BOLT Summer Leadership Summit Recap

By Hope Francis, business relationship manager at Lake Ridge Bank

Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT) | June 13–14, 2024 | Wisconsin Dells

As one of the approximately 150 BOLT Summer Leadership Summit attendees, I am reminded of the profound sense of empowerment this event instills. BOLT provides a platform for banks all over Wisconsin to send individuals to build leadership and advance their organizations, inspiring us to elevate our roles to the next level.

Jenifer Snook of Haberfeld kicked off the summit with great enthusiasm for leadership, providing practical action steps for developing a growth mindset. This mindset, she explained, helps limit negative thoughts and improves the work environment. My key takeaway from her session was the empowering notion of training others to be better than you and not being threatened by their success, equipping us with the tools to foster growth in our teams.

The next speaker, Daniel Anderson of Stifel/ICBA Securities, discussed industry trends and shared strategies for handling the current environment. He noted that the industry needs to “survive ’til 2025” as the environment improves. He left us feeling prepared and equipped to navigate the future.

After lunch, attendees were able to choose two sessions to focus on. Sarah Oberthaler of Citizens Bank did a breakout session on the power of intentional communication. She stated that communication is the most valuable tool for earning respect and growing your career. We should say thank you, file and remember our positive feedback, and consider the worth of constructive feedback. Communicating appreciation can go a long way in developing a two-way feedback channel, underscoring the importance of effective communication in team development.

Paul Burke of Business Acceleration, LLC, led my second breakout session on mastering the meeting. Paul advised on how to handle conflict and how it can improve teams if used correctly. He advocates for everyone to become a Chief Reminding Officer since messages often need to be said seven times in order to be understood. Paul advocates for the IDS Method, which is to identify the issues, discuss them, and solve them.

Before the final session on Thursday with Linda Clemons of Sisterpreneur®, attendees had tabletop discussions with their peer group. Linda brought tremendous energy to nonverbal communication and explained how to read others’ body language. She noted that leaders should know their employees’ baseline energy and notice when someone is not themselves. Linda closed her session by teaching listeners how to read deceptive individuals. Truthful people convey information, while deceptive individuals try to convince you of what happened.

Debbie Peterson of Getting to Clarity, LLC, started the Friday sessions with a conversation on how to take direction in your leadership and life. Debbie had attendees write their goals, create a career roadmap, and identify who they could lean on for support. She explained that you should lead yourself first, which makes individuals authentic and gives them a competitive advantage. Debbie also noted that success comes by choice, not chance. She closed her session by helping attendees find who they are outside their careers and recommended that everyone lean on those qualities to show their competitive advantage.

Joe Micallef of Grow UP Sales held the closing session for the BOLT Summer Leadership Summit. Joe focuses on how you should be a captain, coach, and cheerleader for your team since all success can be fast-tracked with a team. He explained the importance of improving the culture by asking how you want your team to think and feel about your bank. Joe states every team member could use coaching, with joint calls being an excellent opportunity for feedback. People remember what you consistently do, so be consistently good.