Foster employee relationships. If
we hire a new teller at the main
branch, I purposely do personal
banking in the branches just so
that I can select a teller or a
customer service rep that I
don’t know well or haven’t
worked with before and interact with them. I’ll talk about
something in addition to the
business so I can form a relationship with them.
The more people, the more
difficult it is to know everyone.
To me, it’s all about people. You
have to care about them, and
that’s something that goes on
24 hours a day.
That’s not fake; I want to
know what’s going on.
Practice good listening. One of
the most important skills that a
successful business leader
needs is to be a good listener. I
find that it’s absolutely imperative to listen to people but also
watch them and try to ascertain
all that they’re trying to convey.
I was a lawyer for 35 years
before I took on this job, and I
learned early in my career to
listen to clients who came in to
see me. Many times, what they thought they wanted wasn’t
really what they wanted at all,
and if I listened long enough,
they would eventually get
around to expressing their
ultimate concern.
When you go into a business
meeting, whether it’s with other
executives in your own company or with your customers, you
need to remind yourself to listen
and be conscious of that.
Perhaps, you can listen until
everyone else has spoken, and
then if you feel you have a contribution to make, speak and
ask questions. And never, ever
interrupt or talk over someone
— it’s a matter of showing
respect for the other person that
you’re dealing with. You’ll see
the results and see how engaged
the other participants are.
HOW TO REACH: First Chester County Corp., (877) 362-0100 or www.fnbchestercounty.com
