Ready, set, LEAD!
For many, their induction into a leadership role is akin to a polar bear plunge—jump in and hope you don’t drown (while smiling for the camera). Others enjoy the advantage of mentors to guide them more gently into the deep end.
But one thing’s true across the board: Becoming the kind of leader that financial institutions need in this ever-changing world isn’t easy. That’s where Laurie Maddalena comes in.
Laurie is CEO and Chief Leadership Consultant at Envision Excellence, a Certified Executive Coach, and our honored guest this week on CRMNEXT’s Banking on Experience.
What’s covered?
Why Laurie is so passionate about cultivating better leaders.
Our expert believes that, in our evolving world, workers’ wants and expectations are changing. And leadership needs to evolve with that.
As Laurie says, “I think there’s a great opportunity for organizations to really be much more proactive and deliberate about their leadership talent, so that they can create environments where people love to come to work.”
Grooming your org’s future leaders: how FIs can help.
A few key takeaways here:
- Stop promoting people for their technical expertise.
- Give people a peek behind the curtain before they’re in leadership roles.
- Let them opt out if they want to. And if they do choose the path to leadership, provide development and training beforehand to set them up for success.
Their success = your success (addressing fears around mentoring leaders who’ll ‘surpass’ you).
Laurie’s take on this? It’s all about perspective shift. It’s traditional mindset (being the “all-knower”) vs. modern mindset (all about facilitating performance.)
If you have someone in your talent pool who understands some things better than you, that makes you look good. And, as Laurie says, “The whole point in leadership is to help facilitate the best performance of your employees.”
Technical expertise vs. Leadership skills: more purposeful talent development.
Technical folks absolutely can (and very often do) make great leaders, but a shift has to take place.
The competencies and skills required for leadership roles are different. And the ability to develop, coach, bring out the best—what she calls “care-taking the culture”—takes precedence now.
Laurie’s top tips for adjusting your financial institution’s approach to leadership.
Listen to your employees, then readjust your approach. It sounds obvious, but it’s not practiced enough.
Laurie encourages CEOs and execs to “really rethink—how can you create an environment where people want to invest their energy?”
Organizations that are reflective and use this as a time to redesign their workplace culture based on what staff truly value will attract the great talent.
Embracing feedback + continuing to learn.
If you’re not receiving feedback from your manager, ask for it. And narrow the question: what’s one thing I’m doing well, and what’s one thing I really need to work on?
If you’re not getting ops for development at work, advocate for it. And if you’re still not getting it, look outside of work. Take ownership of that and figure out how you can do it on your own.
Want to contact our expert?
Visit lauriemaddalena.com or find her on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Find this interview, and many more by subscribing to Banking on Experience Podcast on iTunes. You can also find us on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or visit our page on Casted.
