Advertise on podcast: Leadership is the Conversation: Let's Talk

EXCEL-ERATED LEADERSHIP is a professional in-person development program for your high-potential and high-performing individuals and teams. Learn how to build better relationships, get better results, and be more influential inside your team, your department, and your organization.  Be seen as a leader!  It’s built and delivered with the highest Credibility.  Your facilitators have 25+ years of proven leadership development and executive coaching inside the insurance industry.  It’s designed for immediate Practicality.  Practice the proven concepts at home that evening and then at work the next morning. Workability.  The sessions are scheduled one month apart to limit your time away from the home or office. A professional development program for you, the high-performing individual to build relationships, get results and influence outcomes.

Meet Todd Wottring—Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at Butler University and owner of The Wottring Agency, an Allstate Insurance firm in Indianapolis. Todd is a lifelong insurance professional who began his career as an agent right out of college. Determined to rise above mediocrity, he committed to making insurance a true career—not just another job. Over the course of 30+ years with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Todd held numerous leadership roles, including Agent, Agency Development Specialist, Agency Manager, District Sales Director, and Manager of Life Insurance Training.  In this episode, we explore: Recruiting and investing in top talent versus settling for “C-players.”Helping employees achieve their aspirations so everyone wins.Setting clear, focused strategies and processes that drive sales.Focusing on client retention—the cornerstone of long-term success.Overcoming the “microwave society” mindset by investing in your agency and team for sustainable growth.Leveraging a coach to help you reach goals that you can’t achieve alone.Todd also serves as a facilitator in our Mastering Agency Management professional development series. Learn more and enroll in our next session today!  Invest in yourself—start building the agency you’ve always envisioned.

Join us for an engaging conversation with Tom Faulconer, Professor of Risk Management, and Insurance at Butler University, practicing attorney, and financial advisor.  Tom brings a wealth of experience from his distinguished career in the insurance industry, having served in leadership roles such as Director of Agency Training, Senior Vice President of Marketing, and Chief Marketing Officer at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.  In this first episode, we explore: Working ON your agency vs. IN your agencyMaking the leap from producer to managing producersLeveraging data to develop and empower your teamBalancing discipline, diligence, and vision to create your “lifestyle for the future”Tom is also a facilitator in our Mastering Agency Management professional development series.  https://equisconsulting.com/mastering-agency-management/  Invest in yourself—enroll in our next session today!

Wrapping Up Our Conversation with Steve Cissna Owner & President of Reedy Insurance Services, Seymour, Indiana Steve shares his thoughts on agency perpetuation and some hard-earned wisdom from his journey: Choose Your Path: Will you pass your agency on to your team or sell to private equity?Grow Smart: Don’t rely on profitability bonuses—focus on organic growth and managing expenses.Lead with Flexibility: When staff are late, stay calm and ask yourself—will this really change my life?Stay Positive: Insurance has its challenges, but it offers freedom, good income and the chance to help others.Document Everything: Good records support what “really happened” vs. “what others think happened.”Put Clients First: Always err on their side.Learn from Competitors: Conversations can lead to growth.Keep Connections Alive: You never know when you’ll need a helping hand.

We’re back for Part Two of our chat with Steve Cissna, Owner & President of Reedy Insurance Services in Seymour, Indiana. Steve dives into how he navigates the mix of certainty and risk when making big decisions to grow his agency. Here’s what we cover: Growing smart: What to think about when hiring new staff, bringing on agents, or expanding into new territories.Opportunity vs. timing: How to recognize when a growth opportunity is close enough to the plate to take a swing.Strategic choices: The pros and cons of hiring in familiar territory vs. buying an agency in a brand-new market.Culture matters: Why creating a flexible, family-like work environment makes all the difference. Steve believes people shouldn’t feel guilty for picking up their kids early—work should support life, not compete with it.Playing nice: Building strong relationships with other local agencies. As Steve puts it, “It’s a friendly sandbox if you can make it that way.”

We’re joined by Steve Cissna, Owner & President of Reedy Insurance Services in Seymour, Indiana. Steve opens up about his experience buying and growing a family-oriented independent agency — and what he’s learned along the way. We talk about: Buying an agency vs. building one from the ground upWhy matching with the right carriers really mattersGetting a handle on the financial side of ownershipThe not-so-fun (but necessary) business plans every carrier wantsHow agency decisions can ripple through family lifeWhether you're thinking about buying an agency or just want to hear from someone who's done it, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Program Description: In this Part 2 episode, John Horton of HOGAN Assessment Systems discusses the importance of leadership self-awareness and identifying the gap between a leader’s self-identity and his or her workplace reputation.   Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description: In this episode, John Horton of HOGAN Assessment Systems discusses the importance of leadership self-awareness and identifying the gap between a leader’s self-identity and his or her workplace reputation.   Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  In this episode, Suzanne shares with us her life experiences that would later shape her leadership style.  As the observant daughter of her mother, a business owner and her father, a funeral home director, Suzanne credits their influence in fashioning her own leadership view which values both business and empathy.  Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  In this episode, Suzanne shares with us her life experiences that would later shape her leadership style.  As the observant daughter of her mother, a business owner and her father, a funeral home director, Suzanne credits their influence in fashioning her own leadership view which values both business and empathy.  Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  In this episode, Karen shares with us the lessons that she learned in her early years as a manager in the retail drugstore industry through several human resource positions.  All leading her to the current position of Vice-President of Talent Management for this Fortune 500 insurance company.    Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  In this episode, Karen shares with us the lessons that she learned in her early years as a manager in the retail drugstore industry through several human resource positions.  All leading her to the current position of Vice-President of Talent Management for this Fortune 500 insurance company.   Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  In this episode, Darrin Walton, Executive Director of Claims, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance shares with us his discovery of the book The Leap to Leader How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership by Adam Bryant, Harvard Business Review Press.  Darrin, who has been leading others for the better part of 30 years, shares with us what drew him to this book and why these practical ideas may benefit you on your own leadership journey.     Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  In this episode, Darrin Walton, Executive Director of Claims, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance shares with us his discovery of the book The Leap to Leader How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership by Adam Bryant, Harvard Business Review Press.  Darrin, who has been leading others for the better part of 30 years, shares with us what drew him to this book and why these practical ideas may benefit you on your own leadership journey.     Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.

Program Description:  Today you will meet Rick Kuster, Senior Vice-President Chief Marketing Officer, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.  Listen in as Rick acknowledges those early mentors who saw his potential and set him on his leadership path.  A journey that took Rick out of his preference for leading one-on-one to leading hundreds.  Rick reminds us to trust ourselves, be “who we are” and resist the pressure to lead like others.  This one-one-one conversation is the second in our new series of “Inside the Leader’s Studio.”  Inside the Leader’s Studio will explore how today’s working leaders became who they are and how they lead. Please note that all views expressed in this podcast are the opinions of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization, employer, or group.