Heath Ritenour: Leaning Into Vulnerability

Welcome Back to Gratitude Through Hard Times! You’ll learn on this episode how one of the nation’s insurance leaders is fueled by authenticity and vulnerability, superpowers available to all of us if we’re brave enough to go there. In the case of our guest, Heath Ritenour, a bout with cancer proved an opportunity to drop the corporate mask in favor of prioritizing human connection among the 1,500 employees and 72,000 customers affiliated with Insurance of America (IOAUSA), among the nation’s largest private agencies. We learn about how Heath came to embrace the family business, founded by his parents, and carve out a leadership style that has supported exponential growth. As he explains to Host Chris Schembra, Heath has reaped profound rewards through the practice of gratitude, personally and in the workplace context. He doesn’t bother with the posturing and business armor so many of us reflexively wear, looking instead for those human places where relationships flourish. It’s a formula that attracts and retains great talent and cements loyalty among customers in direct proportion. “The transformational side of building deeper relationships and being open, of being connected with your team, is more growth, more profit and a happier, more cohesive team,” says Heath. And that’s exactly how things have played out at Orlando-based IOA’s 60 locations and counting. Empathy is woven into the corporate fabric and serves as an invitation for growth through hard times. So go ahead! Be brave. Drop the mask and make that shift. When we remember to witness life’s blessings, we are generating more of the same. It’s all a question staying mindful, says Heath: “It’s not what you gotta do but what you get to do!”

Want to follow what the thought leaders at IOAUSA are up to? You can find their blog  at this link. You can also learn all about their corporate 1° Difference philosophy by clicking here.

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Click hereto hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainerswho have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be and why? Coach Fred, a recently deceased high school football coach who was tough but also helped Heath learn to prioritize his commitments in business – and life!
• Shifting Mindset: How thoughtful, deep conversations with an early mentor helped Heath reorder his sense of what really mattered in life (well beyond girls, partying and football!).
• About Authenticity: A look at the sense of trust and honesty Heath’s high school football coach cultivated and how it enabled the younger man to embrace enduring values.
• Leaning Into Vulnerability: Why Heath has come to understand that being transparent, even where we feel weak or challenged, is integral to establishing real trust with teams.
• Getting Real: About Heath’s bout with cancer and how that journey became an opportunity to shed the posturing, discard the corporate mask and lead with empathy.
• Tip of the Hat to Mom & Dad: What it looks like to develop a business based on advocacy, partnership and consultative advice and how Heath ultimately took the baton.
• If Not You, Who? How Heath came to a spiritual understanding that he had something to bring to his family business and clientele.
• Exponential Growth: About the organic way in which Heath (in spite of his fears) has worked with his team to build IOA and its unique corporate culture and values.
• It’s the Setbacks! Heath explains why challenge and adversity are a growth opportunity. It’s when we blow it or fall short that we’re offered the chance to evolve and deepen.
• The Impediment to Action Advances Action: Why today’s atmosphere of scarcity, anxiety and rapid technological change offers an invitation to turn suffering – and whatever stands in the way – into a path towards promise.
• Heath’s Top Advice:
• Take stock and recognize that very likely the most challenging times are also the ones that prompt the most growth and spiritual development.
• Recognize the power in offering vulnerability as a meeting place and valuable intersection for bonding in every arena of life.
• Be brave. Drop the mask – then watch good things happen!
• Remember that profit and growth are an outgrowth of nurturing relationships.
• Closing Thoughts:
• Navigating the current crisis of disconnection and alienation in the workplace demands an attitude of empathy, service and heart. 
• Do business the right way – by investing in your people – and the community will thrive and demonstrate great returns!
• When you cultivate gratitude through daily practice, you have it to share!
• Make the shift! Remember: It’s not what you “gotta do,” it’s what you get to do! 

QUOTABLE

• “Heath has grown his company by investing in his people, doing business the good way, honoring faith, taking care of families and knowing your business is only as good as your people.” (Chris)

• “So much in people’s lives we forget the importance of the impact we make on people … and there’s nothing better than (changing lives). It’s better than money or anything I can think of.” (Heath)

• “Gratitude just feels good to give, even if the recipient isn’t here to receive it.” (Chris)

• “When I’m open with my weaknesses and challenges – when I’m authentic and vulnerable in that way – it opens (others) up to feel comfortable being more open with me. And then you can build a more cohesive relationship from there.” (Heath)

• “We all know there’s no perfect. It’s a fool’s errand. It’s a treadmill to nowhere. We’re all flawed and we all have issues!” (Heath)

• “The greater you can empathize with what your teammates are actually going through, the greater your ability to actually work together to innovate and create outsized business results.” (Chris)

• “The transformational side of building deeper relationships and being open, of being connected with your team, is more growth, more profit and a happier, more cohesive team. And that’s what I think any business leader should want!” (Heath)

• “It’s very simple: Take off your mask. Number two: Invite your team to take off their masks. Number three: Invite your customers to take off their masks.” (Chris)

• “Having a mindset of being grateful changes the way you feel and how you show up. It changes the way you deal with and overcome difficulties. Take a few minutes to think not about what you want and don’t have but the blessings in your life!” (Heath)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• Click here to listen to episode 225, featuring Geoff McDonald’s insights into Mental health and well-being.
• Learn more about “emotional regulation,” why it’s important and strategies to help you get there at this link.
• Click here to find out about Kurt Vonnegut’s “Man in the Hole” theory.
• More thoughts on gratitude from CEO Ron Carson on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times.
• Check out works by Marcus Aurlelius and the Stoics at this website.
• Listen to Jim Harter of the Gallup Poll correlate customer engagement with employee engagement on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Heath has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years, and I currently serve as chairman of Insurance Office of America (IOA). He also holds the property and casualty general lines (2-20) and health and life (including variable annuity contracts, 2-15) insurance licenses. His experience with insurance includes personal, business, risk management, and countless other types of coverage. Since becoming a member of the team in 1996, Heath has worked with his peers and professional network to continue expanding and improving IOA — which is now one of the largest privately held insurance agencies in the country.He also plays an active role as president of the IOA Foundation and is proud to have been acknowledged as an industry leader.

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ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

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