Q：What are some issues you seen in the company or company policies. i.e. the long drawn out
firing process A ： With respect to the somewhat drawn out firing process, this is an issue that can at times
create delays and additional work for our leaders and at times can also impact our ability to get
our staffing levels right in certain areas. The reasoning behind this is that State Farm tends to be
very risk averse and cautious when it comes to employment law issues and that we operate in all
50 states and each states tends to have somewhat different employment law standards.
Organizationally we move slowly and deliberately in these situations in an effort to reduce or
eliminate our potential exposures due to employment laws. Another area that has been an issue for us over the past few years has been the ability of
employees to adapt to, understand and thrive in an environment of fast paced and ongoing
changes. We have had a ton of changes within the company over the past few years, some driven
by internal decisions and some driven by external forces (regulations, technology, etc) and this
has created anxiety and uncertainty amongst our workforce. This is an ongoing evolution for our
company and our workforce. This one is probably an issue faced by pretty much every business in
the world right now. Regulatory changes are another area that continues to impact our business and our business
policies. These range from small state issues to very large federal policy changes. The amount of
regulatory change in the Insurance and Financial services sector has been enormous in the past
5-8 years and has forced many changes to policies and procedures at State Farm and many other
companies. Q：What are you doing to resolve these issues?
A ： Overall when there is a policy or procedure that I feel is not the best option or negatively
impacts our customers, our employees or our bottom line, then I work with my team to research
the issue, identify areas for improvement and put together recommendations for improvements
and work with my boss and our Executives to try and implement changes. In these situations I
have found it critical that I develop a deep understanding of the issue under review, negative
impacts currently experienced due to the issue and then also present alternatives in terms of
how we can make improvements. Always good to have a couple of potential solutions thought
out before trying to make a change.
Helping people understand our policies, why policies are in place and why policies change it
another very important aspect of my job as it relates to this topic. I have found that taking the
time to help others fully understand a policy (good parts and bad parts) and understand why the
company is handling things in a certain way helps them to feel more comfortable with the issue
and helps to buy in and support for a policy or a policy change. People, in general, like to
understand what is going on around them and why—this is a very important role for a leader to
fill and goes a long way in terms of keeping employees engaged with and committed to an
organization. Q：What are the difficulties with managing as many people as you do? A：I have a group of roughly 120 people spread across 18 different states and the vast majority
of them work in a virtual environment (working from home or from the field and really don’t see
their teammates in person very often at all. This structure creates some unique challenges and
opportunities for me. First, it is essential that I develop good relationships with my direct reports
that are based on a mutual trust, passion for what we are doing and a desire to continually
improve. I always try and start building these relationship as early as possible and I have found
that it is time very well invested early on in a new positions or working with a new team. I need
to try and understand what motivates each person, what their strengths are and what areas of
opportunity they have in which we can continue to improve. I have found that each person is a
little different, is motivated by different things and wants different things out of their professional
life—if I am able to develop an understanding of these things in each person then I can tailor my
leadership style to best meet their needs and get them to perform at the highest level. The ability
to adapt my style and approach is critical in order for me to be successful in managing a larger
number of diverse people. Another area that can be challenging is making sure that clear expectations have been set for
every individual. To some extent I have to rely on the Team Mangers that work for me to do this
with our employees, but I have to make sure that I have first set clear expectations for each of
the TMs and ensure that they understand those expectations fully and the role that their teams
will play in our ability to individually and collectively meet and exceed those expectations. I then
need to observe my TMs at various times when they are setting expectations with their teams to
ensure that the message is being consistently delivered at all levels. The flow goes something like
this for me: Deliver a clear message to my leadership group, repeat message often and in
different ways, check for understanding, observe the further transmission of that message and
follow up as needed to adjust. What are some issues you have seen in the company or company policies. i.e.
the long drawn out firing process
Fortunately, we have a clear HR policy and work hard at maintaining consistent
processes. Areas that can be the most challenging are when you add Federal, State
and Municipal employment laws and regulations such as Americans with Disabilities
Acts (ADA), wage and hours laws that require compliance. I think the biggest issues
come from a lack of understanding of the policies and/or expectations which make
executing policy difficult. Adding to this challenge is the pace and volume of change.
What are you doing to resolve these issues? The best way to overcome this
barrier is to first educate yourself and then peers and associates. Seek clarification
from either leadership and/or HR. Make sure you are clear and transparent with your
and the company’s expectations so that if job requirements are not being met,
performance management and/or termination is a smoother process. When there is a change to a policy, be an ambassador for the change so that you are able to quickly
adapt and inform those impacted. You mentioned you were very friendly with your staff, Is there ever an instance
when you get too much pushback and have to regain control and reestablish
authority in your group and how do you do it?
I am friendly with my team, but always make sure there is a clear distinguished
difference between being friendly and being a friend; I am always their manager
first. I take seriously that for me, the leadership role means that I am looking out my
associates best interest as an employee of the company. My leadership style is very
much through servitude and value based, and that has to be through partnership with
mutual respect.
I have had times were there was pushback. Every associate is different, and I may
coach to those strengths and opportunities differently, but I make sure that I am
consistent with my expectations, feedback, and performance management if job
requirements are not being met.
To ensure that consistency and leadership I operate under these leadership
behaviors1, Always demonstrate integrity- exemplify honest behaviors
2, Be clear and consistent by leading from, and maintaining focus on the customer or
company goals
3, Candidly assess and tackle challenges with transparency
4, Inspire and engage your team. Help them understand and achieve common goals
5, Develop and foster relationships and harness the power of feedback loops for
continuous development

 

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Status NEW Posted 02 May 2017 04:05 AM My Price 20.00

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