Pub. 16 2019 Issue 1

Issue 1 • 2019 9 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion at the eight finan - cial regulatory agencies held a summit last fall where banks and others who are further down the path towards a model DE&I workplace shared best practices related to employment and procurement practices. The ideas exchanged ranged from participating on the boards of colleges, utilizing minority and women owned recruiting firms and offering internships and mentoring to students at local low-income, minority-majority high schools. Similar suggestions were included in testimony during the first hearing, held in February, of the new House Financial Services Diversity & Inclusion subcommittee—a panel whose very existence is a testament to the social, commercial and economic importance of this issue. Carla Harris, vice chair of wealth management at Morgan Stanley and a popular speaker on issues related to diversity and inclusion, offered her own advice at ABA’s 2018 Annual Convention in New York. Among her suggestions: • Most fundamentally, check your unconscious bias; we all have it, and we can all benefit from training on how to spot it. • Make sure you lead in an inclusive way, soliciting views from all and making employees feel valued, seen and heard. If your staff is not feeling this way, you’ll likely be challenged in both retaining and attracting more diverse talent. • Be fair in your distribution of assignments so everyone has a chance to grow and no one is at a deficit when the next promotional opportunity arises. • Be intentional about making sure staff have the right sponsors, who have a far greater impact on advance- ment than mentors. • Finally, remember the pace at which our environment and competitive landscape is changing and take a step today—even if it’s pressing pause before you fill your next job opening—towards ensuring you’ll emerge as an employer of choice tomorrow. Nothing will influence your bank’s future success more than the women and men who run it day-to-day. I would add my encouragement that you set up your own human capital dashboard. We all have a sense of where we’d like our institutions to be two, three, five years from now. But whether our goals are financial, business or diversity in nature, we won’t know how close we are to reaching them if we don’t measure our progress. n For more information on the ideas and resources mentioned here, visit aba. com/Diversity. E-mail Rob Nichols at nichols@aba.com . 2020 & Beyond AVision for Community Banking You are Invited to the 43 rd Annual Symposium for Community Bank Directors The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ October 27–29, 2019 SAVE THE DATE! Sponsored by the Western States Director Education Foundation 2020 & Beyond AVision for Community Banking The intention for the 2019 Symposium for Community Bank Directors is to offer a program made of visionaries; those who bring proven findings from current research and development and those who have been in the trenches and are still around to talk about it. What do they see for the future of community banking? How does it compare to what has occurred, and more than all of that - what is possible? The WSDE Foundation respects you, the community banker. Those who stand strong in value, innovation, curiosity and principles with a strong sense of optimism that the future is clear and poised for growth with opportunities to serve our American communities in new and inspiring ways. Lisa Livingstone c/o Western States Director Education Foundation P.O. Box 658 Golden, CO 80402 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS: Back by popular demand... Elliot Eisenberg, PhD, The Bowtie Economist The Economy in 2019: Slowing but Growing! Eric Cook, MBA Digital Strategist, WSI Community Banking and the Amazon Effect “This is my first year and it has exceeded my expectations, specifically the quality of the speakers. I strongly recommend the symposium, it is a great time to come to Arizona, but also a great time of year for looking towards budgeting, strategic planning and succession. I look forward to bringing our board members next year.” PJ Wharton, President and CEO, Yampa Valley Bank, Steamboat Springs, CO For more information, contact Lisa Livingstone via the website www.WSDEF.org