Tag Archive for: Emerging Leaders

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Chair’s Column: Advance Our Industry by Investing in Your People

Donna Hoppenjan

By Donna Hoppenjan

One of the Association’s primary goals for the year ahead is to continue shaping a solid future for the banking industry. As our members are well aware, the industry has evolved a great deal in the last several years. In order to remain receptive to the development that is yet to come, it is vital that our current bank leaders prioritize their investment into the future success of the industry.

Through the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA), over 30,000 bankers across Wisconsin gain access to ongoing educational opportunities. These various schools, workshops, and conferences are designed specifically to aid bankers across the state in gaining leadership skills, expanding their expertise, and serving as advocates on behalf the industry they represent.

As we invest in our emerging leaders and bankers of the future, it is important to provide relevant, high-quality resources and connections. BOLT (Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow) and WBA Connect are just two of the programs WBA offers that combine personal and professional development opportunities with numerous chances to build networks, ask questions, and share ideas. Annually, hundreds of bankers benefit from cultivating relationships with their peers and becoming involved with the Association.

Additionally, bankers may choose to utilize WBA’s Legal Call Program to connect with seasoned attorneys that understand the industry, review best practices created by bankers in Wisconsin, or stay abreast of the latest industry news by subscribing to the Wisconsin Banker Daily e-newsletter or the Wisconsin Banker bimonthly publication.

Beyond developing our current teams, focusing on the future workforce is a priority for many. In order to drive our industry forward, it is critical that bankers commit themselves to promoting banking as a career. Taking part in volunteer work, hosting financial literacy presentations, and connecting with students are just a few meaningful and inspirational actions our membership can highlight when talking about the many rewarding aspects of a banking career. WBA provides resources to help members interact with future bankers including consumer-focused resources, financial education tools, and engagement opportunities at colleges across the state.

As your team considers new ways to invest in your employees and attract new talent, I encourage you to utilize the opportunities provided by WBA. No matter how your bank decides to make the most of WBA’s programs, it is gratifying to know that the success of our institutions and team members is the sole mission of the Association.

Hoppenjan is president and CEO of Mound City Bank, Platteville, and the 2023–2024 WBA Chair.

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The Changing Face of Leadership

By Ned Pauley, executive consultant and director of Trellis™ at Haberfeld

Simply stated, a leader is someone others follow. Leadership is not a title. It’s not a reward for length of employment. It’s an act of service that inspires people toward a shared vision.

If you’ve been in bank leadership for a while, you know the role is changing. Perhaps more accurately, followership is changing. It’s not that people no longer want to be led. What’s changing is how and by whom they want to be led. The good news is that leaders who recognize and adapt to these changes will thrive. They will attract talent and give their banks a competitive advantage. Those who don’t will face increasing frustration in their role and decreasing returns in their results.

What type of leader does today’s workforce want to follow? Here are three qualities.

Empathic Leaders. To attain a leadership position requires the possession of skills and knowledge required for the role. No one will follow a leader who lacks core competencies. But increasingly what employees want is not just a leader who is competent. They want a leader who cares. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company and reported in The State of Organizations 2023 found that leaders believe employees quit when looking for better jobs, compensation, and work-life balance. However, employee surveys revealed that among their top reasons for leaving was not feeling valued. “The employers were focusing on transactional elements of the work experience while employees were asking for more emphasis on relational factors.” Empathic leaders create meaningful, professional connections with those they serve.

Investing Leaders. Employees in our current workforce plan on having multiple roles throughout their work career. They’re not likely to see working at your bank as an end point but rather as another stop on their vocational journey. Your most talented and growth-minded employees aren’t looking for a boss. They want a coach — someone who will help them develop. Top leaders invest time and energy in the growth of their people. They challenge, encourage, and empower. Investing leaders can promise, “Whether you work with us three months, three years, or thirty years, you will leave here better than when you arrived.” Ironically, preparing talented employees for future opportunities may be the very thing that keeps them in their current one.

Growing Leaders. As leaders we sometimes feel the need to present an image of having arrived. We have the skills. We have the answers. We think our faults are minor and mostly hidden. Our employees know better. When we are unwilling to acknowledge or seem unaware of our humanness, trust erodes, and connection is severed. It’s counterintuitive, but we’re seen as weak when we hide behind a façade of strength. Conversely, as Brene Brown has said, “Vulnerability is not weakness. It’s our most accurate measure of courage.” Even so, vulnerability in and of itself, isn’t enough for a leader. Having acknowledged our growth opportunities, we must then address them. Leaders others want to follow are aware of their limitations and courageously seek to grow beyond them. They read books, find training, and pursue counseling. They model a growth mindset.

Today’s workforce wants a different type of leader. Becoming more empathic, investing, and growing will make you the leader they desire.

Haberfeld is a WBA Associate Member.

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Association Update: Empower Your Team to Inspire

Membership opportunities for every banker

By Daryll Lund

With a new fiscal year underway, the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) has renewed its commitment to providing beginning and experienced bankers with expansive opportunities to spearhead their professional development and form connections throughout the industry. At the heart of WBA’s mission to support, educate, and advocate for bankers in Wisconsin is, of course, the over 30,000 bankers our organization represents. As a member-led association, WBA relies on the skills and knowledge of our membership to shape the Association and inspire the future of banking.

The Association continues to be dedicated to delivering high-quality and relevant programs. In addition to the various virtual options bankers utilize, the team at WBA offers nearly 70 in-person conferences, schools, and events throughout the state. While a primary objective of WBA programming is professional development, WBA is also focused on connecting bankers with experts in various banking-related subjects and helping to foster relationships between peers.

As Donna Hoppenjan, president and CEO of Mound City Bank in Platteville, takes the helm of the Association’s Board of Directors for the year ahead, one of our greatest priorities is demonstrating the impact we each make when standing united, staying engaged, and making our voice heard. To be an inspiration, both in your bank and throughout your community, bankers of all levels are highly encouraged to engage with the Association’s various education and advocacy-related events, programs, and groups.

The Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT) program is one of the many ways current and emerging leaders can get involved and make a difference. Launched 10 years ago, the program was created to ensure the ongoing success of community banks by focusing on talent development. Today, the program has impacted thousands of bankers from around Wisconsin and continues to provide bankers with the space to connect, learn, and advocate for their industry. Additionally, BOLT members have the opportunity to take part in the BOLT Mentorship program to help guide the next generation of banking leaders.

WBA Connect, the Association’s collection of peer networks, is another great resource for beginning and experienced bankers to utilize. The groups — which focus on topics ranging from enterprise risk management to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the banking industry — provide a non-competitive setting in which bankers can discuss the successes, challenges, ideas, and questions they have regarding their specific area of the institution.

In addition to learning and idea sharing with peers, bankers should consider volunteering within WBA’s Advocacy Officer program. Advocacy is a foundational component to the work the Association does to support our members. To effectively lead the change, both in our communities and in our legislature, bankers who serve as Advocacy Officers will connect with individuals locally, at the state level, and in D.C. These efforts are vital in telling the story of our industry and in ensuring bankers throughout Wisconsin have the resources needed for success.

Your active participation in the Association not only assists our staff in creating the most meaningful and up-to-date events, but also shapes the perception of our industry. Together, we can create the future we wish to see in our industry, our institutions, and in our communities.

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Get to Know Meredith Strieff: WBA’s 2023–2024 BOLT Section Chair

Meredith Strieff describes herself as an accidental banker. In the over 15 years Strieff has worked at Horicon Bank, beginning as a part-time teller in 2007, she has worked her way through the ranks to her current role as vice president – retail branch & sales training, where she manages several teams of retail trainers and virtual bankers. Recently, she also completed her first year at the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Graduate School of Banking.

What started as a part-time role soon amassed into a passion for the industry and serving the community. As the incoming 2023–2024 BOLT (Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow) Chair, Strieff is excited to inspire the over 500 members of BOLT to further develop their leadership skills, connect with other emerging leaders, and expand their engagement as advocates for professional development and the industry.

What put you on the path to a career in banking?

I was first going to school at UW-Green Bay, and I had nearly completed my degree to become a nurse. But life happens. I meet my husband, and we moved to Colorado. After a year, we moved back to Wisconsin and I began working part-time as a teller at Horicon Bank. During that time, I also shifted my focus to business management with an emphasis in finance. A year later I graduated with my degree from UW-Green Bay.

What inspires the work you do each day?

Our customers. My job is not necessarily customer facing — I don’t see as many customers as I use to — but everything I do, the decisions I make, and the strategic plans I help put in place, all impact our customers.

My role is mainly behind the scenes. I make sure that our team members have the tools and resources internally that help provide a great experience and enrich the lives of our customers with each and every interaction. As a community banker, I care about the communities we serve and am passionate about ensuring that they have access to resources that will make their lives easier and better. I am inspired to not only provide these tools for others, but to help my team members have the same ability and mentality to create these opportunities.

How did you first hear about BOLT? Why did this opportunity seem like a good fit for you?

I first heard about BOLT from one of my senior managers at the time. He had attended a previous summit and thought it would be a great opportunity for me and a handful of my peers at the bank. Of course, like many new bankers, I was skeptical and shy. However, since my first event, I have been hooked because of its applicability to so many roles and experience levels as well as the breadth of resources provided.

As I continued my involvement with BOLT, I never felt that I did not belong — BOLT has always been a welcoming and comforting environment. Even as a baby banker, the topics discussed helped me make sense of the industry and my role in shaping it. Even though I was not in the position to make organizational decisions 10 years ago, BOLT helped prepare me with the tools that would be make me ready for when that next step presented itself.

How has participating in BOLT impacted your career thus far?

BOLT provided me the opportunity to gain education that expanded beyond the training I received at the bank. At a high level, attending the BOLT summits helped me early on to understand how our industry works. Now, I continue to learn more about how the banking industry is evolving and how I can be proactive.

With so much information out there, it can be overwhelming for a banker — new to the industry or even those with decades of experience — to understand the intricacies. BOLT narrows that scope and helps future leaders understand where they can take initiative and ownership to educate themselves even further.

What is an experience that BOLT provided you with that you may have not otherwise had to chance to try?

I was asked to facilitate a round table at one of our summits, and I was extremely nervous! It was my first opportunity to be in the spotlight. But with the great support of my peers and the team at WBA — I just dove in. It ended up being the best conversation and experience that started with something as simple as leading a discussion, asking the questions, and helping people get that first conversation going.

Having the opportunity to take part in this experience really gave me the confidence I needed to navigate conversations and in speak up about my thoughts. Oftentimes, we see speakers and presenters at events and think to ourselves “there is no way I could do that,” or “they are that good because they do it all the time.” BOLT helped me realize — just by giving me the opportunity to try in a real, low stakes setting — that I can do these things too.

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Celebrating a Decade of Building Banking Leaders

WBA’s Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT)

By Cassandra Krause

If one thing is certain about young professionals in Wisconsin’s banking industry, it is that they are ambitious. Their careers mean more to them than just a paycheck, and they’re looking for ways to grow and make meaningful contributions. Nearly ten years ago, the Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT) Section was created to tap into the potential of emerging leaders in banking across the state.

Julie Redfern was one of the inaugural BOLT Section Board members in 2013 and has advanced in her career to executive vice president, chief operations officer at Monona Bank. “Fostering growth and leadership skills in our industry was a motivational factor for joining the BOLT initiative in its infancy stages,” said Redfern. “We had a gap in our industry, and I think BOLT is now a great tool to offset that gap for bank CEOs looking to develop bench strength with future leaders at their community banks.”

Motivations for joining BOLT vary from banker to banker. Some are seeking opportunities to learn the skills needed to be a respected, contributing community banking officer able to handle increasing responsibility. Others join because of the access to a tremendous network of Wisconsin bankers with a vast back- ground of knowledge and experience who are willing to share it in a non-competitive environment. Still others may be looking to become more engaged in legislative, regulatory, and public affairs advocacy.

BOLT was launched to ensure ongoing success for community banks by focusing on talent development and providing networking opportunities for the next generation of community bank leaders to grow and develop the necessary skills to be effective leaders.

“Nearly a decade later, talent recruitment and retention, as well as succession planning, continue to be top concerns for community banks,” said Daryll Lund, WBA executive vice president and chief of staff. “We have grown to have over 500 BOLT Section members representing over 135 banks.” It is free for WBA members to join the BOLT section, so many banks take advantage of the opportunity to sign up multiple employees.

The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that approximately 40% of Gen Zers and 24% of millennials would like to leave their jobs within two years, and about a third would quit without another job lined up. While those numbers may be startling, a recent LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index gives some insight into the priorities of job seekers.

Graph of young professionals' reasons for seeking new employer

As the chart above shows, a career path that aligns with the employee’s interests or values (80%) and more opportunities to learn/practice new skills or expertise (76%) are equally important to — or even more important than — better compensation or benefits (76%) for Gen Zers. Younger employees’ desire to pursue a new industry or job function and interest in moving up or increasing responsibilities underscore the importance of offering professional development opportunities.

A major draw to the BOLT Section is the access to the biannual BOLT Leadership Summits. Attendees often talk about the “spark” that’s ignited in them through the Summit programming and networking. Dan Ravenscroft was the inaugural BOLT Section Board chair and has since become president and CEO of Royal Bank, Elroy and continues his service to the industry on the WBA Board of Directors. “BOLT is designed to provide bankers with the additional knowledge, skills, and tools that they need to take their careers to the next level,” said Ravenscroft. “The connections, experiences, and relationships built through participation in the interactive BOLT Leadership Summits have proven invaluable in my personal career development.”

Lori Kalscheuer, WBA director – education, serves as the staff liaison to the BOLT Section Board and heads up the planning for the Summits. “The energy at the BOLT Summits is always very high, and the participants are eager to make the most of their experience,” said Kalscheuer. “Along with new skills and ideas, they bring back a lot of enthusiasm to their banks.” Kalscheuer emphasizes that leadership skills are applicable to any employee at the bank, regardless of job function, age, or experience level. She encourages any banker who wants to build their leadership skills to get involved with BOLT.

Now almost a decade in, the BOLT program sees continued engagement of longtime participants as well as many referrals for fellow bankers to get involved. Jennifer Sobotta, vice president and marketing director at Forward Bank, Marshfield, and current BOLT Section Board chair, views BOLT as an important benefit of WBA membership. “Joining the BOLT Section Board gave me an opportunity to stay connected with industry peers and the WBA,” explains Sobotta. “Being part of this group fits beautifully with the leadership initiatives we have going on at Forward Bank and has allowed me to identify and send our up-and-coming leaders on to fine tune their skills.”

As Loni Meiborg, senior vice president and director of organizational development, Fortifi Bank, Berlin rounds out her time on the BOLT Section Board as past chair, she has sought out a new opportunity to stay involved and continue to grow her career by serving on the WBA Marketing Committee. Her testimonial speaks for itself:

Without BOLT, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am today in my career. Early on, the Summits allowed me to meet influential people who shared their knowledge and experience to help me grow. Once joining the BOLT Section Board, I was inspired by each member’s passion and commitment to fostering success among bankers and the industry overall. And now as past chair, I reflect on all the folks I’ve met and the speakers I’ve heard along the way, which have left their indelible mark on how I lead, how I think, and how I feel about banking. Thank you to the WBA leadership and team for focusing on, and knowing the importance of, Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow.

To learn more about BOLT, visit wisbank.com/BOLT.

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The Path of an Accidental Banker

By Jennifer Sobotta

Attending and enjoying the June BOLT Summer Leadership Summit, listening to the speakers, and connecting with old and now new friends makes me think of how I got to be where I am today. This year’s BOLT Summer Leadership Summit made me think of it even more as we talked about career pathing. So much so, that during my next turn at the podium I introduced myself as “Jen, the Accidental Banker.”

During my studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point back in the 90s, I had no intention of going into banking. I wanted to be a marketer after all and didn’t (and still don’t) care for numbers enough to be a lender. That was how I looked at banking back then — only the positions that you would see walking in as a customer.

My senior year, with the help of UWSP Career Services, I sent over 80 resumes, had 30 interviews, nine second interviews, and three job offers. Not one was in the financial services industry.

My first real job was on a marketing team at a rural hospital/nursing home. It was very community focused and located in a lovely rural area. I had the chance to learn from an experienced leader more than tactical marketing, but the art of navigating internal meetings, public relations, and community events.

When it came time to look for more growth with another company, a friend recommended a local bank that was expanding. I took a chance and happily joined the team at the end of 1998 with a lot to learn. My mentor there had led teams at a few other banks previously and shared her expertise constantly. My path to where I am today wasn’t straight, but it was paved by leaders willing to share. That’s an important lesson.

Within two years, that mentor retired, and I took a leap of faith that I could be the next marketing director. The bank took a chance on me and invested in me as I grew as a leader. They sent me on to the ABA School of Bank Marketing & Management and countless other conferences and seminars to learn new methods and software to fine-tune my craft. Through the years, I built my team up to three in the marketing department, and the bank grew to $500 Million in assets and 14 locations. Yet, it was again time to move on to the next challenge.

I received a call from an old colleague, a lender who I didn’t always have a chance to talk with much. He told me about the opening at Forward and encouraged me to apply. That gentleman has risen to the role of president and is the leader I now report to. A great lesson that every interaction with people is important — you don’t know when and what is noticed.

The past 12 years have been a blur, much like when you are speeding down a highway. I’ve seen the same level of investment in me as a team member and more in all of us as leaders. We all challenge each other to innovate, to remove the traditional roadblocks, and push back at the naysayer mindset sometimes found in financial services. We understand that banking isn’t a transaction, it’s now an experience.

Forward is now approaching $1 billion in assets with 12 locations, seven insurance offices, and three investment offices. When I look around, there are many accidental bankers like me with the list growing each year.

As the current Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT) Board chair and thinking of the time spent working with and learning from the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA), we are all lucky to have this resource. From serving on the Marketing Committee, then as its chair to being part of BOLT and now proud to be this year’s chair, I wonder what will be next. Where else can I continue to learn and lead through that process?

One final lesson that has stayed with me for over 20 years. My 90-year-old grandfather swung a golf club for the first time as I was practicing in the yard after his birthday party. Knowing he would never play a course, I asked him why even learn to swing the club. He told me, “you never stop learning until you leave this earth.” Best lesson ever.

I may not have chosen initially to be a banker, but the path I’ve taken has been created by the lessons of leaders around me. Good luck on your journey.

Interested in attending the next BOLT Summit?

Learn More

Sobotta is vice president – marketing director at Forward Bank in Marshfield

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