Being a manager takes a great deal of hard work, dedication, and persistence

Being a manager takes a great deal of hard work, dedication, and persistence. Many corporations emphasize the importance of leadership, as well as problem solving and technical skills. The manager I interviewed shared the importance of putting people first, creating meaningful relationships with the customers, and providing support to the employees and the communities they live and work in. The company that I will be referring to will be called Bank X. Bank X is one of the top five largest banks in the U.S., and it has over 3,100 branches primarily in the Midwestern United States. The company holds about $419 billion in assets, and provides banking, investment, mortgage, trust, and payment services products to individuals, businesses, governmental entities, and other financial institutions. 

            The current position of the person I interviewed is Assistant Vice President, but I will refer to her as Mrs. Manager. Mrs. Manager has been employed with Bank X for six years, but has twenty-one years overall of banking experience. When she began working in the banking industry she started out as a teller, and has received promotions to get her to her desired position of management. Mrs. Manager explained what helped her get to her current position and becoming knowledgeable was being able to learn and work in various banking roles. She felt it was necessary for her to understand all the different positons to get her to become successful in managing her staff.

            Mrs. Manager demonstrated a positive and warm attitude, and I immediately felt comfortable in speaking with her. She explained that her company provided her with the resources and tools to have a meaningful career. She felt it is her duty to share these same resources with her team so they understand and exemplify the company’s core values. Her goal is to have them become as knowledgably as she is which will help advance them to their desired position within the company. The only way the she will be successful is by making her team successful.

            Mrs. Manager gave me a few examples of what her responsibilities are. One of her responsibilities is to actively coach her team. The way she does this by having one on one coaching sessions with every employee. She does this on a weekly basis, and she will focus on what successes and weaknesses they had the prior week. She will also sit in on customer interactions, so that she is able to give feedback on areas that need improvement. She also uses these interactions to praise the employees for their hard work. A second responsibility is identifying the financial needs of the customers. Customer’s turn to her and her team for financial advice, so it is important that her and her team are asking the right questions and providing the correct answers to help their customers. A third responsibility of Mrs. Manager is making sure everyone follows banking laws and regulations. Everyone employed at Bank X has compliance training monthly, and it is Mrs. Manager’s job to ensure her team is compliant with all the trainings.

            A manager should take the time to get to know his or her employees and that is something Mrs. Manager does. Her employees all have different personalities, and she takes the time to get to know all the employees. She doesn’t like to micromanage and gives her employees the space they need to do their job. However, she does hold each one of her employees accountable by having coaching on a weekly basis. This helps her uncover any weaknesses or successes. She has found success in working individually with each employee because she uncovers how she can specifically help each employee individually.  She can motivate her employees by giving them a purpose. She makes them understand they are all a valuable part of the team. She gives them confidence by showing that she has full trust that they will do their best job possible.

The tools Mrs. Manager uses to keep herself organized are her calendar, email, and binders. One thing she likes is how her calendar will sync up to her email to receive reminders of appointments or meetings. Her binders help her keep track of employee coaching forms to track were any progress is needed. She also uses these coaching forms as way to hold accountability by having each employee point out what success they have had or in what areas they need improvement. By them understanding what is working and what is not working Mrs. Manager can offer her help and support to attain their desired goals. Another way she feels her staff can be successful and confident is by having the knowledge they need to do their job accurately. Bank X offers many trainings on products and services through there intranet site. They also have live conference calls and computer tutorials for hands on customer practice scenarios. Mrs. Manager encourages her team to participate in as many trainings possible because she knows this will help her team with their success.

            Staying updated on products, services, and policies is part of their job. Bank X has gone through many changes, so it is important to keep up with all the changes. A few years ago, Bank X went through an acquisition, so her team had to adapt to the new products and services. Mrs. Manager said it was a challenge at the beginning, because it took several months to learn a new system, products, and expectations. Although this change was challenging, she never let it affect her management style, and she made sure she was always available to help her team adapt to the new changes.

            One the changes that came with the acquisition was new company expectations and goals. Not only did her employees expectations and goals change hers did too. With their previous company the team’s goals consisted of having to open a certain amount of checking and savings accounts, bringing in new money, and offering home improvement loans monthly. Bank X has monthly goals that consist of meeting a certain amount of lending applications, credit cards, online banking enrollment, mortgage referrals, and investment referrals. With Bank X came more responsibility and at first her team didn’t feel so enthusiastic. It was her job to assist her team in becoming confident and comfortable with this new change.

            Employees like to feel valued, and they like to feel appreciated for their hard work. Mrs. Manager empowers and motivates her employees, by allowing them to make their own decisions without needing her approval for every situation. Her employees have the information that they need to understand exactly and precisely what they do at work every day. Incentives are always motivation boosters, and she also likes to use incentives to show appreciation. Some of the perks she offers are lunch, an extra day off, or a gift card. She also regularly acknowledges outstanding performances, but she always wants her team to know how much she appreciates them.

            When talking about ethics Mrs. Manager states that all employees must follow Bank X Code of Ethics and Business Conduct. Each employee has to attest to these guidelines annually and out of the all the years she has been in banking she has never faced an ethical issue. Bank X offers employees to report any issue to their ethics line. One of the most important responsibilities as a Bank X employee is speaking up when someone has concerns. Bank X wants their employees to feel comfortable reporting suspected ethics violations, illegal conduct, sexual or other forms of harassment, discrimination, inappropriate workplace behavior or any other serious issue. As a manager and leader Mrs. Manager demonstrates the behaviors she expects to see from her entire team. She helps everyone around her to learn how to do the right things by showing them what the right things are.

            What I learned from interviewing Mrs. Manager is that she is a great leader. In speaking with her I could clearly see that she enjoys her job and want to see success in every single team member. Managers develop their own management style that helps their team become motivated, successful, and enthusiastic. I uncovered that she leads with integrity and sets the expectation of day-to-day responsibilities about goals and performance. Ongoing conversations are important to have within a team and the company. Open, honest dialogue about performance, development and career growth supports the company’s core values and Mrs. Manager meets all these standards. By keeping the lines of communication open between managers and employees, that builds trust and helps each employee to reach their full potential.

            In chapter two we learned about leadership practices. There was a list of ways a leader can help their team in becoming successful. Of all the management functions, leadership is perhaps the most critical. Organizations that have great leaders have been found to outperform their peers. Leadership means offering strategic direction to the organization. Mrs. Manager displayed great leadership qualities. She seems very knowledgeable, she keeps her team on track by sharing ideas and giving feedback, and most of all she is an effective listener. Being a manager is not easy, and it has its challenges. It takes a person who is passionate and knows how to help not only themselves, but their team to grow and develop to the best that they can be.

            As a manager one has to learn to multitask because he or she is not just responsible in meeting his or her own goal, but they also have to worry about the success of the team. Thankfully she has all the tools and resources needed to help her in making decisions, staying organized, and training her team. It takes time and dedication to learn how to achieve the goals you set, and how to inspire others to follow you and do the same. Every manager has their different way of doing things, whether it’s through rewards, allowing more freedom within job roles or getting stuck in to the job alongside your employees. Each approach works differently for everyone, but each type of leader has taken time to figure out their style. Sometimes a manager will have to make difficult decisions, or maintain positivity even when you don’t really believe it. This is where a leadership mindset will be the difference between average and exceptional leadership. In situations like this it is your leadership that defines whether you succeed or fail. Ultimately, there are many different styles of leadership, but it is up to the manager to figure out what will work for the team.