I recently caught up with a friend from the banking industry whom I've known for over 20 years. We shared road-warrior stories and chatted about some of the
He told me that many of the management issues I preached about 20 years ago seem as relevant today as ever. I joked that, while technology evolves quickly, human nature tends to take ... oh ... a millennium or so to change.
I reminded him that my focus on things like
From day one, I was faced with the reality that even the smartest people back at the main office did not truly understand our challenges. Business development practices for bankers had been designed for a much different environment.
Beyond that, the types of marketing practices needed to compete for attention with the best retail marketing companies in the world were different from the best practices at other branches.
And while "having fun" on the job — including silly promotions and decorations — seemed to be a terrifying concept to some of our more "old school" banker brethren, it was necessary to keep an in-store banker team together.
I recounted an incident at a meeting almost a year into that first banking job where a senior lender suggested to me that all that "playing around" at a branch gave an unprofessional appearance.
So, I asked him if he could see a banana display or breakfast cereal aisle from his office. I could. Or how often did customers attempt to return an overdue video rental to his teller line?
I also respectfully pointed out that the "silly" branch in the grocery store had begun generating more DDAs than the totally professional main office.
Those initial experiences grounded three beliefs in me very early on. First, adaptability in the field is as important as a grand strategy. Sure, there are operational tasks that must be uniform, but markets, environments, challenges and opportunities aren't identical.
A House Financial Services Committee's hearing on workplace misconduct at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Wednesday offered Republicans an opportunity to call for FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg's immediate resignation, but Democrats pushed back against the implication that Gruenberg alone is to blame.
Intelligent bankers should be allowed to adapt where needed and feasible, thereby taking greater ownership of their results. People who are permitted to think outside the box tend to think. People who are put in a box tend not to think much at all.
Second, it's hard to effectively lead and/or coach people you do not see every day if you aren't truly informed on the reality of their situations. When I entered the stage of my career where I traveled the country to work with other banks, I observed that my experiences of a disconnect between senior leaders and "the field" were far from unique.
This was as true for traditional branches as it was for alternative ones. Bridging the gap between the realities in the field — or even in back offices — and leaderships' knowledge of them became one of the focal points of any engagement.
One of the most common issues that still exist today is the serious hesitancy of front-line teams and their managers to point out problematic policies, practices and even events. While these things are widely discussed and commiserated over in the field, senior management often remains uninformed — sometimes, I fear, willfully.
I regularly remind leaders that most of their best people do not complain, but that doesn't mean there aren't things they could use support and assistance with. Effective leaders are diligent about openly and respectfully communicating with their teams to learn how they can support them better.
The third, and most fundamental, belief that has only deepened over thirty years is that people are the one true differentiator in banking. That may sound like boilerplate to those who believe that smart people in offices, who seldom or never see a customer, can design products and create campaigns that set them apart.
My initial decade of working with "alternative" locations opened my eyes to the fact that the true determining factor of success was personnel. Two decades of engagements that have followed with traditional banking operations have only solidified that belief.
The difference between top-performing banks, and even between branches and business lines of the same bank, comes down to the talent and engagement levels of their teams.
Staying abreast of technology will remain table stakes, but it will not differentiate one from the pack. A bank isn't a building, a brand or an app. A bank is its bankers, and it's the human element that provides personalized service, builds relationships and creates trust with customers.
Eras come and go, but the ongoing investments in developing, empowering, leading and retaining superior personnel will remain the highest priority of top-performing financial institutions.
