Guardian Life’s Lead From the Front leadership development program has been in place since 2012 and each year includes a class of eight to 15 sales managers who are appointed by nomination from their senior managers. The six-month program is designed for managers who have been in the role for one to three years, with the potential to become stronger leaders and agency owners. Guardian Life intentionally keeps the program small to maximize the depth of the learning experience and foster strong camaraderie among participants.
Program Details
Lead From the Front combines experiences, activities, and resources to support front-line managers as they leave their comfort zone and become true leaders. Having mastered the fundamentals of recruiting, selecting, and retaining financial representatives (FRs), it is time to learn the skills not just to manage activities but to maximize performance and inspire teams.
The program includes:
- Leading practices and insights that accelerate performance
- 360-degree leadership assessments
- Individual coaching between sessions
- Emphasis on strategic thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and role-specific application
- A 12-month strategic plan, action planning, and performance tracking powered by the One Page Business Plan
- Coaching for Optional Results and Effectiveness (C.O.R.E.) Performance Coaching Model
The program develops skills in five competencies that are exhibited by successful field leaders:
- Leading and inspiring others
- Acting with integrity
- Growth mindset
- Relationship building
- Coaching for performance
In the capstone portion of the Leading From the Front program, Guardian Life brings leadership to life on the battlefield of Gettysburg. During the day on the battlefield, participants explore the fast-paced, ever-evolving complexities and opportunities the company’s leaders face—the need to inspire, engage, and execute while they lead their organizations, all in the “heat” of the whirlwind of today’s business world. While gaining a deeper understanding of the decisions made during the Battle of Gettysburg, participants spend considerable time focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing their own organization through a structured and comprehensive curriculum guide accompanied by intensive facilitation.
The comradery created in this program leads to a seamless transition at graduation to continued discussion through study groups. Participant-driven, each graduating class remains a unit and gathers at a regular cadence to share best practices and success stories, as well as share challenges and brainstorm solutions together.
Results
Program participants have 46 percent more recruits and unit sizes more than twice as large as non-participants. Unit production averages are exceeding the target 35 percent and reaching 68 percent higher than managers who did not participate in the program. Additionally, graduates of Lead From the Front have higher retention rates of unit hires (47 percent vs. 34 percent).
