Issue 4. 2021 11 This year’s Emerging Bank Leaders Conference was held on Nov. 16, 2021, with more than 50 rising stars in attendance at Thanksgiving Point and more than 80 others joined via Zoom. It was a day full of engaging speakers from a wide variety of fields, each offering strategies, and tools to chart a better career path, develop stronger leaders, and create more productive workplaces. UBA Chairman, Eric Schmutz, welcomed the group in the morning, providing his thoughts on effective leadership and sharing some life EMERGING BANK LEADERS CONFERENCE experiences that brought them to life. Of his many points, he reminded the audience to always be open to new ideas and orient for the future. Next up was organizational culture guru Roger Connors, who led a very entertaining talk designed to get attendees thinking outside of the box, to recognize their own biases and beliefs — and those of their colleagues — and to use positive reinforcement to change team behaviors. Then we heard from Scott Hagen of Ray Quinney & Nebeker about the everevolving laws around vaccine mandates. Emerging Bank Leader Chair Ben Browning followed with a membership update, laying out the many ways the EBL is preparing future bank leadership. After lunch, the group was “edutained” by two of its peers through “Utah Bankers Ignite,” an opportunity for speakers to present a topic of their choice, with 20 slides auto-advancing every 15 seconds for five minutes total. Jeff Meyer of Zions Bancorporation got the audience laughing and thinking with “Make Ethics Cool Again.” Mike Van Roosendaal made everyone want to go climb a mountain with “The Benefits of Time Spent Outdoors.” Next, Karl Ahlrichs — noted national speaker, author, and consultant — led an entertaining discussion that gave attendees better tools to assess themselves and their career goals. And using a combination of funny and poignant anecdotes, he reminded them of the powers of listening and genuine empathy to effectively lead their teams and attract and retain top talent. Robert Spendlove, SVP and Economic & Public Policy Officer at Zions Bank, provided an update on the economy and detailed the factors behind the recent rise in inf lation but left the group with the hopeful message that Utah is leading the nation in post-pandemic recovery. The day was capped off with a passionate talk from Jackie Rolow, EVP and Chief HR Officer at SHAZAM, imploring the audience to focus more on their emotional intelligence, which will lead to higher productivity, higher wages, and a more positive workplace. We encourage anyone who wants to take their career to the next level to join the Emerging Bank Leaders, and to take advantage of the full offering of networking, mentoring, and learning opportunities. Sign up today at utah.bank. n
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