Banking

As banks evolve, so should your leadership team and board. Shareholders, analysts, investors, and even customers want proof of diversity, collaboration, and confident decisions. No longer can a bank board be a ‘good old boys club’ comprised of leaders from the local business community. Effective leadership reflects the composition of the customer base, it encourages objectivity, and it brings a broader set of collective skills to bear.

In 1992, the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback suffered an injury. Brett Favre stepped in and the team never missed a beat. Sixteen years later as Favre approached retirement, Aaron Rodgers took the starting position. The team continued a legacy of strong leadership.

Is anyone else getting tired of all the talk about differences in leadership qualities between the Baby Boomer, Gen X and Millennial generations? So many people/media/illustrations/etc. oversimplify descriptions of Millennials. I’m not even a member of this generation, and I find it offensive.

Does gender matter in banking? We recently posed that question, and shared insights from some of the most powerful women in banking who say you’d better believe it matters, and today is just the beginning!

American Banker recently released their list of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking. In connection with the release of that annual ranking, they posed the question, “Does gender matter in banking?”

As a Board member, am I highly engaged in my bank’s activities or am I focused on the basic requirements? As the overall banking environment continues to evolve and as regulations remain high, board members can offer insight that is very impactful.

In Part One of our look at bank board leadership, we examined the merits and criticisms of the “Jeopardy Jerk,” Arthur Chu. He bucked the traditional game show system by board hopping with no apparent process logic. Chu deployed a perfectly allowable and extremely effective technique, yet it was criticized as a system hack because it was different, and (more to the point) other players were nearly defenseless against the strategy. 

As we think about the banking industry, “hacking the system” is a very relevant leadership strategy. 

Have you heard of Arthur Chu? Perhaps you know him better by his nickname, The Jeopardy Jerk. Debating Chu as hero or villain is currently trending on news outlets and social media. He “hacked” the Jeopardy! game show with a unique strategy of bouncing from category to category, using no apparent process logic. It keeps his opponents a step behind and uncovers coveted Daily Doubles.