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Sallie Giblin

Lockton Insurance Brokers L.L.C.

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Sallie Giblin

Senior Vp
Lockton Insurance Brokers L.L.C.
San Diego
Age: 38

 

Sallie Giblin has more than 15 years of experience in employee benefits management. Prior to joining Lockton Insurance Brokers L.L.C., a unit of Lockton Cos. L.L.C. in 2006, Ms. Giblin was a senior vp at USI Insurance Services L.L.C. and an account executive at Barney & Barney L.L.C.

 

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOMEN ENTERING THIS FIELD?

For me, it's about finding something you're passionate about and just going for it. Whether it's this industry or other industries where there's a lot of men up in the higher ranks, I've heard other women say that it's just such a man's world. For me, that's never been part of my vocabulary. My advice would be not to put any type of limitations or boundaries on yourself. I think women, in a lot of cases, are better listeners than men, and I think that enables us to bring some more group-oriented strategies to the table. The world isn't dominated by men or women, you've just got to go out and go after it.

 

WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU'VE LEARNED IN YOUR CAREER?

It's an old saying, but it's true that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. That's something that really always struck a chord with me, and that's how I try to approach my clients, my colleagues and all of my other relationships.

 

DID YOU HAVE A MENTOR EARLY IN YOUR CAREER?

Kathy Ybarrondo was the managing partner for employee benefits at Barney & Barney. What was so unique about her was that, in a way, she could see me better than I could see myself. I had always set my expectations for myself very high, but I felt like the way she saw me and interacted with me made me want to take the sights I had set for myself and put them up a couple steps above that. Her spirit, her energy and the way she engaged people—and the ways in which I saw people respond and react to that energy—it's always made me want to give that feeling to other people. I really try to make people feel as though they're the most important thing in the world, because I've had people do that for me in the past.

 

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB, OUTSIDE OF YOUR CURRENT ROLE?

If I wasn't doing what I do now, I'd want to do something along the lines of running a Weight Watchers-type program, or helping mothers with newborn babies. You try to balance it all when you have little ones, and I think some of the experiences I've had from that could be helpful. I was also fortunate enough to lose 90 pounds on Weight Watchers, and I've had some family members that have passed away from obesity, so that's something else I'm really passionate about. If I can help someone have their best life yet, I'd want to be able to do that.

 

OUTSIDE OF FAMILY AND COLLEAGUES, WHOM DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

I had a hard time coming up with non-family members, because the people that really have been the biggest role models for me have been family members. One of my aunts (Jean Wade Johnson) was the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction in the Elk Grove, Calif., school district in the early 1980s, and she was the first women to be involved in school administration at that high a level. Also, my dad (William F. Wade) worked for a large CPA firm for a number of years, and then went out and started his own. And seeing how his clients just adored him, I knew even at age 13 that I wanted clients of my own someday. I knew somehow that's what I wanted for myself. Those are the people that really helped me raise the bar in terms of what I wanted to do with my life.

 

WHAT'S YOUR CAN'T-MISS TV SHOW?

I'd have to say “The Office.” I have a Dwight Schrute bobblehead on my desk. I guess part of it is that you just can't take things too seriously. Everyone works with people who have quirks, and if you can find those kinds of things funny or endearing, it makes your life that much better and happier.

 

BEYOND WORK, WHAT ONE THING DO YOU WANT TO DO OR ACCOMPLISH IN LIFE?

I'd like to write a book on marriage, and specifically the teamwork that's involved in keeping a marriage healthy. My husband and I have been married for 15 years, and every year it gets better. But we work really hard at that, and I hope that as we get more experience, maybe there are some pointers that I can offer to other couples.

 

DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

I do use LinkedIn to connect to my professional network, post updates and, mostly actually, to search out potential new members of my network. I don't use Facebook because that's really only for personal information, and when I'm not working I try to stay 100% focused on my family.

 

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