Changing Roles of Managers at Corporate Insurance

Over the course of the past two years, I have worked in a call center environment within the Corporate Insurance Company. A typical day is fast paced, yet structured. Up until recently, I had the responsibility of taking anywhere from 70 – 100 inbound calls daily from either troubled agents or inquiring customers. Of these calls, a few are monitored on a monthly basis to ensure the accuracy of the information that I am giving out. Customer service representatives here are also held accountable for our time on and off the phone as well as any data entry or what we call “after call work”. Again, this job family has operated with full structure and accountability. One of the repeated issues facing all phone counselors in this job family is the changing of the roles of managers. This is due in part to Corporate being a growing Fortune 500 company. Lately, about every four to six months, there has been a need for restructuring and reassigning of managers and team mates. We strive to work cooperatively as a team and just as we begin to effectively motivate one another, things change. Personally, in two years I have had five different managers and three different teams. Each manager has their own management, leadership and coaching styles and within each team there are ever changing inter and intra-personal dynamics. As I eluded, I have also changed job families and again, have had to become accustomed to a new manager, as well as the inter workings of a new job family all together. I now work diligently as an Account Processor, processing 70 – 100 policy changes daily. In this role, there is greater flexibility, less structure, and less support. However, the responsibility to provide the best service for the customer has no...

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...ze our natural talent, and bring this out. They also have the skill to put their self in the shoes of those they manage. This will help them understand what employees are like and what motivates them, and then they can slowly work to mold them and help them to do their best. Those are some of the primary differences between leadership and management.

I’m the type of leader or manager who would lead by example. As a leader I would eliminate potential barriers my employees couldn’t see. Also I would expand my vision with the insight of others, and this would potentially create a better vision and end result. As a manager, I would delegate work to my employees, so they felt as though they were apart of the big picture. Also I would get to know each of my team members, both personally and professionally. All in all I think I would do just fine as a leader or manager.