An employee benefit event at Synovus helped lead Willette Shalishali down her current career path.
Shalishali joined the Columbus, Georgia-based bank after meeting with a recruiter at her alma mater, the University of Georgia. "I am originally from Columbus, Georgia, and it had this respected vibe in my head," she said of Synovus. "I thought maybe I should move home for a little bit."
She has ended up staying for 17 years, the entirety of her career to date.
"I think my lowest grade was maybe in finance so it's a bit ironic," she added.
Shalishali joined the $59.7 billion-asset bank through an early talent program, which exposed her to different aspects of banking. She ended up starting off as a credit analyst before taking on other roles, such as a private wealth advisor and a commercial banker.
But Shalishali found herself not necessarily fulfilled.
"Early in your career, you are still figuring yourself out and how to navigate different paths," she said. "I knew I just wanted to do well at what was right in front of me. At some point, I asked, 'Does this fill my cup?'"
Shalishali utilized the bank's employee assistance program and ended up taking an assessment that suggested she should pursue a career in learning. "And I was like, I love to learn but would I be good at that?"
A friend then told her about a job opening in human resources at Synovus. At the time, Shalishali was nervous about making the leap from being in a revenue producing role to corporate services. "But for me, it was worthwhile," she said. "It broadened my skill set." She now serves as the senior director of talent management and development at Synovus, overseeing learning and development, leadership development and succession planning.
One of her biggest accomplishments has been launching the Catalyst Senior Development Program, which prepares senior employees to take on a leadership role. Right before COVID-19 struck, Synovus' management realized that it needed to invest more in developing its leaders at every level of the organization. Catalyst was created to help address this need. Shalishali expects the initiative to continue to evolve as different needs are identified. For instance, it is now emphasizing how to be an inclusive leader to its participants.
"It fosters this learning culture, and I'm of the opinion that it can be a real competitive advantage for a company," she added.
Shalishali said that she could see herself staying within human resources, at least for now. "I see the power of that function."
"There is another part of me that thinks I could take what I have learned to other parts of the company, and I would be learning something new."
