Prepare Yourself Emotionally
"I don't think there's anyone out there who is planning on their bank failing, so it's not something that we usually have a plan in place to deal with it," says Thomas Hawker. "Generally during the period of time up to the closure of the bank, people are just working their tails off, trying to prevent that from happening, so it's not like, 'I need to be prepared,' it's more like, 'Wow, what hit me?'"
Accept Responsibility, But Not Blame
"I don't think anybody should be forced to take complete blame," Cynthia Grazian says. "It's really an ensemble piece."
Have a Support Network
"It helps to have some kind of support in place with family members and friends, people you feel that you can be open with and just share the emotions that you are going through, people who will just listen," Hawker says.
"There are so many aftershocks that occur, so many more parties involved, and part of your grief over what happened is for your employees and your customers," Grazian says. "Executives, and not just bank CEOs, are not good at asking for help because they're supposed to be in charge. But reaching out to others and talking to them can be very helpful."
