The greatest leaders understand a simple truth: You can’t put people in the same box and expect excellence. Each person brings their own story, their own ambitions and their own way of communicating. Shannon Gallagher, global head of partnership activation, business development and sales at Gallagher Insurance, lives by this lesson. Rather than pushing her team to fit a single mold, she searches for what makes each individual thrive.
On a recent episode of the Corporate Competitor Podcast, Gallagher explained that mentorship begins with curiosity. Her goal isn’t to create replicas of herself, but to discover the path her employees want to walk. “When people come seeking mentorship, I don’t assume they want to be me,” Gallagher says. “That my job, my career path, is not necessarily the role model of what they want to be. I approach mentorship with [this]: How do I find out what it is that they want to do?”
That starts with two simple questions: What gives you energy? and What drains it? Gallagher listens closely to the answers and then acts. When people are placed in positions where their strengths come alive, they succeed—not only for themselves, but for the entire team. “Talk to me about tasks that you’re doing that give you energy,” she says. “You could be doing this all day long! Talk to me about the things in your job that take away energy.”
This perspective comes naturally to Gallagher. A former fly-half for Cornell University’s rugby team and now a four-time New York City Marathon finisher, she knows the power of finding your stride. “Show up in person,” she urges. “Get to know people, be present. This is a people company, and it’s a people business.”
She talks about this and more on the podcast, including:
• Be a joyful leader. Gallagher says she learned a lot from her father, who is the CEO of the business, about joy. He told her to look for laughter and fun in whatever you’re doing. “I want to emulate that,” she says. “I want to see my team seeing that I’m having fun, that I’m laughing.”
• The Gallagher Way. Before the company went public, Gallagher’s uncle sat down with a yellow legal pad and wrote the foundational principles known today as The Gallagher Way. “It’s not about business processes,” the former rugby player says. “It literally is: How do we respect each other? How do we bring empathy into business?”
• Adapt. It’s okay to be adaptable, to be curious, to ask for help. “When I am bringing on new talent into the team, I’m saying, ‘Hey, be adaptable. Be curious. Learn from other people,’” Gallagher says. ”Talk to as many people as you can ask for help, because people here will want to help you. They will get joy when you are successful. So take advantage of that.”
