I lead a team of almost 30 placement brokers responsible for placing various lines of insurance coverage into the marketplace for our corporate clients. The Global Placement team focuses on insurance market-related issues. Therefore we need to understand the macro and micro dynamics at play when negotiating the best possible terms and conditions with insurers on behalf of our clients in an ever-changing marketplace.
While I felt I knew the topic of inclusion, diversity, and belonging (ID&B) reasonably well, the recent structured learning I received at Marsh has helped me better appreciate what ID&B means in the broadest sense. I've been participating in a live, inclusive leadership program that consists of live, seminar-like discussions and smaller "home groups" to dive deep into the conversations.
As a people manager and member of Marsh Canada's Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging council, it has reinforced that fostering a culture of belonging leads to greater employee satisfaction and productivity through heightened collaboration. It also supports us in attracting and retaining the best talent.
Twenty years ago, when making my way up the career ladder, there was a definite element of holding one’s feet to the fire and sinking or swimming. However, I learned that once you gain trust, you are given more responsibilities. So, gaining responsibility incrementally is how I would characterize my pathway toward leading a team of almost 30 colleagues.
I have also had the good fortune to work with leaders and managers that were interested in me as a person and provided me with opportunities that enabled me to succeed. They helped accelerate my professional education and trusted me with early team leadership responsibilities which helped me realize that I could eventually lead a business unit. In addition, I’ve had the benefit of working alongside many talented individuals who were always willing to impart their knowledge gained through years of experience.
Before starting at Marsh and the insurance industry in general over 25 years ago, I worked for the government in the Department of Social Services for almost seven years. There I was responsible for determining eligibility for parents that required help in the form of childcare subsidies. This first work experience post-university taught me the importance of having compassion and empathy for people that sometimes, through no fault of their own, find themselves in precarious and uncertain situations where they require our assistance and not our judgment. This early work experience has aided me in being someone that interacts with and tries to assist all colleagues. Working in social services also helped me with honing fundamental customer service skills, with the foundation of common courtesy transcending to the Marsh clients we service and advise today.
My parents immigrated to Canada from the Caribbean in the early 1960s with one suitcase each. My Jamaican mother was educated as a registered nurse, and my Barbadian father was educated as a teacher. They both went on to own businesses of their own in the healthcare sector.
My parents worked hard to provide opportunities for their three children that they themselves did not have growing up. My siblings and I were encouraged to embrace everything Canadian society offers while maintaining our Caribbean heritage. This upbringing has helped me appreciate the merit of hard work and understand and empathize with the struggles of new immigrants trying to move forward in a new country they now call home. Welcoming colleagues from all backgrounds regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, faith, or sexual orientation has always been important to me, as is letting people know they are seen and heard.
My parents constantly reinforced the message of not letting the perception that certain people might have of you because of your race get in the way of you achieving your own goals and aspirations. My parents led with positivity and encouraged my siblings and me to see the good in people unless they proved us wrong. I have tried to live up to that code personally and professionally.