Get Savvy With Avery Moore – Rethinking Conflict
In this episode of Get Savvy, we have 3rd generation insurance agent Avery Moore, as our generous guest. She is an exceptional leader who runs an agency. Before tackling the world of insurance, she ventured out of her comfort zone and her native state of Oklahoma. Avery talks to us through her struggles, the importance of leadership, and the challenges she faced in the process of establishing herself. Avery shares the core values she believes are required to take your company beyond its perceived potential. Towards the conclusion, Avery also talks about the positive outcomes of hiring a virtual assistant.
Avery draws a picture for us from where it all began; with her grandfather back in 1992. After learning from his previous misfortunes, Averys grandfather straps himself up and sets up what would become the family agency. In 1996 Avery’s mother decided to join the agency. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in this family. The grit and determination that Avery has displayed in her life, runs in her family. They have been pioneers from the very beginning.
“My grandfather always wanted to be the big fish in a little pond!”
Despite her mother and grandfather both working in the same business, Avery didn’t find their lives appealing enough. She had starry-eyed dreams of doing something real. Her idealistic desire to find herself drives her to leave her hometown and do something outside of insurance. But sure enough, after several years of chasing that dream, fate was calling her back. In 2008, her grandfather retired – her uncle and mother had now taken over the agency, and in 2014 – they asked Avery; who at this point had worked several years in insurance, to come and join the family business.
Avery came over with all the knowledge she had gained from her experiences and grew the company exponentially. They have since doubled in size, but this hasn’t come without its fair share of struggles. Avery shares with us how during her uncle’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent passing; her initial fears of taking over their family business. However, after a successful takeover there was no loss of staff during the transition period; this gave the push, she needed to realize her and the company’s potential.
Avery tells us how ‘Conflict is powerful, if used the right way’ when discussing how she had to navigate through the difficulty of taking over a business, and that too a family business. She likens it to her ‘David v Goliath’ moment; where she had to overcome insurmountable odds to have her moment in the sun.
“There’s no problem in the world that no one in the world is solved before you”
Are you the type of person that would avoid conflict? If your answer is yes, you might want to hear what Avery had to say.
Avery believes in teamwork, and she knows there is no ideal environment, conflicts are bound to occur. To be able to use conflict in a constructive form will bring positive results. This in turn increases unity amongst the staff. Conflict can also demonstrate the participation of people around the company. Thus, as a leader it not only is a challenge to navigate these conflicts but to manage the expectations of the outcome from these conflicts. Avery is proof that to be a good leader, you must be able to manage expectations as well. Accountability is at the forefront of a successful business.
“Always go the 2nd mile, treat people how they want to be treated, not how you would want to be treated”
A company is define by its core values. Representation of these values from the top down is crucial for the growth of a company. Typical signs of a good manager is how their employees are treated. We are used to be the age old adage ‘Treat people how you would treat yourself’ but with Avery, there was a twist in the narrative. Her approach is to treat people the way they want to be treated. To perceive them as they wish to be perceived. This allows her to be more in tune with the people she works and their response to this management style is reflected in the success of her business and the productivity of her employees. She exudes and expects excellence.
As a leader and responsible for not only the success of her company but also the well being of her employees. Avery had been thinking about the idea of possible hiring a virutal professional. Someone to help take over the daily time consuming tasks that were slowing down the efficiency of her comployees – and do what they do best.
“Virtual professionals are great at building relationships with their customers”
Avery then goes on to share her experience with Savvital and her virtual professional, Rida. At the start Avery, assumed that the only benefit a V.P (virtual professional) could bring to the company is taking tasks off of peoples daily agendas. But she soon realised, that was not the case.
Avery remarks on the great speed of which Rida assimilated into her team and blended right in with the core values and culture. Rida communicated and socialised just as any other employee would. Adopting the culture wholesale. Avery commended the ability of the virtual professional to not only bring their own culture to the table, but to enhance their comapany’s as well.
“It has given my team a breather, so that they can go back to doing their jobs – instead of all the processing and grunt work”
Avery on The Get Savvy Podcast enriches the viewers knowledge with her modern and unique take on leadership. As a woman of the industry, she strived and made her lasting impression on the business. She showcased how not only did she have to face adversity in finding herself but also how she overcame it through “ good conflict”. Avery Moore left us with a throught provoking nugget of wisdom, where we reavaluate how to get the best out of our employees and how delegation of authority can make room for growth.