Phil Keithahn, chairman and CEO of ProGrowth Bank in Gaylord, Mankato and Nicollet, Minnesota., emailed the following essay the NorthWestern Financial Review blog. 

Am I Trustworthy?

As is true for many community bankers, I wear many hats that reflect my interests in serving my community through volunteer contributions of time, talent, and treasure. One of these hats is the hat of “Scoutmaster”, where I serve our local Scouts and have also provided leadership to several National and World Scout Jamborees.

If you’re familiar with Scouting, you have probably heard of the “Scout Oath” and the “Scout Law”. Actually, the Scout Law is a collection of 12 words that provide the foundation for guiding what we do as Scouts and Scout Leaders. A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. Collectively, these 12 words comprise the Scout Law. Individually, the words provide the foundation for training young men about crucial elements of character.

While it is true that character is built over time by learning to deal with challenging and difficult situations, sometimes building judgment from a lifetime of mistakes seems inefficient, let alone painful.

When I coach young Scouts and also Scout leaders, we stress that we are not “yellers.” Instead, when there is a problem or a conflict or an example of inappropriate behavior, we ask the Scouts to respond to a simple question, as follows: “What is happening right now and what Scout Law is being violated by the actions or words of the individual or the group?” The Scout or group of people who has demonstrated unacceptable behavior may not always see what they are doing wrong. After all, we are often not as “self-aware” as we would like to believe! However, other Scouts can easily identify, or “answer the question”, about the Scout Law that is being violated.

Learning occurs when we hold others accountable, but even more so when we hold ourselves accountable.

In mid-2009, during the depths of the so-called “Great” Recession, I translated this Scouting code of conduct into the business world when I talked with my employees about TRUST. Yes, every letter is capitalized, because TRUST is the essence of how a community bank can continue to differentiate itself from the TBTF/TBTR/TBTHA banks (Too big to fail, too big to regulate, too big to be held accountable).

To paraphrase my words, I recall that I said: “We live in a time when the government and the world is telling us that we cannot trust other people. We need to verify their ID by checking their drivers’ license, even if they have done business with the bank for over 50 years. We can no longer rely on a person’s word of honor, their handshake, or their informal IOU, lest we be criticized by the examiners and our Board about unsafe and unsound business practices. Yes, we must know our customers. Yes, we must complete our due diligence. Yes, we must underwrite risks with accurate and current financial information. And yes, we must document, close, monitor, and manage those risks closely, so that we can uphold the faith and trust that we have received from our depositors.”

Continuing, I said: “We have an ongoing responsibility to fulfill the expectations of our depositors, our deposit-insurers, and the communities that depend on our presence as business owners and community members. So we must take steps to reduce the likelihood that we will be harmed because someone has broken the trust that we have placed in them. However, that is the second and less important aspect of trust for which we must be concerned in today’s world.”

“The most important aspect of TRUST is not whether I can trust you. It is whether or not I am worthy of the TRUST you are placing in ME. When I say to someone that “A Scout (Banker) is Trustworthy”, the focus of TRUST is not on the customer, but on the Scout/Banker. While I understand that not everyone acts in a manner that is trustworthy, my obligation is to always be centered on remaining worthy of the TRUST I receive from others. When I read about a violation of TRUST by another person – whether it is a customer, a friend, a family, member, or someone else anywhere in the world – I must remind myself that I must be ever-vigilant against letting down my guard.”

“I am always one decision away from moving from WORTHY OF TRUST….to an act of betraying someone else’s trust in me. So the appropriate question is not “Can I trust you?” Rather, it is “Am I worthy of the TRUST you give to me?”

In my opinion, community bankers throughout the country can hold their heads high, because almost without exception, we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of being “Worthy of TRUST.” But we must continue to be ever-vigilant against letting our guard down, lest we violate this code of conduct. And we must continue reaching out to our customers with words, actions, and behaviors that are Worthy of TRUST as well as trusting of others.”

United Bankers Bank of Bloomington, Minn., hosted its customers Thursday and Friday to a two-day celebration, featuring dinner, educational presentations, and a luncheon speech featuring Hall of Fame baseball player Bert Blyleven.

Blyleven shared several baseball stories, but also offered encouragement using B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L as an acronym.  He said:

B stands for Believe. “You have to believe in what you are doing,” he said.

A stands for attitude. Blyleven said he is a big believer in the power of positive thinking.

S stands for sacrifice. “You have to sacrifice to get some things. In the end, you will be rewarded,” he said.

E stands for enthusiasm. He said your enthusiasm has the ability to raise everyone’s energy level.

B stands for behavior. “Those around you will feed on your behavior,” he said. In other words, you set the tone for your team — will it promote success of something less?

A stands for action. “Be proud of what you are doing,” he advised.

L stands for leader. “Be a leader, not a follower,” he urged.

L stands for love. “Love what you are doing and love your family,” he counseled.

Edward A. Krei of the Baker Group was the opening speaker Tuesday morning at the Bank Holding Company Association Fall Seminar. His wide-ranging hour-long presentation covered a number of issues. Here are the seven things he said high-performing banks do better than their competitors:

1. Clearly define their markets and listen to their customers
2. Think, plan and act with a long-term focus
3. Build effective processes
4. Understand their “bets”
5. Invest in employees and in organization structure that promotes accountability
6. They “Ask for the business”
7. Resist complacency and the status quo — they embrace and manage change with a sense of urgency.

He also shared these 12 attributes of high performance bankers:

1. Comfortable in a “fluid” organization – they are multi-skilled and cross-trained.
2. Listen well — to customers and co-workers.
3. Think of themselves as a business — ask “why would someone want to do business with me? How easy am I to do business with?”
4. Know why their job is important to the success of their bank.
5. Understand the features and benefits of their bank’s products and have confidence that they can offer the best solutions to customers’ needs — they “ask for the business.”
6. Comfortable working in a very competitive, changing industry — they want to continue to learn.
7. Never miss an opportunity to say “thank you” to customers.
8. Never miss an opportunity to say “good job” to co-workers. (Sincere recognition goes a long way.)
9. Regularly ask “how am I doing?” and expect objective feedback. They strive for excellence — to be the best at what they do.
10. Know that supervisors must treat employees the way they expect employees to treat customers.
11. Frequently celebrate victories with co-workers.
12. Feel like winners and act like owners — have an attitude of pride in themselves and the bank. Do the right thing even when no one is watching.

Look for coverage of the BHCA Fall Seminar in the Oct. 15 edition of NorthWestern Financial Review magazine.