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Q. Can you briefly describe the Leadership Academy?
A: It’s an intense 6-day course held over 6 weeks, where future agency leaders and managers hone the skills that will help them develop into the stars who will guide your agency, the independent insurance agency system, and the industry.
Q. What skills are you talking about?
A: Communication, Goal Management, Motivation, Team Building, Powerful Presentations, The Power of Caring – and more!
Q: What if I can’t afford the $2,900 tuition?
A: I say, you can’t NOT afford it! And I’m not joking. This is YOUR agency and YOUR future – it’s crucial to invest in that next layer of leadership. You need to keep your best employees happy, satisfied, growing, and show that you value them.
Frankly, if you have someone that good, you don’t want them to leave you - and $2,900 is a very small investment for such a long-term value of having a person you and your staff can depend on.
Someone once asked a CEO, “What if you spend all that time and money training someone and then they leave?” He answered, “What if I don’t train them and they stay?”
Q: What if I don’t have anyone identified as that next leader?
A: Do you have someone in your agency who you tend to lean on? That others go to for guidance and advice? If you have that person, then they are worth the investment.
Also, there could be someone on your staff who has the potential and is just waiting for the opportunity to show you. You might be surprised at who will show interest if they are just asked! As my father used to say, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: You owe it to your agency (your asset) to invest in the future. A lot of people (employees, customers, carriers and vendors) depend on your agency not just surviving, but thriving.
If anyone has any individual questions, I would be very happy to talk with them. Email me at
jlombardo@biginy.org or call me at 315-432-4226.