentor Margie, or M4 for short, has helped me over many obstacles while planning my term. She has given me ideas, guidance, timelines, deadlines and the room to succeed or fail on my own. I know somewhere during this next term I'm going to fall flat on my face. In fact, I'll be lucky if it's just once. But I'm taking to heart the new concept I learned at National this year. Insurance Professionals gives us the ability to practice and fail without fear. I know if I make a mistake that I will have someone there to help make it right, without fear of losing my job or receiving a black mark on my permanent record.
This short list of three accomplishments changes my list of goals. One goal will always be on my list, one is marked complete and the third, having been on my list for over a year, is really just beginning. Whatever my goals are I know that I will always have an unlimited supply of mentors and supporters. Almost every point I make above involves a different mentor and there are so many more that I haven't mentioned, but all are from Insurance Professionals.
