Credibility is an important quality to have when working withprospects and clients in the insurancebusiness.

But credibility cannot be achieved if you do not possess thefollowing three attributes: expertise, track record andrespect.

Let's explore each in more depth:

1. Expertise

Expertise means that you actually comport yourself as an expert.Experts' opinions are believed and sought; they are not generallysubject to quibbles or arguments. No one has ever walked up toPeter Drucker and challenged his thinking about managementstrategy.

You gain expertise through experiences, education, observationsand boldly moving on from both your victories and your defeats.It's fine to be defeated in a good cause if you learn from it.That's how you hone your skills — through continual application andreal-world use. It's often said that saints engage inintrospection, while sinners run the world. Think about that.

In a rapidly changing world of technology, globalization andshifting social mores, expertise is an ongoing act, not a staticposition. How do you know you're an “expert?” Because people citeyou, quote you, defer to you, ask your opinion and use you as thestandard. Even if all that only happens within your ownorganization.

2. Track record

Nothing succeeds in promoting credibility like results thatothers can see, touch, feel, hear and smell. In other words, don'tjust talk the talk; walk the walk. Track records don't requireuniform and unblemished successes. In fact, it's better that theyshow variation. The idea is to constantly improve.

The best batters in baseball, on average, only get a hit inevery three at bats. The key idea regarding looking back on yoursuccesses and failures is to build on your strengths. We spend toomuch time evaluating defeats and focusing on correcting weaknesses.Determine how and why you were successful, and seek to replicatethat success. Weaknesses will simply atrophy.

3. Interpersonal skills/respect

By “respect,” I mean not merely affection. No one respectspeople who can only win if someone else loses, or who see life as azero-sum game. You don't have to like everyone, but you do have toremain civil. When you share, you gain respect; you also gainrespect when you accept responsibility, when you volunteer and whenyou effectively negotiate and honestly resolve conflict.

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Engendering respect requires the savvy use of interpersonalskills. The ways in which you communicate with colleagues,associates and clients play a large role in credibility and proveyour ability (or inability) to create allies instead ofadversaries.

Advice from a Yogi

An important factor in leveraging these three components is thewillingness to coach others. Coaching builds your expertise, yourtrack record and your respect. It's like “one stop shopping.”

As Yogi Bhajan, the late spiritual leader and entrepreneur whointroduced kundalini yoga to the United States, once said: “If youwant to learn something, read about it. If you want to understandsomething, write about it. If you want to master something, teachit.”

Related: Being ethical requires more than doing the 'right'thing