IRI VISION: LEADING BY EXAMPLE

One of the more rewarding experiences I have had with the Insured Retirement Institute is launching and hosting our Long View series, a multi-format spotlight on industry executives who share their perspectives on the latest industry trends, lessons learned, and much more.

With each interview or podcast, I learn more about leadership and our industry from some of our most successful and innovative executives. Our most recent Long View interview reminded me of a thought-provoking article I read a few years ago by Michael Schrage in the Harvard Business Review, “Like It or Not, You Are Always Leading by Example.” Schrage shares that the stories executives use to describe how they “lead by example” don’t always align with how those teams perceive their leaders.

Jackson Financial’s President and CEO Laura Prieskorn’s recent Long View interview revealed that if leading by example was a sport, Laura would win gold. She talks the talk and walks the walk, and her example is already trickling down to benefit the culture at Jackson.

As Laura’s executive experience shows, creating consistency between the stories we tell about ourselves and how people see us is hard work that’s worth the effort. In times of change, people value authentic, consistent leadership they can trust.

This concept of leading by example applies to countless situations: how we treat others, our decision-making processes, where we allocate our time, and even how we use (or don’t use!) our vacation time. Our teams see what we do and follow suit. As 2023 picks up steam, I’ll be making a conscious effort to think about the example I’m setting through my actions.

Many thanks to Laura for participating in IRI’s Long View leadership series and reminding us to be intentional about the examples we set for our teams.