2018 Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year Agnes Ng shares her leadership philosophy

| 06 May 2019

Agnes Ng was crowned Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year at the 3rd Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards in Manila last year. With the win, she has been frequently invited to share her experience and leadership journey on various platforms. Here are three points she shared from her leadership philosophy to help you on your journey:

1. A bad financial consultant is worse than no consultant

Leaders, especially rookie or aspiring managers, often fall into the trap of recruiting indiscriminately.

In the haste to move into management, some may adopt a “recruit at all cost” mentality. While it may be tempting to do so when you are caught up in the stress of wearing multiple hats in sales, recruitment, coaching, and training, it would be a huge mistake.

A bad financial consultant is worse than no consultant. The time you spend coaching and training someone who is not suitable or committed to becoming successful in this career is wasted and should be spent on other responsibilities with our limited time.

(Pic: Sharing my life experiences during one of the many sharing sessions I had, this was together with my first Financial Consultant, Rachel Khoo)

Moreover, a financial consultant with a poor attitude will affect the whole culture and dynamics of your team.

Remember, we are here in this career for the long term. Don’t get caught up in chasing promotion in the short-term that you forgo or suffer the dream team dynamics and culture that you wish to build.

 

2. Rather than nag, show!

Especially as a new leader, it is important to lead by example and be a role model. And there’s no better way to show your financial consultants how to go about it by performing at a high level yourself.

Rather than tell, or more accurately, nag, show! Financial consultants today are not like in the past where agents listen to their managers and follow their instructions blindly. They want to see how it is done.

This is why I continue my advisory role and duties to this day. To become a role model for my team of financial consultants.

It also keeps me sharp to be on the ground so I can give practical advice to help my team when they face difficulties in the market. Because I will know exactly what they are going through instead of relying on my past records and achievements. 

(Pic: With my team as we celebrate our achievement in being the Top FSM Team in our Group for 2018 Q1)

 

3. Expect success

This links back to quality recruitment. If the recruitment process was executed well, both you and the financial consultant should expect nothing less than success.

Often, they would have given up their careers to join the industry. There must have been qualities that both of you felt was suitable in this person to succeed. So you owe it to your financial consultants to ensure that they succeed, and for them to know that they should expect themselves to succeed, having taken the bold step to join the industry.

Of course, I’m not advocating false pretence. It doesn’t mean avoiding telling a financial consultant what he or she needs to hear to improve.

But I’ve found that when you truly believe in your team and work in the best interests of your team to help them shine, they will sense it. Over time, they will begin to see that they can accomplish more than they ever thought possible.

(Pic: Celebrating when four of my Financial Consultants got promoted to Senior Financial Consultants early this year. (Missing adviser in picture was on maternity leave))

And as leaders, there’s no greater joy than watching your financial consultants excel in this career, and in the process achieve more than the limits they or society placed on them in the past.

When you are able to achieve that, and when you help enough financial consultants to excel, I believe awards and recognition become by-products. Because any award that we win as a leader, all credit goes to the team. So thank you, team!

(Pic: With the team at Asia Advisers Network's anniversary celebration)

Remember, it’s not a sprint, we are here for the long-term. The leadership journey is a long one and we are only getting started. I wish you the very best!

Pics courtesy of Agnes. This article first appeared here.


Read more from our past winners here:

Position yourself for success -Insurance Agent of the Year 2018 Amy Wat

Winning Insurance Agent of the Year 2017 was an inflection point of my career - Divya Tusnial

11 hard truths on retirement - Inspirational Agent of the Year 2018 finalist Damian Pang
 

This year's 4th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2019 will be held in Bangkok on 18 July. Join in the celebrations and attend the inaugural Agency Innovation Conference here.