Do Not Complain About What You Tolerate

What you tolerate as an agency leader ultimately shapes your culture, your standards, and your results. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly challenges independent insurance agency leaders to confront a powerful leadership truth: do not complain about what you tolerate.

From underperformance and missed commitments to leadership silence and avoided conversations, toleration quietly teaches your team what is acceptable. Over time, those small allowances set the ceiling for growth, accountability, and excellence.

This episode is a direct conversation with agency owners and leadership teams who want to build a best-version-possible agency—one that operates with clarity, intention, and high standards.

Key Themes & Takeaways

1. What You Tolerate Is What You Teach

Culture is not just what you say—it’s the language and behaviors that are normal in your agency. What you allow to continue becomes the real standard. Toleration always teaches, whether you intend it to or not.

2. Leadership Silence Creates Long-Term Chaos

Avoiding hard conversations may feel easier in the moment, but problems left unattended eventually become crises. Leadership silence sends a message that issues aren’t important—or worse, that average performance is acceptable.

3. The Hidden Cost of Tolerating Poor Performance

When underperformance is allowed over time:

• Average becomes the standard

• Your best people grow frustrated

• Accountability erodes

• Trust and respect decline

High performers notice when standards are inconsistent—and they respond accordingly.

4. Common Areas Agencies Tolerate (Without Realizing It)

Brent highlights several real-world examples agencies often allow to continue:

• Missed promises and broken commitments

• Inconsistent preparation and lack of practice

• Producers doing non-producer work

• Avoided accountability

• Excused behaviors and repeated justifications

Each one chips away at performance, credibility, and culture.

5. Coachability and Intentionality Separate Great Leaders

Best-version-possible agencies don’t happen by accident. The strongest leaders share two defining traits:

• Coachability: Open to new ideas, honest about gaps, and willing to evolve

• Intentionality: Clear standards, visible expectations, and consistent follow-through

Ego blocks excellence. Perspective fuels growth.

6. Address Issues Early

The longer an issue lingers, the heavier it becomes. Early conversations save time, energy, and emotional drain. Most leaders find the conversation they feared wasn’t nearly as bad as imagined.

7. Make Standards Visible

If something is important, make it visible. When standards live only in someone’s head—or a forgotten document—they don’t exist. Visibility creates focus, accountability, and momentum.

8. Separate the Person From the Behavior

Holding someone accountable for behavior is not a personal attack. In fact, avoiding the conversation may prevent them from finding a role where they can truly thrive. Clarity serves everyone.

Reflection Questions for Agency Leaders

Take a moment to reflect:

1. What am I currently tolerating in my agency that I should no longer tolerate?

2. What message does that send to my team?

Remember—communication happens not only when you speak, but also when you stay silent.

Final Thought

What you tolerate shapes who you become as a leader—and who your agency becomes over time. Great agencies are intentional. They set standards, address issues early, and remain coachable as they grow.

If you don’t plan your agency’s future, someone else will—and they won’t plan much for you.