Jenny Carter: We have done some great interviews with the leaders across the country, today we have with us, Mr. Allen McCampbell. Allen is from American General. Tell us about American General and what you did there.

Allen McCampbell: I retired recently from American General after 33 years. In my career, I had well over 30 positions in 33 years. So I moved a lot. But in those moves, I was always kind of moving to those things that would help me better my career, etc. I retired as the senior vice president. I was in charge of insurance operations in the Nashville operation as well as insurance operations at Franklin Life Insurance Company which we owned in Springfield, Illinois; small, quaint company; delightful company to work with in a town that would be very similar to Cookeville. So, it was a fun place to go and spend time.

Jenny Carter: Did you live there or you just visit?

Allen McCampbell: I would just visit and spend time up there and commute back and forth to Nashville.

Jenny Carter: So you were based out of Nashville?

Allen McCampbell: Yeah and operated; really managed both operations

Jenny Carter: But your heart is in Houston County...

Allen McCampbell: Yeah, my heart is in Houston County.

Jenny Carter: …which is not too far from Nashville

Allen McCampbell: Right: where we now live.

Jenny Carter: What led you to your role as a great leader?

Allen McCampbell: Thank you for the compliment; great leader. But my role as a leader and I have a philosophy, I don’t think leaders are born. I think leaders can be very, very heavily impacted by the environment they are in, but also by whatever would stimulate their desire to say well, I can do it or to step forward. For most parts, leaders who are very successful are picked by others, not themselves. You can choose to say I want to be the leader and the team may say no, you’re not it. So I think leaders evolve from teams or groups of employees or whether you’re in your civic life or whether you’re in your culture life or in your school system working with the PTA. Leaders evolve from that group that says we would like you to lead us. One genuine characteristic of leaders; and I think it’s something that has been helpful to me over the years; they’re team builders. And the one thing all leaders having in common, and there is only one thing: followers. The key is how do you attract and retain the followers? And if for any reason you don’t believe as a team member I can help you go where you want to go or achieve your objectives you will no longer have the respect from me as your leader.

Jenny Carter: When that happens, I have seen a lot of people come and go, as a great leader, you have to sometimes let people go, on to greatness that you can’t provide. How does that feel?

Allen McCampbell: There is a sense of loss and pride. It’s ambivalence; the good feeling and the bad feeling. The good feeling of the pride that they’re moving on, and the sense of loss of that relationship.

Jenny Carter: But as a leader, you have to let go. It is painful.

Allen McCampbell: It is like parenting to a degree.

Jenny Carter: Exactly

Allen McCampbell: There are points in time when you have to say we have done all we can do. The next step is this. As you work with groups of people or individuals, you have to let them grow and grow to their potential. And if the opportunity is not where you happen to be sitting, great, whatever the opportunity is coach them, pat them on the back and let them move on. And they may move on in your own organization, they may move elsewhere. But you continue to coach and counsel and work with them. I have been fortunate. I cannot tell you the people that still contact me that I’ve worked with over the years and want to talk about something. They’re going to make a move or they’re anticipating a move and we just sit and talk. And there’s a lot of pride, you feel that when they call you: long since they’ve left the organization. I still have those contacts.

Jenny Carter: What kind of attributes are you looking for when you’ve got a position and you are looking for to fill that?

Allen McCampbell: Well, first I have to look at the competence. Does the person have the skills, knowledge and experience? Can they handle the position; that competence? Then, do they have confidence in themselves that they can move into, etc. When I say confidence, it works both ways. The selector, which will be me, is one part of the equation, the other is the person has the confidence they can do it if you make that move too.

Jenny Carter: Confidence but not overconfidence. It’s a thin line.

Allen McCampbell: Right. If a person is a little cocky about something, you have to look at them very carefully. It may be their nature; they’re always cocky. But it may not be that. It may be that when they are really cocky, there is a lot of uncertainty. They are not that sure. You have to be able to work through that to get to the level and say OK, we are in the right place at the right time. Let’s see if we can make our move.