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This podcast guest has so much wisdom to share that during the course of the discussion, Anthony even finds himself changing perspective. Michelle Sartain knows how to succeed and she uses her skills and knowledge to help others succeed as well. Throughout the podcast, Michelle gives valuable insight on a platform for a true leader.
As the US Sales Leader for Marsh, Michelle is responsible for growth, retention, innovation, client service, and guiding sales strategy across the United States. Although there are a lot of responsibilities that come with being a national sales leader, Michelle feels as though she grew into her roll and that each opportunity she had previously helped her to develop the skills for her current position. Throughout her 21 year career in the insurance industry, she faced numerous challenges. Michelle recalls one specific example of when she was taken out of a role that she thought she was doing well at. The company had decided to hire from outside the company to fill the role and only after she did some soul searching and stepped away from the challenge, that she was able to realize that her ego was really at the root of what caused her to be so shaken by the decision. Now, she looks back at that moment and is thankful because had she let that “defeat” get the best of her, she would not be where she is today.
If you ask Michelle’s children, her work day consists of a lot of meetings. However, to Michelle her work day is filled with opportunities to connect to colleagues and clients. She believes that the key function of her job is to help others do their job more effectively and loves to spend her time finding opportunities to do so. As a working mom with a demanding job, Anthony asks how she is able to balance her personal life with her work life. For Michelle, work fulfills her and she believes that she is a better mom by being a working mom. She has an amazing support system at home and realizes that tradeoffs need to be made on both professional and personal sides to find a balance. Michelle also acknowledges that there are many things that have to be prioritized and that you have to make choices in order to find the balance.
Michelle is a talented and insightful leader and often has large decisions to make. During the decision making process, she gathers information and perspective from others. She then finds a quiet space to do creative thinking and uses her knowledge and experience to come to the core of the decision she is making. Once she has come to the decision, she explains that it is important to be confident in that decision. Michelle clarifies that she is not a perfectionist and encourages others to be confident in the work that they do by doing the best work that they can and by continuously striving to learn more to become better. According to Michelle, the true definition of a leader is to find opportunity to help to raise the profile of others by giving them the opportunity to bring out the best in themselves.
Listen for more with Michelle including her thoughts on inspiration, how to be open and ready for new opportunities, and her idea of personal strategic plans that has Anthony taking coaching from Michelle.
Check out more from Anthony and Michelle in the blog they co-authored: https://marshmclennanagency.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/return-on-investment