Banking Leadership – How to Be The Banker That Everyone Wants to Work For

With 80+ acquisitions that make up our Bank, we have a strong collection of leaders that we have assimilated. These leaders have risen to the top of their previous organization and proven their value to the market by having a successful sale of their bank thereby quantifying the definitive value creation. They have proven to not only be a solid cultural fit for our organization but have also produced impressive results within our larger Bank. In this article, we look at the traits that compose effective banking leadership.

What are Effective Leaders?

We have had all types of leaders at our Bank. Our definition of an “effective” leader was one who produces above-average results AND contributes to the culture of the bank. In other words, they need to add value while not being a jerk to work for and develop their staff to produce future leaders. This was a common and agreed-upon approach.

And then, we realized something.

We didn’t have any leaders who were both jerks and produced results over a period of more than three years. Conversely, while we had “nice” leaders that everyone liked, they often didn’t produce superior results, and few bankers wanted to switch departments to work with them. This group of leaders often separated from the organization. This got us thinking.

We could not find any bankers in our organization that people wanted to work for who did not produce superior results. This was such a strong correlation that we determined we no longer needed the criteria of producing superior results. Those results seem to be a byproduct of being a leader who attracts and cultivates talent.

Banking Leader are Servants

When you have the trappings of power, it is easy for banking leadership to believe that they are the ones who should be catered to. They view their staff as a means to their end goals. These leaders catch employees doing things wrong instead of coaching and praising what is done right. You might work for this type of manager, but it is doubtful that you are going to try all that hard consistently to excel.

Jim Collins wrote Good to Great and did banking a disservice with his bus analogy. Collins uses the metaphor of a bus to represent the company. Collins teaches that one of a leader’s jobs is to get the right people in the right seats and the wrong people off the bus. While a catchy analogy, the metaphor underestimates the role of a leader.

It is not the people but the leader. You can have the right people in the right seats and still have an underperforming team.

Simon Sinek tells the story of “Noah,” who works at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where management constantly corrects employees. He leaves that job and works at the Four Seasons, where they practice servant leadership. Their leaders go around asking ALL employees, not just those who report to them, how they can help Noah do his job better.

It is no surprise that Noah keeps his head down and works for a paycheck at Caesars Palace, while excelling at Four Seasons. Same person, different leadership.

Luckily, banking is blessed with a high percentage of servant leaders. These are leaders who eat last, serve their staff, and measure success by the number of leaders they produce. They work on building a team while at the same time building a culture.

At its core, servant banking leadership is about setting high standards, holding oneself accountable to those standards, and supporting one’s team in achieving those standards.

Who doesn’t want to work for this type of leader?

Effective Banking Leadership Supports The Soul of the Individual

Part of servant leadership is caring about the soul and physical wellbeing of the employees. Like a coach of professional athletes, not only do you need to present the optimal professional atmosphere to have the team thrive, but you need to coach the staff to ensure they get the personal help they need to show up to work with the clearest mind and the most energy.

Managing workload, stress, mental health, and physical health and supporting the team’s work/life balance are critical for optimum performance. Every check-in should include a section about the individual.

If you prioritize mental and physical health, the team will quickly understand that they matter.

“Fortunes Favors the Bold”

“Fortunes favors the bold” was one of our strategic themes for the year at one point. The phrase also sums up an attribute of a great leader, an attribute that almost always serves as a major magnet to attract other bankers. Vision usually means growth, and growth is a tide that lifts all boats.

Banking leadership that takes on new challenges and demonstrates a vision tends to impart a higher level of energy to their team than a manager who is just trying to maintain the status quo. This energy is attractive.

Being Action-Oriented in Banking Leadership

We have had many leaders who had vision but took little action. We call these leaders more “dreamers” than anything else, and their staff quickly gets frustrated. Effective leaders who attract other bankers have a habit of setting the tone and then executing the vision.

What is interesting is that all these leaders create action in a very specific way – they all tend to roadmap out the plan, set clear objectives, and then communicate the plan with everyone on the team. In other words, they align the team to not only a common goal but a common path.

These attractive leaders were not always right or didn’t always succeed in the short term, but they did in the long term. Short-term failures produced insights and learnings that these leaders imparted to their team without any negative connotation.

Being able to tolerate and support failure made the team feel safe that it was OK to try. Each failure produced trust and insight that then usually resulted in success.

Personal growth is attractive. A team learns nothing by doing the same thing every day.

Process over Outcome

Bankers tend to be results-focused. The right result with the wrong process is likely not repeatable. A strong bank leader knows that the market isn’t always going to go their way. They know that if they get the process right, consistent superior results will be the byproduct.

Strong leaders spend most of their time on people and processes. Get those two items right, and results will follow. Staff will learn much more that they can apply to other endeavors if you coach the process than if you coach the outcome. The answer to banking growth is rarely “make more sales calls.” Usually, it is about doing a better job at your sales calls.

Get Out of the Way, but Stay Close

Noone wants to work for a micromanager. Conversely, complete autonomy is just neglect. A leader who is far removed from the action and stays out of the way entirely may not be in a position to coach optimally.

Give your team the freedom to come up with their own solutions to problems, but stand ready to help provide guidance, suggestions, and thoughtful questioning to help them arrive at the answer themselves. Give them the space to fail and learn. While this may take more energy and time in the short run, it provides invaluable lessons for the long run.

Make sure every employee is learning something new and is allowed to overcome their own challenges. Establish a culture where everyone helps and coaches everyone, and growth will become part of the daily fabric.

People want challenges so long as they’re given the support to rise to them. Everyone wants to work for a leader from whom they can learn.

Set and Align on Priorities

Strong banking leadership not only has a vision and is action-oriented, but it’s the right type of action to achieve those interim milestones that lead to the accomplishment of the “big rocks.”

Banking leadership should be focused on setting objectives and then prioritizing those objectives for all to see. Once everyone is clear on the objectives and priorities, then it is up to the leader to ensure that the team’s resources are focused on those priorities.

Communicate Often and With Confidence

You can never communicate enough or with enough confidence. Leaders make sure they have a consistent cadence of communication to keep everyone updated on the priorities while using the team to solve problems along the way. Leaders know that words matter and are deliberate in communicating a message that is effective and inspiring.

Employees hate to be kept in the dark. A leader that is transparent, inclusive and gets clear information out fast in an inspirational way tends to attract employees that want to make a difference.

The Role of Curiosity in Banking Leadership

A leader that seeks improvement and understanding can’t help but to excel. Keeping an open mind, asking questions about the process and striving to understand all aspects of the business are hallmarks of great leaders. This means asking questions about improvement from the staff, from competitors, from vendors and from consultants.

A leader who is curious imparts that curiosity to their team. A team that is curious is learning. Learning means development and development often leads to growth. Being able to grow and develop at the same time means your team can better handle future challenges.

Aside from learning, being curious and always being in a student frame of mind do two other important things. One, it shows you care, which is attractive. Two, looking to challenge assumptions, looking for new ways to do things, and looking to better understand how to improve the process increases the surface area of luck. While you are looking for solutions, you make it easier for solutions to find you.

Effective Banking Leadership Is Consistent

Everyone wants to be able to count on their leader. Just like employees don’t like wavering priorities, they also don’t like vacillating performance metrics and inconsistently applied standards.

A good leader treats every stakeholder equally with respect and support regardless of position, age, tenure, or experience.

Nobody wants to work for an unpredictable and inconsistent leader. Be the leader that your team can count on, and watch their loyalty grow.

Putting This Into Action

A great leader communicates with confidence, consistency, and transparency, making sure everyone is updated on priorities and involved in problem-solving. They are curious, asking questions and seeking improvement from various sources, which fosters a culture of learning and development within the team. Being consistent in their actions and treating stakeholders with respect and support, irrespective of their position or experience, helps build trust and loyalty.

Great leaders attract high-performing employees by creating an inclusive, inspiring environment where clear information is shared quickly and curiosity is encouraged. This combination of traits ensures that the team is motivated, can handle future challenges, and strives for excellence.