Julia Johnson

I attribute my success to specific people who have supported and believed in me throughout my journey. My dad was incredibly influential when I was younger because he worked consistently in high positions and was very steady with showing the way that management should look - being a person that people want to follow. My husband Henry has been incredibly supportive since I came into the insurance industry, especially when jumping into something new or moving to new companies. There were moments where I'd think to myself, I don't know, and he'd remind me that people wouldn't reach out and ask for my advice or want to build business units with me if they didn't think I knew what I was doing - he'd tell me to believe in myself as much as they do. And then the people I work with now, like my boss Kayce Spencer and Jason Roecker and the people on the underwriting side like Ryan Powers, Mike McCabe, Nick Asterito, and Doug Bensen - they're phenomenal. I don't want to sound cliche by saying people, but they definitely are a huge part of how I am where I am now.

The best advice I've ever received is there's no such thing as an indispensable person. As weird as it may sound, it's helped me to be able to know that the work I do is important, but balance is also important. I think it helps make me a better manager because I walk into work every day knowing that I really want to take care of my team, but I'm not better than anybody else, and that's shaped how I approach things. I mention it from time to time to myself to know, hey, it's okay to step away from work or not know something. It gives me that grounding background knowledge that no matter how important you end up becoming in an organization or in life, in the corporate world, there are other people that you can rely on to be able to help you along your journey.

For women that aren't sure about wanting to enter, go for it. Just because it's a male-dominated industry, still take the leap, still get into it. It's fun, and you learn so much. For women that are already in the industry, I'd say it's okay to take up space in the room. You don't have to sit back and wait for the moment that people want to hear from you or let people talk over you. It's okay to know what you know and be an expert at the things that you know, and trust yourself, and go ahead and speak up, ask the question, give the advice, interject. People respond to that. They respect that. You're deserving of being at the table. You have that seat for a reason, so use it.

I think the biggest challenges are just the unknown. With everything that's going on here nationally in the US and then even internationally, there's that idea of not being sure of what's going to happen. While there's certainly ample evidence to support that the industry is not going anywhere and that it's still growing, I think that people's general concerns come from uncertainty.

People are definitely the biggest component to me, whether it's professionally or personally. In my personal life, my husband and my son are massively important to me; and I was lucky enough to get to be part of my little brother's wedding recently and he's been not only my brother but my best friend for many years. People are also the focus for me at work. I try very hard to make sure that my team is aware that my goal is to make sure that they're able to grow and develop in their careers the way that they want to. I'd say people are definitely the biggest value to me in both areas of my life.