Brandon Converse | LEADERSHIP WICHITA
What does a day in the life look like for you?
A day could consist of client meetings, company education presentations, responding to incoming calls/emails from 401(k) participants or business owners/HR teams, prospecting, marketing event planning, team meetings or attending events within our community. There is usually a significant amount of preparation and follow-up time required at my desk, also.
How have you grown during your career?
My biggest areas of growth have been empathy, self-confidence, leadership and communication.
What is your biggest professional accomplishment?
Creating a name for our team in Wichita, The Converse Team. We have multiple affiliations and partners that clients often associate us to. Being an independent, standalone team with a small part in shaping in the future of Wichita is extremely humbling.
What is one piece of advice that has served you well in your journey?
"Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." — Charles Swindoll
What should one never take for granted?
Health
What is non-negotiable for you?
Integrity.
What do you think the secret to a good life is?
Learn to love the live you have and make happiness where you are. A big piece of this relates back to finances and living within your means and saving for your future self.
What characteristic do you most admire in others and why?
Being curious along with the ability to remember! I admire those with a sharp mind and able to recall/make connections quickly.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?
You can't make everyone happy all the time. Be kind, be patient, stay true to word, work hard, and be diligent and eventually good things will happen.
What has been your biggest Aha! moment?
I cannot be good at all things. I have a problem saying 'yes' to most things. I have learned I can't mentally or physically do that because other areas of life are sacrificed by taking on too much.
What are you grateful for?
I'm grateful for the family, friends, team members, and clients in my life. It is cheesy, but I've always felt blessed beyond what I deserve.
Who is your greatest inspiration?
Abraham Lincoln
What is one word you would use to describe yourself and why?
Well-rounded
What do you do for fun or to recharge?
Tinkering/working in my yard and around the house.
What are your core values?
Faith, character, integrity, grit, family
What are your strengths and why?
Over time, I have found my determination to be a significant strength (maybe I'm stubborn!). I can grind out difficult mental and physical tasks while having the clarity to make big projects into smaller, actionable tasks.
What makes you unique?
I love people, hearing their stories, and making friends. I think my most unique skill set started from early on, being a middle child and Army brat. I've been fortunate to have great physical abilities in sports to be 'good' at most things. I am an engineer by schooling but in sales role. Typically, I can relate or find common ground with most people I encounter.
What is your leadership style?
Lead by example. This is still something I am refining.
Who are your mentors and why?
Mike Converse - he works his tail off and is a great teacher that got me into this industry. I need to find another mentors if there are some volunteers looking to take on strays :).
What motivates you?
Pleasing others and seeing progress. I love helping others find success and I also like seeing tangible progress, which is not always easy in my line of work.
What are you an expert in?
401(k), 403(b), retirement accounts and planning. I'm good at a lot of things but not sure I'd say expert at a lot. Always room for improvement!
What’s the last series you binge-watched?|
Quarterback on Netflix. However, it still probably took me a month to get through. I'm not a good binge-watcher.
What is your favorite app and why?
Probably Pandora or Spotify. Anything that keeps my vibe upbeat and I don't make a decision on 'what's next'.
What do you collect? Why?
Clients. I love gaining a new personal client or business 401(k) account. My goal is to serve them indefinitely, thus not losing them. I'm pretty boring otherwise. I don't have any collections.
What would we mostly likely seeing you doing on a weekend?
Most of the time is spent traveling to and sitting at a softball/baseball field, football field, or basketball gym.
What music artist do you never get tired of?
Led Zeppelin, Eminem, Morgan Wallen
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Ryan Reynolds
What is your most used emoji?
The celebration icon
If you could choose one superhuman ability, what would it be?
See the future
What book are you reading now? Why?
Reading: Ben Carson, A More Perfect Union. I love learning more about the framework of our county and really enjoy Dr. Carson's perspective. Listening to: Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink. Self improvement that I I heard referenced on a leadership podcast.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Laziness
What characteristics do you value most in your coworkers?
Positive energy they bring along with eagerness to serve others.
What led you to this career?
It was a blend of being introduced to it from my brother, Mike, and a passion for helping others better themselves. I quickly learned how much most of us don't know about finances and saw a big opportunity to make an impact.
What is the most important part of your work?
The relationship and trust created with clients is the most important piece. It all begins by being honest and working towards common goals. Financial planning requires a marathon mindset and ignoring most of the noise of the day-to-day requires trust.
What do you love most about your work?
Every day I get to meet new people and in many engagements, I am asked to provide guidance/education. I love making an impact for individuals and challenging the 'traditional' way of doing things that we all get comfortable with. Separately, when a referral occurs from clients, it is reassurance that I positively impacted the referring individual.
What 3 critical skills help you in your work?
Listening. Persistency. Accuracy.
What is something you wish someone had told you during your career journey?
Create dedicated time for those that mean the most: spouse, family, team members. It seems so simple but becomes harder and harder with growth and responsibilities.
What is your foundation?
My faith, my wife and our children.
