We recently connected with Meg McKeen and have shared our conversation below.

Meg, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

The insurance industry – where I landed (and never left!) when a broken heart rerouted my plans post-college – is known for stability and tradition. We celebrate longevity and loyalty with higher pay and promotions. All good things in many ways, of course, but as many humans are evaluating the way “work” fits into “life” today, we’re challenged to reconsider that the stability and tradition within the industry may actually be holding us back. With five generations now working in the industry, and five generations of individuals out there in the world buying insurance products, we have just as many, or more, differing motivations for our work, and the meaning and purpose we want to gain from it.

In mid-2017, when I left my last traditional insurance role to embark on a journey that would eventually turn into the consulting practice I now run, I was a total outlier. Showing up in conversations and online and on stages talking about feelings and boundaries and burnout – lending a humanity to the work we do every day – wasn’t a thing we did in a public way then. It was uncomfortable and uncharacteristic and it was risky, but I couldn’t *not* do it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

A rule follower no more, my career took a sharp left turn when, after nearly 20 years working within corporate insurance organizations, I left my last role in 2017.

I didn’t have the language for it then, but I was classically burnt out – and spent the following year healing – and daydreaming about what might be next. With my own experience the fuel, and the simple belief that I could be a part of the change I knew the industry needed, I launched Adjunct Advisors, LLC, the project-based consultancy I run today, in July 2018.

The work I do supports the individuals who choose a career in the insurance industry – and has nothing to do with insurance! It instead has everything to do with the people – and the challenges they’re navigating both personally and professionally as they show up as the messy, complex humans that they are for their work everyday.

I work with clients through the workshops I facilitate country-wide within their organizations, individually through private and small group coaching, and as I speak at various industry events. My work has happily expanded this past year to include industry event planning and consulting, as well as conducting market research for other insurance organizations.

My greatest professional joy – and the thing that doesn’t pay the bills – is the podcast I host, Bound & Determined℠, supporting women in the insurance industry as they share their stories. When I invited a friend and former colleague to share more about her cancer diagnosis with listeners on the show, I couldn’t have known at the time that our conversation would become part of her legacy when she later passed away. That her story, in her words, exists in the world is my proudest accomplishment.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Since I knew virtually nothing about insurance when I started working in the industry right out of college, I couldn’t have realized at the time how valuable the learning I’d experience early on in my career – and the reputation of the companies I’d work for – would be when I’d venture out on my own years later.

And while that helped to lend credibility to my voice and my ideas, it wasn’t until I acknowledged that if I was going to pull this off – people had to know I existed. And if people didn’t know who I was, my reputation wouldn’t matter.

Building the courage to begin sharing my voice and those ideas more publicly and with intention was the first, hardest step – but it’s been the most significant in building a business that’s in alignment with my values and my energy.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Social media, specifically LinkedIn, is a gift for small business owners today – but it only gets us so far. While I’ve built a strong community on the platform, and most of the opportunities that come my way today are in some way rooted in relationships that have been nurtured there, it’s being intentional about taking those relationships offline that has been the differentiator.

Hosting a podcast and appearing on others, writing a regular newsletter, and also a column in an industry journal have certainly helped to bolster my exposure, but it’s also been the casual, usually-over-coffee meet-ups that I’ve been able to plan while I’ve been traveling as a digital nomad throughout the U.S. these past three years that have solidified these relationships. When I’ve reached out to an online connection to invite them to coffee when I’m in their town, the response has been yes 100%. And they always know the best spots, too!

So often when we meet, they share that I’m a lot shorter than they thought (I’m 5’4!) and I sound just like I do when they read my newsletter or when they listen to the podcast I host – and I look just like the photos I share online. I’ve learned that showing up authentically and consistently, using approachable language and my this-is-me tone in every interaction, gives them a sense of familiarity and reassurance that they can know what to expect when they engage with me professionally. Giving a little of myself means getting a whole lot more in return.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.adjunctadvisors.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megmckeen/

Image Credits
Rae Jean Erickson PJ Calzadilla Ortiz