Leadership. It’s often misunderstood, especially in the insurance industry. And, in all 34 years of being an insurance broker, I rarely thought of myself as a leader. Although I’ve been running my own brokerage for 27 years, in my mind, I was “just a broker.” What a terrible mistake—not fully understanding the true definition and role of a leader.
Many people think that “real” leaders, “true” leaders are awarded or assigned the title, and leadership only comes with a higher position. At one stage of my life, I believed that too when, in fact, this isn’t true.
A leader is anyone who ethically influences those around them. A good leader inspires the people he/she connects with to be leaders themselves, and draws the gold out of individuals. If you have influenced someone to make an ethical decision, then you are a good leader, and believe it or not, everyone is a leader in one way or another. Some might just be using their leadership skills to influence negatively.
There are many, many people who have the “leader” title, but their lack of positive influence makes this given title a hollow one. All leaders, in one way or another, direct and guide whether it’s good guidance or not. Many people have good intensions and want to uplift humanity, but it takes those who lead selflessly to do so.

This leaves me with one question ringing in my head.

What are the traits of a good leader? I believe my social media manager share 3 of these fantastic traits with you last week, but before I give you the other 4, I want you to know first that every day you’re leading your family, your community, your team and your clients. Every day you’re also being led by other leaders around you.
I’ve been told that I’m a Laissez-faire leader. Knowing this means I’m able to adapt my leadership style to  to uplift and bring about the best results at work and in the insurance industry. Knowing the different leadership styles helps me identify what sort of leader my followers need in different circumstance.

Luckily, my employees know that naturally I’m a Laissez-faire leader and being unsupervised doesn’t mean I lacked interest, authority or know-how. It’s simply the way I lead best and work. I’ve realised that a Laissez-faire leader works best with other leaders which means in order for my insurance brokerage to be successful, I must draw the gold from my employees and show them the leader inside. The result of knowing this and adjusting to lift them all up as leaders, is priceless, and I’m so grateful to know the different leadership styles, as it’s helped me understand myself and work with many different types of people.

So what are the other 4 traits of a good leaders?

All leaders guide especially brokers and financial advisors, and if guidance is influence, what are the traits that you can learn to become a leader of great guidance and positive influence regardless of your job title or position. You can be a CEO, VP, producer, sales manager, waiter/waitress, driver, cleaner or designer.

Here are the other 4 traits that authentic leaders possess and all insurance brokers should have:

4. Experience

Knowledge isn’t the only trait that gives leaders credibility, but experience too. I find that the more one experiences, the more knowledge and wisdom one has. Although this trait can only come with time, it’s an incredibly powerful trait to have, as it allows leaders to guide, shape and share with the generations that follow.

I believe it’s important to note that great experience and wisdom is developed during times of reflection. I want to encourage you to reflect on conflict situations, as this allows you to add value and become more valuable to those around you. What did you do right? What could you do next time to better that situation. How was your response? Did it edify and encourage the people around you and your workplace? Reflection brings insight and insight is intuition.

5. Intuition

Intuition looks a lot like wisdom. It’s that gut feeling of knowing what to do and what not to do. It’s having vision and knowing more than just the facts to help you lead and make decisions.

Although intuitiveness is hard to define, and some confuse it with emotions (which can be dangerous), it’s vital for any leader to have so they can trust in their gut.

6. Never giving up

The other day I was listening to a podcast. The speaker was sharing a story about his ten-year-old son and how they were playing a card game. The father won over and over again, and by the sixth game he called it quits. The son perks up, “It’s not over until I win.” They ended up playing for another few hours, until the ten-year-old won. Then he went to bed.

Chasing success gives you no other option but to succeed. Every win you have in life and every win you have in the workplace and business builds credibility. When a leader has won over and over again, or even just once, it gives followers the confidence to follow. That she or he knows how to bring success to the team. and influence. Small wins are as great as larger wins; they give you self-confidence.

7. Ability

Your followers follow you, because you add something of value to their lives. They follow you, because in one way or another you make their life better. Demonstrating your ability to serve others increases your status amongst the community. You may be solving a problem for a client, which is daily for us brokers. We’re always dealing with unpaid claims and trying to get the best for our clients. Or you might be helping an employee. The ability to do, create and problem solve is the ability to add premium growth to your company and a partnering company.

Although leadership is misunderstood at times, the impact of it is still as great as its always been. Aim at applying these four and the previous three leadership traits and to your life. Endeavor to improve the leadership traits that you already have and watch as your business grow.