Leadership and the Family Business: Putting Relationships First

Access Your Leadership with Hakim Lakhdar

Angel Gonzalez, the CEO of Millennium Benefits, joins Access Your Leadership to share his journey learning about and then ultimately leading his family insurance practice. Starting in the business in 1996, Angel worked closely with his mother and (then) step-father to support them in building the business. Never expecting to stay in the business long-term, he evolved not only as a professional but as a relationship-focused leader of their family owned and operated insurance brokerage focused on employee group benefits. In this episode, Angel shares what it was like to learn the business at a young age from his experienced, successful and quite different mother and step-father. He explains how he gained a deeper understanding of all aspects of running and business and how big a role relationships play in sustaining and growing such a business. What’s it like to start your career working in a family business? How does managing the operations of the business differ from the client relationship side and how do they support one another? What about insurance and benefits was appealing enough to build a career around that? How did your mother and the way she led herself influence the leader you’d come to be? How did your personality and love of people contribute to your success and love for the business you now run? Why was your shared focus on relationships such a big factor in the work dynamic that you shared with your mother? What has it been like to step out from your mother’s shadow and now lead on your own? How did it feel to not be partnering with your mother after working side-by-side for so long and after her diagnosis? How does one make the shift from doing it all themselves to being able to delegate? What are the benefits of delegating and accepting support? What role does ego play in delegating? How can being self-aware, leading oneself effectively and doing a regular self-audit be helpful as a leader? Why is caring about clients and treating them like family a differentiator in business and how does it impact how you target prospective clients? This conversation is all about heart and how being relationship-focused not only benefits your family and working relationships, but how your clients experience you and how your business grows. Angel is clearly committed to his own leadership journey and bringing others along with him as he and his company continue to rise. Enjoy the conversation!

Feedback (I/we want to hear from you):

You can connect with Angel on LinkedIn

To connect with Angel and learn more about Millenium Benefits visit https://www.mbimiami.com/

You can also connect directly with Angel at [email protected]

Did this podcast spark something in you or get you to take action in some way? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on our conversation. You can hit me up on Instagram @lakhdar_coaching, LinkedIn: /hakimlakhdar, Twitter @LakhdarCoaching, and Facebook/LakhdarCoaching

I’m always looking to connect with people who are passionate about leadership as well as companies who value and support strong leaders in their own organization. If that’s you or someone you know, then drop me a line at [email protected]

Check out previous episodes of Access Your Leadership on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.