Q. How do you create an
environment where people
aren’t afraid to make
mistakes?
We’ve been talking about
this from the day I opened
the bank in May of 2000.
That is, here are the rules.
You think, use your head,
and after you think through
a situation, you do what’s
best for the customer.
That’s what I’ve told everybody from day one, and
that’s how people operate,
No. 1.
No. 2, they have never
seen me rebuke anybody or
correct anybody in public.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t
had tough conversations
with employees over time,
over the years from time to
time, on a number of
issues. But, if I do that, I do
that privately. I do it in my
office, and I make sure
nobody is embarrassed.
Lastly, no one has ever
been fired here just for
making a mistake. People
have been let go for performance issues, and everybody understands that. So,
the actual practice is,
they’ve never seen it happen and … I can say until
I’m blue in the face, ‘Go
ahead and use your head
and make decisions.’
But, if somebody does
that and I lose my temper
and chop their head off in
public, well, actions speak
louder than words.
HOW TO REACH: Leaders Bank, (630) 572-5323 or www.leadersbank.com
