MDRT President Regina Bedoya, a 26-year MDRT member with seven Court of the Table and three Top of the Table honours, sat down for an exclusive chat with Asia Advisers Network. She shared how she made the jump from COT to TOT, what it means to be an MDRT member, her priorities in the coming year and how Asian members will be even better served in the years to come.
Qualifying for the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) for the first time is a remarkable achievement. But it is only the beginning.
“Being a member of MDRT is all about going beyond,” said Regina. And once you become an MDRT member, reaching new heights to achieve Court of the Table (COT) or Top of the Table (TOT) becomes less difficult because you would have a network and community to count on. She listed study groups, mentors and MDRT resources as some examples.
Making the jump from COT
Reflecting on her experience, she said she had achieved COT for about seven years. While some may be happy with this level of consistency and performance, she was determined to continue growing in the profession and didn’t want COT to be her cap.
“I think the most useful thing I did was to realise that there's a whole network of colleagues that are invested in my success,” she said.
Previously, she was reluctant to ask for help and was working on her own. She came close for several years but ultimately failed to make the breakthrough to TOT.
What gave her that extra push was by being vulnerable and opening up to other members and asking questions.
She shared, “I called a friend, an MDRT member, and I said, ‘Do you mind if I come to your town and spend a couple of days with you in your office to learn how you do it?’.” And he continued to call regularly to check on her progress.
The following year, she qualified for TOT.
“You feel part of a community as opposed to being alone in your quest to reach higher levels,” she said.
Taking up the mantle
On assuming the role of President of MDRT’s 2020 Executive Committee, she said, “I would like to continue on the wonderful work of my predecessors.”
She added, “Our focus this year will be developing potentially other markets, making sure that we add value to our existing markets, and increasing the content that is there for other languages.”
On MDRT Resource, there are 11 languages at the moment. And at MDRT Annual Meetings, “we translate in more languages than the United Nations”.
One of the ways MDRT intends to produce content in more languages is to make available the sharing of local experts presenting at the MDRT Days of different countries.
Another key initiative would be to enhance the mentoring programme. “We're enhancing it significantly so that we're going to be able to match mentors and mentees based on the information they entered,” she said.
Ensuring Asia’s voice is heard
With the majority of members coming from Asia, Regina said, “Our Asian members are very important to MDRT. We're spending a lot of energy and focus on getting to know those markets even better.”
With travels to the different cities, she said, “We want to have our finger on the pulse. We want to understand what their needs are, what their unique cultural requirements are, and adapt to that.”
“The other thing that MDRT is doing is growing Asian leaders across the continent,” she said. “We have a global council now where several of our global council members are from Asia. And they are the voice, the eyes and ears of our Asian members.”
And having the first MDRT Global Conference was a direct response to the exponential growth in Asia.
“Now, we don't want it to be a meeting for Asian members only. In fact, we have a lot of members that came from the United States, from Europe, from other parts of the world. But it's closer, and it’s more convenient to many of our Asian members to give them what we call the magic of MDRT,” said Regina.
The MDRT way
On what it takes to be an MDRT member, she said, “MDRT is for the adviser that has that fire in their belly that wants to grow, that wants to become the best adviser they can be.”
And to be successful, it is not enough to just be successful in business. “We want people who embrace the whole person concept. To be truly a successful person, you need to pay attention to every dimension of your humanity. It's a philosophy of life that we have all embraced,” she said.
“So is it for everyone? No. But it's for everyone that is committed to excellence, to professionalism and to ethics. We believe in doing our work for our clients in the most ethical way so that we always do what's in the best interest of our clients,” she concluded.
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