Calendar Reminders to Laugh & Pure Authenticity – Winter Bolt Summit Recap

By Bryana Williams

Nearly two hundred bankers from 56 WBA-member banks learned the power of authenticity, navigating leading teams comprised of five different generations, and growth mindset implementation tactics at the WBA BOLT Winter Summit. One common goal united peers: leadership growth. One key piece of information empowered them all: you are a leader no matter your title.

Dr. Melissa Furman, MS, DBA, kicked off the summit with her session, Navigate, Elevate, Accelerate. Dr. Furman is a licensed mental health counselor, has held roles in education at universities, holds a Doctor of Business Administration, and currently trains all incoming U.S. Marshals on emotional intelligence. Her encyclopedic background in human emotions paired with business expertise made her a memorable speaker from the summit.

Her first task for the team? Forced laughter. Ten seconds straight. What felt like a goofy task to do among your professional peers led into an eye-opening presentation on how positivity impacts you as a leader and how this reflects across the five different generations that make up the workforce today. We currently work in the broadest span of generations to date. Five generations in the same workforce was unheard of until recent years. Proper leadership is necessary to connect them all. Gen X needs efficient and consistent emails, Gen Z yearns for face-to-face coaching, while millennials simply need to feel as if organizations are ready for their generation to take the reins. Once this is understood, teams can grow stronger, walk away from unnecessary drama or toxic workplaces, and flourish into companies that better protect the bottom line.

Dr. Furman reinstated the belief that focusing on people makes you a stronger leader than one who simply focuses on processes by highlighting her top five recommendations to existing and emerging leaders.

1. Leadership mindset is everything. You must intentionally create a positive environment, even if you gotta fake it ‘til you make it.
2. Self-awareness is key. You need to dig deep to learn why you are the way that you are before you can try to change or impact other people.
3. Learn about others. Never assume you know how someone will perceive something.
4. Utilize coaching techniques. Not just for the sidelines! Coach your team within and treat any accomplishment like a game changing win.
5. Navigate. If you need to have a hard conversation, navigate it prior to addressing it head on. Consider the problem, try to understand the behavior, and reroute the thought process into how it impacts the organization. Never address personal attributes without direction gained from proper navigation.

To conclude her presentation, Dr. Furman asked the audience to treat any opportunity to coach or help other grow as a leadership opportunity. Take them in the metaphorical cockpit with you and watch those around you take flight from your positive leadership skills. To enable positivity more, block off time on your calendar for forced laughter. It feels funny until you find yourself laughing at the ridiculousness of it, and suddenly your whole day has a positive spin. But maybe tell your coworkers the plan before they see you laughing in the mirror for no reason.

Bankers then spent time creating new connections in various breakout sessions of their choice. Sessions ranged from navigating fraud conversations with clients, how AI and new technology impacts roles, and adapting the customer experience as client’s needs evolve. This is a unique opportunity to learn from other bankers in various roles and find some information to take back to work the following days that may assist in personal and bank growth.

Tyson Martin, senior consultant for Haberfeld, guided attendees through the importance of developing and/or improving a growth mindset. Martin encouraged the group to never let fear control you as comfort and growth do not coexist. When you can identify your fears in the workplace, you can learn tactics to grow beyond them. Martin left the group with five tips. Start the day with positive input to yourself. “I am..” and “I can…” statements go a long way. Identify the fixed mindset voice that holds you back and work against it. Recognize you have a choice in interpretation; you choose to read items negatively just as much as you choose to interpret positive aspects. Talk back with a growth mindset by simply adding “yet” to the end of any sentence regarding something you cannot do or do not know. Finally, take action. The only person that can make the choice for you to grow is yourself.

Amber Swenor, Wall Street Journal best selling author, business development coach, and frontwoman for rock band Morningstar, ended the summit with her presentation, Authentic Leadership Unleashed: Level up Without Burning Out. Swenor asked the group to dig deep into their true authentic selves to pave the way as a strong leader. To be authentic you must learn who you truly are before the demands of your career and before the world told you who you should be. Are you compassionate? Daring? Analytical? What makes you, you?

Once you find the most authentic aspects of your personality, find ways to implement it within the workplace and encourage others to do the same. Being yourself opens the doors for others to feel comfortable doing the same as well. It is important because authentic leaders have been statistically proven to prevent burnout, increase confidence, and are tied to the bottom line. By being an authentic leader, you are a transformational leader that unlocks the true potential of those around you.

Investing in the current and future leaders of organizations leads to stronger teams. By attending the BOLT summits, employees connect with like-minded leaders and learn applicable leadership strategies to take back to the branch. If you would like to grow your own team members through valuable conferences like BOLT, please reach out to WBA as soon as possible so your team can reap the benefits alongside banking peers!

 

Williams is a commercial loan coordinator with Fortifi Bank.