Reassuring the audience, Qualman said, “Digital isn't designed to replace face-to-face interaction. It won't replace meeting for coffee or a meal.” It's designed to replace distance and deepen relationships because brokers can now use video conferencing, email or social media to stay in touch. “We live in the Jetsons era. But those who live like the Flintstones win.”

Five habits of digital leaders

Qualman then introduced the audience to the concept of S-T-A-M-P and the five habits of digital leaders, similar to Stephen Covey's well-known “7 Habits of Highly Successful People,” which most attendees had read. The letters stand for:

Simple True Act Map People

Qualman asked the audience to think about which one they're already strongest in. “It's OK to only be good at one or two, not all five,” he stressed. He then reviewed the key attributes of each one, encouraging the audience to think about how to leverage those attributes to be better digital leaders.

Simple — In Qualman's view, keeping things simple wins but it's difficult. When he asked for a show of hands of those who make to-do lists, almost all hands went up, and most admitted writing those lists with pen and paper. Making a “not-to-do” list is better, he said, recommending that you make a “not yet” list for everything new — projects, tasks or strategic plans.

Lists are important to use, Qualman said, because we think we're multi-tasking but we're actually “switch-tasking.” When we're trying to multi-task, we get less done because the brain is always switching back and forth between two or more tasks. Research has shown that “switch tasking” is the equivalent of not sleeping for 36 hours.

As our mothers told us, we're more productive if we focus on one thing at a time. “We work best in 20-minute segments followed by strategic breaks,” said Qualman, encouraging the audience to keep 20-20-20 in mind. We should try to move every 20 minutes, and look 20 feet in the distance at a fixed object for 20 seconds. This relieves eye strain, which causes the whole body to be tired and keeps us from doing our best work.

True — Most digital leaders know who they are and how they want to achieve their goals, Qualman said. When they've got this figured out, they take their teams with them. They've also thought about the one word that they want people to think of when they think of the leader, for example, inspire, passionate, kind, considerate or brave. Qualman's word is “empower.” He wants to be the leader that empowers others to do better, be better.

“What one word do you want to describe you?” he asked the audience. “Think about it and focus on it.”

Act — “Nothing happens without action,” Qualman said, “but why don't we take action as individuals and as teams? The number one reason is that we're afraid to fail. Digital leaders are not afraid to fail.”

Qualman observed that we don't evaluate failure as organizations. We need to ask ourselves, “How do we embrace failure as individuals and as organizations?” That allows you to learn and avoid making the same mistake twice.

“Become 'flawsome.' Embracing our flaws helps you become awesome,” Qualman said.

Map — “We need a firm destination, and we need to be flexible about how we get there,” said Qualman. He noted that the path to success consists of leaping over hurdle after hurdle. One turnaround specialist he spoke to explained that when she starts working with a company in trouble, she meets with its top 50 customers, asking them, “What's the main product you buy from us that you use most, and why do you buy it from us?” She then focuses everything else on those answers.

Qualman asked the audience, “Are you taking the information you're learning and doing something with it?” He also urged them to become pioneers and challenge the status quo, as the best digital leaders do. “If you aren't getting pushback, then you aren't pioneering,” he added, noting that you shouldn't use old maps to get to new destinations.

People — “Surround yourself with the right people,” Qualman said. “Augment your personal networking, which you're already good at or you wouldn't be at this meeting, with digital networking.”

Qualman recommended that everyone “Post it forward.” He suggested taking three minutes a day to forward emails or posts to people who might be interested in the content. He also recommended endorsing someone on LinkedIn for a skill you know they're genuinely good at. “When you do that you're networking before you actually need the network,” he said.

“Digital stamps are very powerful right now,” Qualman concluded. With the right tools, brokers can use the stamps to become digital leaders. “At the end of the day you're creating a smile,” he said, “solving a problem for someone.”

Read more of our Expo coverage: 

• Looking ahead to what's next at the 2019 BenefitsPRO Broker Expo
• Knowing your worth, and other strategies for brokers to build their businesses
• Improving the employee experience through technology