Independent Banker - February 2020 - 78

CONNECTIONS
Field Notes
Dispatches from community bankers
Your job title matters.
Use it to help others
I
t's natural that people like to be around
important people. The power and prestige rubs
off on or transfers to others. When it comes to
business, clients like to deal with the owner or the
CEO. It makes them feel special.
While I am the cofounder and CEO of a community
bank, I'm just a guy on the ground, no
diff erent than anyone else-not more important,
smarter or more sophisticated. The point is that
the perception a job title conveys is more important
than you may realize. Others think that being
a CEO makes me important, and that is why we
need to make time for them. We all have multiple
priorities with families, jobs, companies, investments,
travel, hobbies, friends and more. Look at
what you spend your time doing, and it will tell
you what is most important to you.
You have the opportunity to make others feel
important, too. How? By interacting with people
who do not typically have access to you. As a
Are you a
leader at
an ICBA
member
bank?
Would you
like to be a
Field Notes
columnist?
Email
magazine@
icba.org
community bank executive-particularly a CEO
or president-people view you as a mover and
shaker. They want to hear your story, and they
dearly want to meet you. It makes their day.
We all have an ego. However, your ego is not
important; their ego is. Why? Leaders seldom get
to see the eff ect they have on others when they
reach out to introduce themselves. When they
take the time to do this, a trail of energy, excitement
and pixie dust follows. People tell their
friends, coworkers and their spouse about the
important person they met. It feels good to them.
It feeds their ego. It isn't how important you are;
it's how important you make them feel by taking a
little time to make them feel special. When someone
in a leadership role recognizes others, it has a
positive eff ect on them.
Do you remember meeting people earlier in
your life that you thought were important? Did
you tell others about it? Of course, you did. I'll bet
you do the same today. I know I do. It happened
to me just a few weeks ago, and you bet I told others
about it.
JOE FAZIO,
ICBA
Community
Banker of the
Year 2017,
is chairman
and CEO of
Commerce
State Bank in
West Bend, Wis.
78 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q February 2020
Important people don't necessarily have to be
movie stars, athletes or historic fi gures. There are
heroes among us, and to someone, you are likely
one, too. It could be an employee, a college student,
a client, a competitor or a business owner
who may be just dying to meet you. All you have
to do is make yourself available to them. It's easy.
You will fi nd them in seminars, classrooms and
just about every other public setting.
The key is you need to put yourself out there.
Go to events at your local university, participate
in leadership development groups or be a speaker
for a nonprofi t or another group. You will fi nd
you enjoy it, and a side benefi t is that while you
are giving others a boost, it will make you feel
pretty good.
Independent Banker - February 2020

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