Leadership is Influence: Hutch Mauck on the Importance of Serving Others First

The Leadership Project by DBH Consulting was developed to share stories of emerging and established insurance leaders thriving in the industry today. Hear from some of the most innovative and passionate executives transforming the insurance field.

DBH Consulting sat down with Hutch Mauck, President Scott Insurance , to hear his leadership story. We asked him what qualities make for an effective leader, what he wishes he’d known back when he was first named president, and how he’s responding to key challenges facing today’s industry.?

What attracted you to the insurance industry?

I'm like a lot of people in this industry in that I sort of found my way into it. After college, I went into banking for a few years. When the opportunity to try insurance came, I took the leap and switched. There’s more entrepreneurial opportunity in the insurance arena. Our industry offers entrepreneurial breadth—that’s how I’d describe it. That appealed to me.?

What made Scott Insurance a good place to grow a career???

First, we were and still are a fairly small company, so people can have a real impact. That goes along with the entrepreneurial nature of the business.?

Second, Scott’s culture drew me. It’s a caring, friendly, team-oriented environment. There’s great team spirit here. Third and related, we’re an employee-owned company. That enhances everything we do—everyone who works here, no matter what position they hold, has ownership.?

All these elements were there from the first year I joined the company, and they’ve stayed consistent all the way through.??

What is leadership, in your view??

One of my core beliefs is that leadership is influence. Another is that leaders learn by doing—they learn to lead by leading. My own career has included a lot of doing and trying and sometimes failing—and learning and doing again.?

As the senior leader here at Scott, I aspire to the same core values we uphold as a company: serving others first, continuous improvement, ownership, teamwork, and trust. Serving others first is key to leadership, in my opinion. It’s about sacrificial service. It’s not about serving other people only as long as it’s good for me. It’s much more.?

What advice would you give to emerging leaders??

First, you learn through experience—you learn to lead in the trenches: that’s probably the single most important element. Leadership by fire is the most powerful learning experience.

Second, observe leaders around you. I've had the good fortune of watching other leaders throughout my career, including my predecessor, who served as Scott’s CEO for 27 years. I never stopped being curious about how he handled situations that came his way. I also had the opportunity to observe leaders at some of our client companies, and several proved very influential for my own journey.

Third, read and study. There are tremendous resources on leadership out there—almost too many! Books like Primal Leadership and Good to Great are very useful. Get recommendations from leaders you respect on what to study.?

A final suggestion would be to work with leadership coaches. Really get a sense for what matters to you and how and where you need to grow. That kind of feedback is crucial.?

At the end of the day, I don't differentiate much between leading in insurance versus leading in another industry. Leadership is leadership, and good leaders grow and develop and keep learning, no matter their field.?

What do you wish you’d known when you first started your CEO role??

I probably underestimated the toll that leadership can take on a person. For me, at least, the responsibility you feel as a leader for a team creates a burden that can’t be put down. You can’t help but carry it. I wish I’d understood that more clearly when I started out.?

As a leader, you’ll need to make choices about how hands-on or deep your decision making on any given situation will be. When will you step in as the decision maker? When will you pass that decision over to another team member? How much of the burden should you carry??

Soliciting feedback is key, too, including requesting feedback from your own team. Try asking them: How am I engaging—too much? Not enough? What do you need? How can I support you??

How do you encourage diversity and equity in your role??

At Scott, we’re deeply committed to equality and equal opportunity. Being an employee-owned, employee-led organization is an equalizing factor for us that removes barriers to leadership that might appear in other companies.?

When anyone joins our firm, ownership comes as part of being on the team. It's not a subjective thing. We hold each other accountable to treat people equitably and equally. It’s the right thing to do, and it goes back to being true to our values. It's who we are, and therefore it’s what we do.?

What’s a key challenge the insurance industry faces today?

One of our biggest challenges is the demographic shift taking place nationwide. The Baby Boomers are retiring, and we're not yet bringing enough 20-somethings and millennials into the industry. We ought to be recruiting more and providing more opportunities for younger people. That’s a passion of mine, bringing the next generation of insurance professionals into the industry.?

To that end, we're hiring a lot of younger people at Scott. Our whole model revolves around hiring younger people. We’re actively recruiting them, providing robust mentoring and training. We're committed to that as part of our larger vision.

Any final thoughts on leadership????

Ideally, we all come into this leadership journey with a willingness and desire to keep learning. Every leader, no matter his or her rank, should possess that drive toward self-improvement. I’m still on that journey, too. Every day, I ask myself: What am I missing here? How do I get better at this??

That kind of self-reflection never ends. And it shouldn’t. I think if it ends, then you probably should hang it up as a leader. Because when all is said and done, leadership isn’t a destination. It's a journey without an endpoint. The learning is lifelong.?

Note: this interview was condensed and edited.?

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DBH Consulting guides emerging leaders aiming for the role of the CEO, with a deep commitment to relationship building and to racial and gender equity. DBH envisions a future where diversity and inclusion flourish in C-suites across the industry.

If you're inspired to take the next step in your leadership journey, get in touch with Demmie Hicks , leadership consultant and master coach at DBH Consulting.