EMERGING LEADERS UPDATE
Evelyn Morris | ELS President Arkansas Bankers Association
The year 2020 is emerging as a litmus test to discover leadership. No leader in our industry has experienced times such as these; there is no manual or guide book, no number of prescribed years of experience that could prepare us for 2020. In times of uncertainty and chaos, leaders emerge. Look around, are there individuals in your bank who have stepped up to the challenges of today? Those who have gracefully endured today’s tests and trials? Those who have professionally transformed to a whole new level over the course of this year? These are your leaders! Work environments changed overnight! A new “work/home” dynamic has materialized with schools closing, businesses closing, and employees working remotely, learning to navigate through ever-changing regulatory guidance. Disaster recovery plans are being tested and many will fail, but with these deviations from the norm being thrown at us we learn and we grow. In order to succeed we must change. You may have started 2020 in a leadership role, but there is no surviving 2020 a good leader without being completely transformed and humbled. The good news is good leaders know how to pivot, they know when to ask for help, they know when to admit failure, they know when to “reset” with a new plan while keeping the overall vision on track, they know how to adapt and think outside the norm in order to excel. So, how do you think leadership has changed during 2020? Or has it? Has the definition of effective, good leadership changed? Have the same fundamentals and characteristics of a good leader remained with 2020 making your stars shine a little brighter? Have you watched new leaders emerge? One initiative the Emerging Leaders Council set forth this year is to assist Arkansas’s bankers in identifying the emerging leaders in their banks. We are often asked, “Who should attend the Emerging Leaders Conference? Who serves on the Emerging Leaders Council? Is there an age requirement? Is there a title requirement? What kind of job duties does an emerging leader perform?” Bottom line, an emerging leader can be anyone. To better help you identify these individuals in your bank, we have created “Emerging Leaders Campaign” posts on the Arkansas Bankers Association social media platforms. These posts give you a quick snapshot of each of our council members. The diversity in these leadership profiles is glaring. There is no age requirement or responsibility level.
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The Arkansas Banker n Fall 2020
Who is your go-to person when you need a project completed or when you simply need to brain storm ideas? Who are the individuals you want to keep secretly “hidden” so your competition doesn’t try to hire them out from under you? Who are the morale boosters and the influencers? Whose faces do you see in your mindful succession plan? Who do you see stepping forward in your contingency plan? Who just popped into your mind? Ding, Ding, Ding… These are your “emerging” leaders! Here’s the deal though… Emerging leaders are those leaders who have not yet reached their full potential. The year 2020 is a great window of opportunity for established leaders to invest their time in mining tomorrow’s leaders. There are lessons to be learned and relations to be built. This is a time to grow future leaders through mentoring programs and fostering relationships with staff members eager to learn. If you were to ask any proven leader to recall what made them a good leader, each one would likely point back to a person of influence they had encountered along the way. Each one would most likely begin to recite words of wisdom and stories shared that they carry through the ages in their own personal “bag of tricks.” This “bag of tricks” is nothing more than the collective advice of mentors, peers, and service personnel that all good leaders gather over time and then positively distribute amongst their co-workers, customers, and communities they serve. As a leader of today, how are you investing in the leaders of tomorrow? As part of our campaign the Emerging Leaders Council members were asked the following questions: • What is the most important leadership lesson that you’ve learned? • What’s your biggest leadership struggle? • What is the most effective daily habit you possess? • What is the greatest advice you have ever been given? • What does effective leadership look like to you? • How has leadership changed in 2020?
