Pub. 8 2019 Issue 5

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 32 ASK THE COACH: What do bankers want to be when they grow up? Answer: Happy! D o you know what makes your bank staff happy? Drive greater growth within your bank by tapping into the secret of their happiness. Happy bankers produce better results. Legend has it that when John Lennon was in school his teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. A young John Lennon, recalling his mother’s wisdom, simply proclaimed he wanted to be happy. The teacher suggested he didn’t understand the question...to which John claimed the teacher didn’t understand life. Whilst many have challenged the source of truth about that story, Charles Schulz later confirmed the sentiment in 1960 in his famous Peanuts comic strip. When “Professor” Linus was asked the same question by his pal Charlie Brown he too responded by saying he wanted to be “Outrageously Happy.” These tales from long ago are certainly reflective of a time in many of our lives when we thought about our future and what we truly wanted. And whilst the list of goals and dreams are long and varied the common feeling we consistently strive for as we continue to grow up, is that of happiness. Understanding this motivation is key to driving greater performance from your team. As parents, our overarching ambition is for our children to be happy as they grow up. So we support, guide and teach our children in a number of ways so they grow more confident in doing the activities that make them happy. As a bank leader it’s important to invest time in learning what makes your staff happy. Even though what makes your people happy will vary from person to person, gathering this vital bit of information will underpin your growth over the next year. Everyone ultimately prefers to do things that make them happy. Better yet, people excel in activities that they are happy to perform. As bank leaders, when developing your growth strategy it is important to research the conditions for happiness as much as your market conditions in order to improve your chances of success. Happy bankers produce better results Many bank leaders wrongly assume that the primary driver of their people’s happiness is job security or greater income. Sure, financial rewards enable us to afford a better quality of life that contributes to our happiness. But income, like greater bank results, is simply an output from being happy. For bankers to grow within an organization and to grow results (ie. grow up) what they are seeking to make them truly happy is support, guidance and teachings through the business development process. Happy bankers are confident bankers Happiness and confidence are simply feelings driven by past experiences, expectations and, more specifically, beliefs. As bank leaders it’s important to determine what beliefs your staff have that underpin their understanding of your growth strategy and their performance. Improve your people’s confidence by collaboratively creating defined and focused activity plans and by consistently developing their behaviors, skills and beliefs. Help them positively overcome any concerns and anxiety so that they can confidently – and more happily – pursue new opportunities for the bank. Of course as they happily achieve better results by confidently executing the right activities with greater skills and confidence, you will soon discover the other outputs that contribute to their happiness – promotion, autonomy, customer satisfaction, ease of job, goal achievement and yes …. financial rewards. So as bank leaders it is important to discover what makes your bankers’ happy in order to grow your bank. Don’t make the same assumption that John Lennon’s teacher made. Take the time to better understand what makes your team “Outrageously Happy.” For more career, sales, and leadership advice please contact our coaches: JOE MICALLEF, Sales Coach email joe@growupsales.com, or call (773) 329-0066 DONNA FLYNN, Career/Management Coach email dflynn@skillsmastery.com, or call (630) 624-4319