At Bender Insurance Solutions, we believe that leadership is a journey—not a destination. Over the past several years, we’ve been fortunate to partner with the incredibly talented Leslie Whatley of People & Change Consulting to guide us on that journey through a dedicated leadership cohort.
Leslie isn’t just an expert—she’s someone who truly understands our organization. Her deep insights and ability to challenge us while honoring our culture have been instrumental in helping our leaders grow and evolve.
Last month, we explored a deceptively powerful concept: The Collusion Cycle.
Sounds intense, right? It is—but in the best possible way.
The collusion cycle comes from Arbinger’s Outward Mindset model, which many of our team members were introduced to during our annual training. This time, however, we took a much deeper dive. We focused on a specific challenge within our business and worked together to unpack how different parties were contributing to the problem.
It was eye-opening to walk in the shoes of others, confront our assumptions, and realize that even when a situation feels stuck—we have agency to shift it.
It takes a lot of humility and self-awareness to say, “You know what? I might be part of the problem here.” But that’s where real growth happens. Because once we recognize our role in a negative cycle and choose to show up differently, the cycle begins to break. And that creates space for others to show up differently, too.
What made this experience even more meaningful? After reflecting on the session over the weekend, one of our directors met with me for a 1:1 and courageously pointed out that, while we addressed a major issue with clarity and collaboration, we missed a smaller—but equally important—collusion cycle within the same challenge. If we overlook that piece, we risk limiting our progress.
That level of insight and courage is exactly the kind of leadership we’re cultivating at BIS—and I couldn’t be more proud.
Takeaways for Leaders and Organizations:
- Be curious when things feel stuck. Ask: “Am I contributing to this dynamic in any way?”
- Shift starts with self. Even one person’s behavior change can start to unravel a toxic or unproductive cycle.
- Create space for honesty. When leaders feel safe to surface hard truths, your organization becomes stronger.
- Don’t skip the small stuff. Sometimes, the biggest barriers to progress are the unspoken, unresolved dynamics under the surface.
- Stay humble, always. After 87 years in business, we’re still learning—and that’s what makes us better.
I hope this encourages others to dig deep in their own leadership journey. The more we understand ourselves and our impact, the better we can lead our people, serve our clients, and achieve our vision for the future.
By Maggie Bender-Johnson, President & CEO Bender Insurance Solutions
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