Pub. 8 2018 Issue 1

25 ISSUE 1. 2018 facing leaders in banking. The years of reduced staffing have taken a toll and good people, because they tend to show up and partici- pate, are getting burned out. We invited Dr. Kevin Gazzara, PhD, who has developed a process called the flow theory of the brain, which simply put, allows you to move tasks and responsibilities, which “buys” you back time. The feedback was exceptionally pos- itive over this class. We’ve worked with participants on using em- ployee assessments to identify personality traits to understand their people. Also, Paul Hickman led a class on grassroots involvement in legislation efforts. Paul has often commented that the banking in- dustry is “the cardiovascular system of the business world.” Nothing transports commerce, except for banking. I personally believe that when you catch emerging leaders in pivotal moments in their career, the “aha” moments create gifted and engaged leaders. And that’s what we’re doing, and it’s exciting. WHY IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE CHAMPI- ONING? Why not? Everyone needs a gifted leader. People tend to be attracted to organizations in part because of their leadership, and conversely, they tend to leave organizations over the same thing. In fact, and this statistic comes from SHRM, 75% of the time an organization loses employees over something to do with their im- mediate supervisor. That’s mind-boggling if you think about it. 75% of the time, it’s not about pay, it’s not about benefits, it’s not about the job – it’s about who that person reported to. Either they weren’t supportive, they were too busy, they were perceived to be too criti- cal, any number of reasons. But, in an industry where the talent pool is already stretched thin, banks can’t be losing good people over the lack of people skills. The goal of this program is to turn ordinary managers into gifted bosses, and that is something I think everyone in this industry should be championing. In my own company, we like to think of ourselves as “disruptors” of the status quo. This program does just that. It disrupts the way things are, and challenges these leaders to embrace what could be, and that’s exciting. WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE PROGRAM? Well, as I mentioned before, it’s to create gifted bosses that in turn will pay it forward by engaging their employees. It’s that virtuous circle of engagement. We want to supply our local banking industry with leaders who are ready to lead. And, I think we’re doing it. ARE YOU REACHING THOSE GOALS? We are. Last year we had 26 participants. They will graduate this June. This year, we believe that we will have 40 or so participants. That’s almost double participation. Plus, I hear incredibly positive feedback, not only from the participants, but, from their supervisors as well. WHAT’S THE FUTURE FOR THIS PROGRAM? I think it’s very bright. Our goal is that by 2019, we can roll out the program to the ABA, for national use. w Scan this QR code with your smart phone to learn more or visit https://youtu.be/VrWcif5Pb54