Talent for Today

Imagine doing a yoga sequence with your hands and feet tied together! As bankers, I think we’ve all experienced the desire to be flexible and creative but feel constrained by rules and regulations. With over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, I have faced the challenge to break the status quo while navigating real or implied constraints. Flexibility and creativity can beat the roadblocks of rules, regulations and "best practices" when seeking new and different ways to further engage our customers. Processes become potholes of “because we’ve always done it this way” leading to inefficient operations. It’s much easier to be agile and flexible when you have the freedom to adapt to the needs of your market without feeling bound by regulation.

Leaders are instrumental in developing the core values, vision and culture of the organization. When we rebranded Security Federal in 2012, we revisited our core values and the current culture. We conducted a culture assessment to determine the type of culture that would make our team members thrive. As expected, respondents viewed the traditional model as being too rigid, overburdened by policies, procedures and too many layers of management. The assessment revealed that team members wanted to break down the hierarchies, be empowered to make decisions, and encouraged innovation and greater transparency throughout the organization. We listened to our team and made a culture shift to provide a more desirable work environment. This transition resulted in more timely decision making, team members feeling informed and empowered and an emphasis on innovation. In a competitive hiring environment, a healthy work culture serves as an attraction and retention tool for new and existing team members.

Having the right leaders on your team is essential. Your interaction and relationship with your direct reports will have a trickle- down effect throughout the organization reinforcing a positive culture. Our industry needs leaders with a growth mindset who are willing to take risks, remain agile, and bring new ideas to the organization. Small banks have little bandwidth to redo others work or pick up the slack for underperformers. If you have noticed a weak link, the other members of your team have noticed it as well. Don’t put off addressing the individual’s performance and be prepared to support the outcome.

Visionaries on the IBA Board of Directors acknowledged the need to reinvent the Indiana Bankers Association for long-term viability and devote more resources to developing future leaders in banking. Board members felt so strongly about the need to grow Indiana’s next generation of bankers, the initiative was included as a priority in the Association’s 2014-2016 Strategic Plan.

In 2013 there were 37 members of the IBA Future Leadership Division. IBA's leadership stepped up to modify engagement and participation requirements to align with known priorities for future generations. New leadership programs were created, along with a concentrated effort to increase the number of FLD members. Networking opportunities were expanded to take relationship building out of the bank. Technology was enhanced to use social media to connect with young professionals.

The IBA team began addressing this void by offering the first IBA Leadership Development Program in 2012. I jumped at the opportunity to attend somewhat out of curiosity, but primarily because this type of training was scarce at the time. The Leadership Development Program, along with attending the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, allowed me to combine my technical knowledge of the industry with the human aspect of leadership.

I am encouraged by the level of engagement of today’s FLD membership, which has grown to over 600 Indiana bankers. The membership of the FLD today is much more diverse than it was 10 years ago, another win for Indiana banks! As today’s emerging leaders, you are fortunate to have development and networking opportunities that were not available 10 years ago. Your collective energy serves as an assurance our industry will remain in good hands.

Be daring, be different and make banking fun again!

This Month's Guest Writer

Annette Russell
President and CEO
Security Federal Savings Bank, Logansport