We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leigha Hayes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leigha below.
Leigha, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is both a beautiful and tortured thing, but it comes to us through experience and overcoming challenges. We need resilience in order to grow and move forward, and that’s where I got mine from. My story is one of tragedy, perseverance, and kindness shown when I needed it the most. In 2011I moved to Japan with my seven-year-old son and my then husband. Japan had just had a major Typhoon crash through and destroying quite a bit. We packed up our previous house, I sold my car, quit my job, and pulled my son out of school. We went to Texas for a vacation to visit family before our 4 year journey to Japan. We were notified that my husband had to report to Japan as normal, but my son and I were not allowed to yet. I had nowhere to go and no home, and was warned that my son might have to repeat the 1st grade. I made some appointments, and we got that cleared up so he could stay on track. Two months of being homeless and sleeping on friends’ and families couches, we finally got our tickets to go. We loved Japan and fit in pretty quickly. I decided return to school and finish my college degree. My son fit in well at his new school. In 2013, I did a pageant for scholarship money. I didn’t win, but I got something much better. I made some friends and lifelong connections that will help me out later.
In 2015, we were told we were moving to Incirlik AB in Turkey. After only being there 4 weeks, we were told that the base was being locked down for our safety. Other families around us told us not to worry, it happens sometimes, and we will be off lockdown in a week or two. We never came off. I managed to get a great job working for the Department of Defense. I had great leadership and enjoyed what I did. Our home still had no internet, phone, or cable, since this was a third-world country and the base moved appointments very slowly, so this was nice to have something to do on such a tiny base while locked down.
After bomb threats were made, and other various threats, it finally came down that it was no longer safe for families to be there, but Active duty and Department of Defense employees had to stay. I raised my hand and said, “I’m a family member and a DOD employee, so where do I fall.?” I was told my family member status trumped my DOD status, so I was to evacuate to my Home-of-Record (which was Waco, Texas).
I had not lived in Waco, Texas, in 15 years and had not lived in the US in 5 years, but I called my dad and asked if he still had that rental property in North Texas? If so, could my son and I stay there for a while until we figure out our next move? He said we could, and after 4 long flights, we made it back to Texas.
When I got back to Texas, everything was different. I had so many choices and felt overwhelmed. Something as simple as picking out toothpaste or where to have lunch was overstimulating because there were so many choices. I decided simple was the best answer. Crest original never let me down and Chick-fil-a was always easy, so I repeatedly made the same choice over and over to keep it simple. People drive fast on Interstate-35, and although at 15 I learned how to drive on that exact highway, I had changed.
I got used to things and then got bored. I needed a job. I applied and applied, and I realized that Texas is relationship-based. I had great relationships with all kinds of people, but not many in Texas. One day, I put a whiny post on Facebook and said “If anyone knows of any jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I am looking, so please send them my way.” Well, remember that pageant I did in Japan? The girl who was the Master of Ceremonies saw my post and remembered me. She was from North Texas, and I had no idea. She reposted my post and said, “I know this great girl from Japan. She has a Business degree and is looking for a job. Let me know if you need her contact information.” She was a blessing. A girl she went to college with wrote her and said “We do business-y things and are hiring, please tell her to submit her resume.” I did and was asked to come in. I met with a guy who worked there and his dad was in the military for over 20 years, so he was familiar with how my life had worked. We connected, and he passed my info on to the other leadership, who ironically were on a Mediterranean vacation at the time. When they returned, I was asked to come in for a 3-panel interview with the CEO, CFO, and the President. They told me they were a Field Marketing Organization and asked if I knew what that was. I said, “I do not, but I’m a fast learner.” Then they asked if I had my Health and Life Insurance license? I replied, “I do not, but I will get it.” I left that interview feeling confident, but not quite sure if I was what they were looking for. Before I got home, the CEO called me and offered me the job. She said they would train me and asked if I would start in about 10 days. I agreed, and since I had just moved into a new apartment, I needed the 10 days to get my son enrolled in school, utilities turned on, and a conversation with my husband that we were getting divorced.
In the beginning, it was a lot to learn, but I was eager to learn as much as I could and be as helpful as possible. I seemed to be more in the way than helpful, and I quickly realized it was their busiest season of the year. They train all year for this time, and no one had time to slow down and teach me much. I started answering calls, jumped on webinars, and met some of the partners. A few months in, I got my license and was given a role to work on the Medicare team. Now I have been here nearly 9 years and worked my way up to Regional Sales Director. My son goes to College at the same college the Master of Ceremonies’ friend went to, and he is doing well, majoring in Chemistry.
Had I not faced these challenges head-on, pushed through when I didn’t see a way out, I would certainly not be where I am today. Being homeless of sorts, twice, was hard. Getting divorced and becoming a single mom was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Getting a job I knew nothing about, but knowing failure was not an option, took endurance. I take pride in my grit, and through that, I became resilient. Now I own my own house, drive a nice car, and have a beautiful new office that my company just purchased, thanks to our growth. It wasn’t always easy, but it is certainly worth it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My role as a Regional Sales Director is fun and engaging. I partner with agents and agencies to help train and sell Medicare Products. This role is mostly sales, but having strong relationships and great service is the heart of it. I love to see agents create a new income for their family, while helping seniors understand the nuances of Medicare. It’s daunting to turn 65 and get handed a novel called “Medicare and You” that’s about as exciting as reading the manual to a refrigerator. The company I work for strives to help educate and plug people in to help. The carriers have the products, the agents make the sales, and we are the middleman that connects the two. I love this job and picked up the basics pretty quickly. There are constant changes made by our government, disruptions in the market, and new people and personalities coming in, so working together helps everyone. We strive to give the best customer service and have fun while doing it. This company is family-owned and is always looking for new, innovative ways to grow. We have worked our way up, and it feels amazing to be a part of it.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three of the most important qualities that have helped me are relationship building, educating yourself as changes happen, and saying yes as often as possible. I built a relationship with the ladies from the pageant I did. I didn’t win, but that relationship catapulted me to where I am today. The CEO took a chance on me, and I vowed to do my best not to let her down in any way. I met with partners after hours at dinners, conferences, and happy hours. I kept my promises to agents when I said I would get answers for them. Slowly more opportunities became available and I plugged in when I could.
I educated myself on the basics. Over time, I learned how the market worked and the specifics of plans in my area.. Different areas and demographics have different needs, so you have to be flexible and pivot when necessary. Being punctual, honest, and trustworthy helped out quite a bit, too. If I weren’t educated, how would I get my agents to trust me and know I would help them? If I didn’t follow through with getting them answers when they are in front of a senior right now, how would they be able to complete sales? If they didn’t complete sales, the carriers wouldn’t trust me to represent their product well. It was all beneficial for everyone that the wheels of each player followed through on their role to ultimately get the seniors taken care of. This was the intrinsic motivation I needed.
I said yes as often as I could. If i was asked to pitch in ideas on a project, I would help. If I was asked to go to a conference last minute because someone else couldn’t, I would make it happen. If I needed to join a late night happy hour to discuss possible ideas to help my market grow, I would say yes. If we had an event and I was asked to come in early to set up and stay late to clean up, I said yes. This created visibility and ultimately helped me gain the trust of my agents and leadership.
Keeping good relationships is imperative in my role and my favorite skill. Pushing myself to stay updated with industry knowledge adds value to my company. Saying yes as often as possible created visibility and ultimately came back to me in so many amazing ways.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My friends and colleagues have been the most impactful. My lifelong friends outside work have various careers, from nurse to teacher to realtor to councilor. These ladies have a different perspective and have encouraged me along, and have just been a source of fun for life. Most of them don’t live in the same area I do, so we have to get creative with our time management, but we always seem to stay connected. I’ve had chats about work challenges, motherhood, and even ideas about where to vacation. These ladies have been pivotal in my development. The other side is the colleagues. I once heard that, “if you are the smartest one in the room, you are in the wrong room.” I took this to heart and challenged myself to find people with more knowledge and a different perspective to help me out. I learned a lot from the problems given to me and jokingly dubbed myself “the problem solver” since I seem to solve problems all the time. Being focused and coming up with a creative solution is key, but there’s always more to learn. I’m blessed to be in a diverse industry that encourages growth by partnering with people carrying many skills and opportunities to educate us further. I love learning how someone solved an issue and their thoughts behind that because it might be something I knew and can remember to share, or it might be something I never thought of.
Contact Info:
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
