Vol 1. Who We Are As Managers

THE HTLF MANAGER

VOL. 1 WHO WE ARE AS MANAGERS

2024

YOUR ULTIMATE MANAGERIAL GUIDE

TODAYS’ ’BEST TIPS FOR EFFECTIVENESS

To be a manager requires more than a title, a big office, and other outward symbols of rank. It requires competence and performance of a high order.

— Peter F. Drucker

Managers,

I want to extend my gratitude for the dedication and passion each one of you brings to our company every day. When we think about our mission of enriching lives, it is not a tagline but a commitment you all have demonstrated.

Our core values of Integrity, Accountability, Community and Excellence, a responsibility we share together as HTLF managers for our employees and customers.

Our values and strategic pillars anchor us and I am immensely proud to be on this journey with all of you.

As we move forward together, I invite you to help everyone on your team to work towards our mission, through our values and guiding principles, reinforcing our culture so that it permeates throughout our great company.

Together, we are HTLF.

Bruce K. Lee

TABLE OF CONTENTS

02 03 04

THIS WE KNOW

WHAT MAKES A GREAT MANAGER

DRIVING THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

05

DRIVING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE

06

FOSTERING A GREAT WORKPLACE

THIS WE KNOW

WHO WE ARE AS HTLF

VALUES & GUIDING

Integrity is at the heart of everything we do. It means doing the right thing even when no one is watching. When we say we’ll do something, it’s not just a promise, it’s a bond. This commitment is what defines our reputation in the industry and community.

Having integrity correlates with Accountability. We don’t just seize opportunities; we own them, along with the outcomes they yield. Each one of you has demonstrated time and time again that you’re not only great at starting tasks but are even better at seeing them through to completion.

Our community isn’t just the city or town where our offices are located. It’s each one of you, it’s our customers, it’s our partners. Community is about collaboration, support, and leveraging the collective potential that surrounds us. It’s the synergy that happens when we come together with a shared purpose.

Our pursuit of Excellence isn’t about being perfect; it’s about consistently striving to exceed expectations. Every touchpoint, every interaction, with every customer matters. Your unwavering commitment to this pursuit is what sets us apart.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

OUR GROWTH STRATEGIC PILLARS

Our strategic pillars underscore our values and management approach.

Through strategic customer acquisition and retention, we not only grow our company, but we expand our ability to make a positive impact.

By enhancing the customer experience, we don’t just satisfy – we delight and inspire loyalty.

The need for highly skilled workers in on the rise:

The number of skills required for a single job is increasing by 10% year over year.

Source: Gartner

Talent

development

isn’t just about growing individuals, but it’s about strengthening the collective.

Our strategic M&A is not just about growth in numbers; it’s about synergizing strengths and diversifying capabilities.

Our Promise

HTLF is committed to fostering an environment that supports both the professional and personal development of our team.

We promise to provide a solid foundation for worklife balance, ensuring a dependable and conducive work atmosphere where equal opportunities for learning and growth abound.

We recognize the value of each employee and will extend the same level of respect, concern, and care within our organization as with our valued clients.

This commitment is a cornerstone of Our Promise to a great employee experience, reinforcing our dedication to meaningful work, mutual respect and continuous learning in a safe environment.

HTLF EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Work-Life Balance

Meaningful Work

Professional Development

Employee Recognition

Work for a Well-Respected Company

Each of these commitments, is to foster an employee experience that not only supports individual performance and development but also contributes to the collective success of our organization.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT MANAGER

Above all else be clear

How we define ourselves as managers is just as important as how we conduct ourselves as managers.

To clearly appreciate the full scope of the role of an HTLF manager, we must understand the competencies and responsibilities that compose and define this critical role.

COMPETENCIES OF AN

HTLF MANAGER

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COMPETENCY 1:

Communicate Effectively

Effective communication from managers can help clarify roles, vision/mission, values, expectations and goals.

When employees understand their tasks and the broader objectives of the organization, they are more likely to perform well.

Moreover, open communication channels encourage employees to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback, further enhancing their engagement and performance.

Being available, open and willing to discuss employee needs is critical.

Actively work to increase your capacity to listen to what is being said in the spoken and unspoken (body language and tone of voice).

COMPETENCY 2:

Give Feedback and Recognition

Regular, constructive feedback helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement.

Solicit feedback from your team about your performance management style, what you could do better, and how you can help them.

Providing recognition for a job well done motivates employees and validates their efforts.

First, understand how your employees prefer to be recognized and then look for opportunities to acknowledge their efforts.

Look for opportunities to share appreciation and praise up your business line or market leadership chain, making sure you and your team understand any available bonus or incentive plans.

COMPETENCY 3: Support Employee Development

Managers who invest in their employees’ growth and development contribute significantly to enhanced performance.

This can be achieved through on-thejob training, mentorship programs, professional development courses and career progression opportunities.

Employees who feel valued and see potential for growth within the organization are often more motivated and productive. This includes developing and utilizing coaching and listening skills to engage in highly effective career development conversations with your employees.

As a manager, actively listen to your employees’ needs and practice how to help others discover action plans and/ or solutions to resolve difficulties for themselves.

COMPETENCY 4:

Build Trusting Relationships

A strong, respectful relationship between managers and employees creates a positive work environment.

Trust and mutual respect can lead to increased job satisfaction, commitment and performance.

Managers who are approachable, empathetic, and supportive are likely to have teams with high morale and productivity.

Effective managers build trust, openness, collaboration, and emotional safety where people can contribute individually towards greater team synergy through psychological safety.

Psychological safety includes managing conflict and engaging with it in a constructive way as well as inclusion and belonging for all team members.

COMPETENCY 5:

Hold Employees Accountable

Holding employees accountable means managing their workload according to team goals, meeting project deadlines, achieving critical targets, and delivering on customer commitments. Accountability also means taking ownership for your promises and agreements.

Accountable employees own each opportunity and outcome in their daily activities. In an accountable team culture, successes are celebrated, mistakes are embraced, and a growth mindset allows everyone to learn together.

Quality interactions are the key

In essence, the quality of interaction between managers and employees can either hinder or enhance individual performance.

Effective managers are not just task-oriented but also peopleoriented. They understand the importance of building trusting relationships with their teams, providing support and guidance, communicating effectively, and recognizing and developing their employees’ skills and talents.

These practices can significantly improve individual performance, which in turn contributes to the success of the team and the broader organization.

HTLF MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES

RESPONSIBILITIES TO DRIVE SUCCESS

Model HTLF values and principles, leading by example.

Foster a safe, positive, diverse, and inclusive team environment.

Be clear and transparent about work expectations, what people are accountable for and sharing the “why”.

Clearly communicate important information when conducting regular one-on-one and team meetings.

Provide relevant coaching and timely constructive feedback.

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6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Regularly recognize and reward employee accomplishments.

Empower and support employees to serve our customers.

Regularly promote professional growth through developmental opportunities and career conversations.

Navigate yourself and your team through continuous change.

A strong culture is a competitive advantage

A strong organizational culture increases key performance metrics for clients, including a 50-point increase in employee engagement over a three-year period and a 25% reduction in turnover.

Source: Gallup, Harvard Business Review

Shaping attitudes and culture

Managers play a significant role in shaping our culture through our daily interactions, directly impacting employee attitudes towards their work, their level of engagement, and their overall performance.

As a manager, the competencies and behaviors you display helps determine our destiny.

How you show up at work matters.

Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.

— Roy T Bennett

Creating positive experiences

The core competencies of highly effective managers help drive the employee proposition and experience.

These 5 key elements are essential to creating a highly positive employee core skills to enhance their leadership and managerial acumen.

Work-Life Balance

Foster an environment that allows for flexibility and encourages a healthy balance between work and personal life.

Professional Development

Invest in employees’ future by aligning their professional growth with the evolving needs of our organization.

Employee Recognition

Recognize and individual successes, big foster a winning

employee experience across the five dimensions of the HTLF employee value employee experience and managers must self-assess and continue to hone these

Recognition

and celebrate and team big and small, to winning culture.

Meaningful Work

Ensure that every employee understands their role’s impact on our larger vision, mission, as well as their development path.

Work for a Well-Respected Company

Contribute to our reputation as a trusted employer through strong leadership, quality service, positive workplace culture, and employee wellbeing.

Work-life Balance

Get the balance right

Communicate Effectively

Clearly and transparently share expectations, helping to prevent misunderstandings that could lead to unnecessary overtime or stress. Share the “why” in as thorough as possible manner. Effective managers are also open to discussing and accommodating employees’ needs for flexibility.

Build Trusting Relationships

Empowered employees can manage their tasks more autonomously, giving them more control over their schedules and therefore potentially improving their work-life balance.

Empower Employees

A strong, respectful relationship between managers and employees creates a positive work environment. Trust and mutual respect can lead to increased job satisfaction, commitment, and performance. By creating psychological safety, managers can understand employee needs to better create a balanced and healthy work environment.

Professional Development

Growth is a lifelong effort

Communicate Effectively

Clear communication around vision/mission, roles, and goals helps develop employees further by allowing them to clearly define performance and understand how they can develop within their role and beyond.

Support Employee Development

Managers directly influence this aspect by identifying learning opportunities for their team members, providing training, and supporting their professional growth through career conversations and coaching/listening skills.

Give Feedback and Recognition

Regular, constructive feedback helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement as well as goals and expectations for their role.

In addition to giving feedback, as a manager, look for opportunities to receive feedback from your team to enhance your managerial and leadership skills.

Employee Recognition

Rewarding values and great work

Give Feedback and Recognition

This is directly tied to employee recognition.

Managers who regularly acknowledge their team members’ achievements contribute to a positive and appreciative culture.

Make time to understand how your employees prefer to be recognized and look forward to opportunities to recognize your employees up the business or market leadership chain.

Additionally, ensure your employees understand any available monetary rewards, such as bonus and incentive plans.

Meaningful Work

Feeling fulfilled and valuable

Empower Employees

Provide employees with autonomy and resources, enabling them to take ownership of their tasks, contributing to a sense of meaningful work. By providing employees with autonomy and resources, managers enable them to take ownership of their tasks, contributing to a sense of meaningful work.

Support Employee Development

By supporting employee development through training, coaching, mentorship, development workshops/ courses, and career progression, managers can provide their employees with a sense of purpose and meaningful work progression/ opportunities.

Build Trusting Relationships

By understanding and acknowledging each team member’s unique skills, talents, and contributions, managers can help employees find purpose and value in their work.

Work for a Well-Respected Company

It’s about respect

All Focus Areas of the Employee Experience

All the effective manager competencies can contribute to this factor.

Effective leadership fosters a positive workplace culture, ethical behavior, and high performance, all of which contribute to a company’s reputation.

Managers who invest in their employees’ development, acknowledge their achievements, empower them to do their best work, and build trusting relationships can significantly enhance an organization’s reputation both internally and externally.

Improving the overall experience

When the competencies of an effective manager are practiced correctly, they can significantly improve the overall employee experience. These contribute to individual performance and engagement, as well as HTLF’s success and reputation.

I think about: ‘Have I been bringing enough people along?’ You can help a peer become a CEO… This is not a competition or a race.

— Rosalind Brewer

Moving Forward Together

Managers are essential in helping employees and teams remain focused on strategy, growth and results – not micromanaging.

This is where performance management comes in.

Performance management is one of the main tasks of an effective manager.

Performance management can be measured in 3 key phases: plan, monitor and evaluate.

Effective managers ensure they measure their team across each of these 3 key phases.

Managing Performance

Planning performance starts with having a clear mission, communicating the right expectations, and empowering your employees.

Monitoring performance is focused on regular check-ins, building trusting relationships with open dialogue, and providing any additional support for team success.

Evaluating performance is all about feedback and recognition – assessments, team wins, and areas of further development.

PHASE 1: Plan Performance

Communicate Effectively

Clearly communicate the performance objectives, goals, and metrics with open dialogue. This sets the stage for aligning individual tasks with the team and organizational objectives.

Make sure each employee understands their role and what is expected of them, understanding the “why” in as thorough of a manner as possible. These conversations set the stage to hold employees accountable to high standards and their performance goals.

Support Employee Development

Identifying the skills, capabilities, and knowledge required for the role, and planning for their development, aligns with this phase.

Any gaps between current skills and required skills for the future should be addressed with a development plan. Identifying the skills, capabilities, and knowledge required for the role, and planning for their development, aligns with this phase.

Any gaps between current skills and required skills for the future should be addressed with a development plan.

Build Trusting Relationships

Give team members the opportunity, tools, and authority to own their assignments, taking charge as appropriate with autonomy.

PHASE 2: Monitor Performance

Communicate Effectively

Schedule regular (weekly) check-ins and meetings to ensure everyone is on track. These opportunities allow managers to clarify any confusion about tasks/roadblocks and provide guidance. It’s about active listening and two-way communication. Regular communication also allows managers to ensure their team members have what they need to meet their goals. This may involve providing additional resources, tools, or autonomy, or intervening to remove obstacles to their success.

Holding Employees Accountable

As part of monitoring performance, ensure you are having regular conversations with your employees where you track their goals, targets, and commitments, holding them accountable to their promises. If there are any setbacks, mistakes, or delays, ensure your team feels comfortable owning any opportunities for learning and improvement. This creates a team culture that values ownership, responsibility, and growth.

Support Employee Development

Based on your conversations with your employees, evaluate any opportunities for further training, coaching, or development opportunities to help increase employee performance.

Build Trusting Relationships

A trusting, respectful relationship between managers and employees creates a positive work environment.

Trust and mutual respect can lead to increased job satisfaction, commitment, and performance. Managers who are approachable, empathetic, and supportive are likely to have teams with high morale, productivity, and trust.

Effective managers demonstrate reliability, openness, collaboration, and emotional safety where people can contribute individually towards greater team synergy through psychological safety. Psychological safety includes managing conflict/disagreements and engaging with it in a constructive way.

PHASE 3: Evaluate Performance

Hold Employees Accountable

Evaluate your employees based off their set performance targets, team goals, project deadlines, and customer commitments. Ensure your team understands how their current performance matches up to company expectations, holding them accountable for any performance gaps as well as opportunities for learning and growth moving forward.

Give Feedback and Recognition

Regular, constructive feedback helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement. At this stage, assessing an employee’s performance against their set goals and providing constructive feedback is key. This should be a balanced review, acknowledging the accomplishments as well as areas for improvement.

Additionally, recognition for a job well done motivates employees and validates their efforts. First, understand how your employees prefer to be recognized (e.g., in a group, 1:1, email, hand-written note card, gold bars, etc.) and then look for opportunities to acknowledge their efforts:

Next, look for opportunities to share appreciation & praise up your business line or division leadership chain. Don’t forget to make sure you and your team understand any available bonus or incentive plans.

Communicate Effectively

Clearly communicate the outcomes of the evaluation, helping employees understand their performance level in depth.

Discussing the next steps, future goals, and how to address areas of improvement will set the stage for the next planning phase.

Support Employee Development

Based on the performance evaluation, evaluate short-term and long-term opportunities for further development and training for your team to get to the next level in their professional journey.

Interdependent Performance

Manager competencies often overlap and are continuously applied across the three phases of managing performance.

For example, effective communication is a constant requirement, and feedback can also occur during the planning and monitoring stages to ensure alignment and prompt adjustment if needed.

Purpose and Culture Link to Business Health

Among U.S. employees, roughly four in ten strongly agree that the mission or purpose of their company makes them feel their job is important. By moving that ratio to eight in ten employees, organizations could realize a 41% reduction in absenteeism, 50% drop in incidents, and 33% improvement in quality.

Source: Gallup

HTLF’S DEI MISSION STATEMENT

We all come from diverse backgrounds and experiences that help shape our company values. Our values are rooted in the belief that respect, equity and inclusiveness make us stronger together. The variety of experiences and lifestyles we bring to work every day provides insights that help us better understand each other and our customers.

STRATEGIES FOR A GREAT WORK ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE

To reinforce our culture, we must focus on infusing our managers with our values and principles so that they create a highly effective work environment and culture within their teams, aligned with HTLF.

A great work environment and culture requires the following strategies:

Infuse our culture directly into our work.

Build strong relationships through empathy and mutual understanding.

Foster culture at the team level.

1. Infuse our culture directly into our work

Rather than disseminating our culture through the hierarchy and workspace, ensure HTLF’s work environment and processes are aligned and compatible with HTLF’s values and principles by:

• Empowering and supporting employees to instill our culture through their day-to-day work and interactions.

• Helping employees see their value and contributions in terms of their role and contributions rather than their title or position in the hierarchy.

2. Build strong relationships through empathy and mutual understanding

Rather than relying on physical proximity to build and reinforce our culture, focus on making sure employees feel connected to HTLF and that their voices are heard by:

• Helping employees see how their work aligns with the HTLF mission, values, and goals.

• Helping employees see their contributions as valuable so that they feel more connected to the culture.

• Ensuring employees know the value of their work to HTLF and their clients.

• Making identifying and removing toxic and misaligned workers an imperative.

3. Foster culture at the team level

Rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, allow divisions, teams, and individuals to align their unique circumstances with the mission, values, and principles of HTLF by:

• Fostering a productive, engaged, and passionate workforce.

• Balancing the requirements of the job with personal flexibility.

• Listening to employee needs and preferences, aligning them with the HTLF mission and values.

• Making employee well-being a priority and a part of every decision.

For these strategies to succeed, HTLF must be committed to fostering a great employee experience through a commitment to our employees.