Useful Tip for Insurance Agent

Add passion and perseverance to talent

Most of us tend to believe that our talents will lead us to success, but the truth is success requires a combination of passion and perseverance. The various studies have revealed that people even if naturally talented, success will not to come to them, unless they consistently practice. Rarely does success happen overnight, experts point out that it may take at least ten years to reap the success of one’s efforts (usually called ‘ten year rule’) and stories of successful people are testimony to this fact.

The ability to inspire people to reach great heights of performance and success is a skill that leaders need. Passion, purpose. Listening and helping others makes an inspirational and purpose shall estabilish the inspirational culture in an organization. The under mentione characteristics will inspire and motivate you and the people you lead:

1. Focused Practice: The focused practice is directed not only on improving performance but also aims at prepearing the same set actions again and again till one attains perfection. Constant practice is important because as Ericsson says “Elite performers in many domains have been found to practice every day including weekends.” Regular practice leads to better performance and eventually to great performance. Winston Churchill practiced his famous speeches before addressing the public. In facr childhood prodigies could reap success from innates talents only through constant practice. Unfortunately today, such perseverance has lost its meaning because talent is more celebrated that doggedness. One needs the courage to stick to one’s beliefs and be committed to hard work in order to succeed. Research shows such grit is required if one has to get over set-backs that are inevitable when pursuing long-term goals. Even if one does not posses exceptional talents, the tenacity to stick to one’s goals along with the commitment can help to get one ahead. Perseverance is as important as intelligence for success. Such perseverance can be incorporated even in work. Focused practice in improving on areas like making presentations, handling negotiations and discussions can make one better at work. The key is to approach work with a new perspective and the belief that can do better that the present level of achievement.

2. Improving Performance: One has to aim at improving performance ; this will change the approach to work and also change the ability to process and to retain information. One has to make efforts to seek more information. One has to make efforts to seek more information and new perspectives, so that one can perform better Some more pointers are:

a) Think out of the box, be creative and think differently.

b) When doing critical tasks, have an aim to do it better , find efficient alternate ways.

c) After finishing the task, get feedback from superiors/peers. make necessary changes.

d) Consistently build a mental model of the organization and keep on modifying the model to adapt changes.

e) Constantly practice these steps to get better.

Along with this the mindest with which one approaches one’s task is also important. Though others may be doing the same tasks, one’s attempt to explicitly get better as it, using concentration and focus will consequently lead to better performance.


3. Motivation: To infuse the winning edge in one’s work performance, motivation is important For most of us hard work is enough and we dispense with extra efforts to better it. But remember success hinges on the efforts to go extra mile. Motivation is critical factor here, the grit and determination to pursue one’s goal and preserving at with constant practice, is what sets apart th successful people. Unforfunately most of us are happy with the idea that we can success with talents we posses and are not willing to make the extea effort, We are just not willing to push harder.


4. Professional Image- Professional image is defined as, “set of qualities and characteristics- such as trustworthiness, carring, humanity, and capability that represent perceptions of one’s competence and character as judged by the key constituents (i.e. clients, superiors, subordinates, and collegues).” People draw, conclusions about persons character, and abilities taking cue from one’s appereance , the way one represents himself, what and how one says, it one’s body language, how one behaves and his values. These conclusions guide their interactions and behavior with the person. Careful analysis of there interactions and behavior gives the person an understanding of how the people perceive him. Asking them about what they think of him can also give him an insight. These constitute the perceived professional image of the person- the image he thinks people currently have of him.

5. Impression Management - perceived professionals image may not be in line with person’s desired professional image- how he wants other to perceive him. And this is cause of misunderstanding, unmet expectations and several other work place issues. So employee should be clear on what kind of image they want to project it right. This is called Impressions management.


Impression management is nothing but a person controlling his self presentation, so that he creates the desired impression on others. And first step in this is discovering what kind of impression he is creating or has created on others. Then he has to define his ‘desired image’. This formulation should take into account his current image, goals, strengths weakness, and culture of the organization. Creating the right professional image is not living a different character all together. So the desired personal image cannot be far from the original character of the person. It should demonstrate his existing strengths and positive traits and help him build some more, which help him achieve his professional goals. People manage impression through their non verbal behavior (Appearance demeanor), verbal cues (vocal pitch, tone, and rate of speech, grammar and diction, disclosure) and demonstrative acts(job performance). So the person aiming to improve his professional image can start with inculcating these elements in him and should asses as to what message they are conveying to others about him. The next step is to identify factors that led to the perceived image. For example a person’s perceived image is ‘Lacks confidence’ though his desired image is ‘confident’. This Conclusion would have been derived because of his behavior which was not assertive but defense or because he had not used the right tone. This image may or may not be right but is definitely not the desired image. So, he has to work towards correcting it.


6. Ensure one’s contribution being noticed by top people-

Recognition is not something to be left to chance. One must put-in honest efforts to make people sit up and notice one’s special skills and abilities. If one feels too shy to talk about achievements, it is time that one puts these inhibitions behind him. In this fiercely competitive world it is very important that one makes himself more visible to taste the career success one desires. It is not suggested that one should start bragging about oneself but atleast make modest attempts to project his talents in the best light before people who matter. There is no denying the fact that we are all recognition hungry. We crave for appreciation and want world to recognize talents. Recognition motivates us to progress in our career. But it also happens that many a times our best efforts go almost unnoticed. Why does fame embrace only a select few while many other talented people remain in obscurity?
This is because talen alone is not enough to get recognized and a subtle of promotion of oneself is necessary too. While one puts one’s best \effort forward at work, take a little time to asses how much upper levels of management know about him and also about his talent. Don’t be surprised if they know little or nothing about one’s talent. Therefore, to start building one’s image, one must come out of one’s shell and start participating in seminars and all other important public forms to showcase one’s skills. Use these events to cultivate friendships within and outside the organization. Remember without a little PR one is bound to stagnate. Focus on professional appearance and good manners to make a favorable first impression. Walk, talk and work with an air of self-assurance that compels other to pay attention.

7. Creative Diversity. Diversity in thought processes, opinions, skills and even solutions, makes for more creativity and innovation. One must feel a sense of ownership and purpose towards one’s job and organization. Introduce an element of fun and excitement into process and be generous with praise and recognition to your peers/ subordinates. Encourage people from different backgrounds to participate in creative process.

These are some of the important characteristics that are desired in each one of us. To succeed in one’s carreer, employees should try to project an image that has as many characteristics as possible that much with those required in his role. For instance, the Ideal professional image of a sales person is pleasant, sociable, confident, friendly, trust worthy and goal oriented. If he succeeds in projecting this image, it will be easy for him to attract his audience, hold their attention, and make them believe that he has a point, convince them and negotiate to win.

Developing the commitment and tenacity to pursue higher goals, not giving up and developing the passion to get better at work, are key factors to move from good to great. Passion and preservance added to talent gives the person self-control, self-confidence, good relations and fulfilling work experience and career development. On the organizational front, it leads to client satisfaction, pleasant work environment, strong work culture and team building. People are the most valuable assests of all organizations. Organizations that acknowledge this fact and continue investing in their people and their development will reap the benefits of enhanced engagements now and in future when things take a turn for better. To sustain competitive advantage when resource are scare. It is essential that one delivers more value, for which his skills and knowledge need to be continually updated to stand out from the crowd so as to become an expert in niche area. Instead of focusing on being being well rounded, shrpen and area of strength to such levels of finesse that you come to be known as genius in the field.

POST by Bijay Thapa. bijay-lifeinsurance.blogspot.com