Taking the Reins of Leadership

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

General Colin Powell

Good leaders aren’t born, they’re forged. They are inspired, shaped and mentored. They are indebted to the individuals who have coached them through both obstacles and successes, and they are obliged to pay that debt forward to the next generation.

During my more than 30 years in community banking, I’ve learned valuable lessons about preparation, perseverance and commitment from many leaders of this beloved industry. I have worked to repay that debt by fighting for the future of community banking through ICBA. And I highly encourage community bank executives across our nation to support the next generation by sending their future leaders to this year’s LEAD FWD Summit.

This collaborative forum, set for Sept. 11-14 in Denver, offers numerous opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders to interact with industry veterans and gain insights on how to achieve long-term success. The interactive sessions and speakers were selected to inspire promising leaders to realize their potential and return to your bank with renewed drive and actionable strategies to meet the needs of customers for years to come.

I’ll be there at the LEAD FWD Summit to offer my account of what it takes to thrive in today’s competitive market. And I hope community banks from coast to coast will be represented as well.

At this year’s convention, ICBA Chairman Rebeca Romero Rainey spoke of the wisdom, strength and determination she gained from community bankers who came before her—those who thought big and weren’t afraid to take risks. Rebeca challenged all of us to think about our role as a mentor and what we can do to empower the next generation of community bank leaders.

So I ask community bankers: what will you do to support tomorrow’s leaders and carry our industry forward? Providing the opportunity for them to learn from successful innovators and trailblazers is a great place to start.

April is a Flurry of Community Banking Activity

Wow. I don’t think there’s much more you can say with the flurry of activity going on at ICBA and throughout the community banking industry right now. Coinciding with last week’s kickoff of Community Banking Month and the final countdown to the ICBA Washington Policy Summit, ICBA also launched Community Banker University.

So at the same time that we’re celebrating community banking in April and gearing up for our annual grassroots advocacy event in Washington, we’ve also transformed and modernized our educational model. No wonder everyone around here has been so busy.

Of course, the beneficiaries are community bankers and the customers they serve. ICBA offers a Community Banking Month toolkit to help members spread the word about community banks, and our Washington Policy Summit allows community bankers to take the industry’s advocacy message directly to policymakers on Capitol Hill. Now with Community Banker University and our new partnership with the Barret School of Banking, community bankers can access a fresh, modern approach to continuing education and professional development.

These initiatives go straight to the heart of the ICBA mission, which is creating and promoting an environment where community banks flourish. That means advocacy and public policy, it means marketing and communication, and it means education and development.

Just like community banks and other small businesses, ICBA is never content with the status quo. We’re going to keep innovating, keep pushing, to ensure we’re doing everything we possibly can to support our beloved industry. So I encourage every community banker out there to check out everything ICBA has to offer this April. It’s enough to make you say “wow.”