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Digital EditionFrom the U.S. Air Force to Insurance: Insights on Authenticity, Belonging, and Doing the Right Thing
Jake Daly is a vice president of retirement services at Newfront, where he leads new business development. He is also chair of the associate board of the western division of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF). Prior to joining the insurance industry, he spent five years as a financial advisor. He’s been at Newfront since 2020. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force from his time at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
As I completed high school, I had a choice: pursue a baseball career through a scholarship at the University of California San Diego or join the U.S. Air Force Academy.
I chose the latter. The academy taught me the importance of commitment, resilience, and always doing the right thing. But, as a member of the LGBTQ community who served during the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era, I also struggled to express myself authentically, which left mental scars.
It wasn’t until 2015, when I joined a leading insurance agency, that I felt like I could be my true self inside a workplace. A decade later, that sense of belonging is why I love working in this industry. Now, as a senior leader at Newfront, it’s my duty to keep the pedal to the metal and empower others to express themselves authentically, too. Because when people feel like they belong, they thrive.
Consider these four principles as you continue your company’s, your colleagues’, and your own journey to authenticity.
Cultivate an Environment of Honesty
While I live with intention, many of my life’s major milestones happened almost by accident. For example, I never imagined working in insurance.
In fact, when I left the academy, I first worked as a wealth manager for one of the nation’s largest banks. But one day, my husband and I drove from our home in Northern California to San Diego, and we fell in love with the city immediately. So, we left the Bay Area cold turkey, and through a recruiter, I found a job as a retirement plan consultant at Marsh McClennan Agency. It was a role I didn’t even know existed in insurance.
I relied on my allies for support as I grew my insurance career. They taught me that the best way to change people’s hearts and minds is to show up authentically and visibly.
I remember this lesson when I work with clients. During face-to-face meetings, it’s common for the person across the table to see my wedding ring and say, “Oh, what’s your wife’s name?” I reply that it’s actually my husband, we’ve been married for four years and together for 13 years. By saying it plainly—without fear—I lay the foundation for honesty and trust in all future conversations.
Build a Culture of Belonging
While some of life’s best things sometimes happen by accident, I’ve learned that it takes intention to create a culture of belonging. This culture has three equal parts.
First, organizations need to provide a path and architecture for people to create authentic and inclusive spaces. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) provide such a structure. At Newfront, we now have eight ERGs, including groups for women, parents, LGBTQ colleagues, and Latinx employees.
Within each of these ERGs lie the two other elements needed to build a culture of belonging: storytelling and allyship. From a storytelling standpoint, our ERGs give individuals the space to share the pros and cons of living as part of an underrepresented group. These honest stories bring out raw emotions that help to build trust. From an allyship perspective, ERGs provide spaces for people to connect with and learn from others with similar life experiences.
Today, these ERGs are evolving and even uniting. For example, our Parents and LGBTQ ERGs recently held their first collaborative event, providing parents with tools they can use to have difficult conversations with their children about LGBTQ-related issues. The event was a rousing success, with more than 100 participants.
Be A Mentor
While I’ve never had a traditional mentor, I’ve benefitted from many coaches in my life, both on the baseball field and at work. My coaches have helped me expand my horizons. I’ve relied on them to show me a path to the outcome I want, such as better work-life balance or improved time management.
Today, more formal mentorship programs are helping shape the future of insurance in two ways: by opening the doors to people from underrepresented groups and by showing younger workers that a college degree isn’t the only path to a successful career.
The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year by raising funds to combat childhood hunger and food insecurity, makes this happen through its Mentoring Alliance, which pairs industry professionals from underrepresented communities with diverse role models.
In addition to opening doors, this alliance—which provides for remote and face-to-face meetings—also helps solve a shared challenge: how to transfer knowledge from experienced colleagues to younger colleagues in an era of hybrid and remote work.
Give Back
For me, doing the right thing means giving back to people in need. Fortunately, at Newfront, a spirit of philanthropy is thriving.
Just this past October, in line with IICF expanding its traditional Week of Giving to Month of Giving, our team at Newfront increased our volunteer efforts. We went from hosting one volunteer event in Southern California last year to hosting four events this year, delivering hundreds of hours of service to homeless groups, women’s shelters and other nonprofit organizations.
Events like these not only allow us to experience the joy in giving back, but to spend time with our colleagues and deepen those relationships.
A Future of Promise
While much speculation exists about the future of work and automation, in my mind and heart, insurance will always be a relationship business built on trust established via human connection.
And with all the buzz about technology and AI in insurance, I do see opportunities to save time on routine operations for our teams as well as our client teams, so we can spend more time building relationships.
By creating spaces for authenticity and committing to always doing the right thing for our customers, our communities and each other, we’ll build a welcoming environment where both employees and the business prosper for years to come. &
