American Family Insurance’s Lungen Howard
Gives 3 Tips For Putting Your Career On the Fast Track
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Just
as American Family Insurance has grown, so too has district sales
manager Lungen Howard. Having been with American Family for twelve
years, Howard was a corporate instructor in Las Vegas, Nevada following
his stint as an agent for the company in Phoenix, Arizona. Now, as
district sales manager for the state of Georgia he’s helping to break
new ground for the ever-expanding company. “One of the unique things
about [expansion], is we come into the community and really entrench
ourselves in the community,” Howard explains. “We [believe] in finding
out what’s going on in the community and really involving ourselves.”
Howard says there are three keys for building and accelerating your professional career:
Build relationships.
[I build relationships] with my customers as an American Family agent,
with my colleagues and with mentors that I’ve followed and gained
guidance from.
Set goals. [I work toward] achieving those goals for the [benefit] of myself and to make an impact within the organization.
Mentor others. I want to be able to give back and give guidance to colleagues and individuals that are coming up behind me.
Howard warns young professionals not to allow their ambitions to
make them impulsive. “[They] get a little bit too anxious — not willing
to pay their dues,” he says. “They [don’t] allow themselves to gain the
knowledge and the experience before they rise t o the next level, and
[they’re not] prepared to take on additional responsibilities.” That’s
why Howard is a willing leader and mentor. “At the end of the day, I
love being able to impact my community in a positive way and being able
to help others with their careers.” – todd williams
