Banking Is a Team Sport: Be a Captain, Coach & Cheerleader

I have been fortunate to achieve extraordinary success throughout my banking career. But none of that success was possible on my own. It was the direct result of working with a great team.

Despite what some bankers may think, banking IS a team sport. You can only achieve extraordinary success by collaborating with your talented colleagues within and across bank departments.

And like any team sport, the objective is to work together so you can win - more customers, more loans, more deposits, more projects, more career goals, more ANYTHING.

Do you and your fellow team members have a winning mindset?

Who is responsible for creating that winning mindset?

YOU are! Regardless of your position within the team, I encourage you to demonstrate a winning mindset at all times. If you want to win MORE, you need to BE MORE than just another banker or another team player.

Be a Captain. Be a Coach. Be a Cheerleader.

Consider ALL the different roles in a winning team and their winning attributes. How can you apply these attributes and achieve extraordinary success ..... TOGETHER?

Outlined below are four core elements / roles for your consideration if you want to belong to a winning team.

It starts with CULTURE. Every winning team has a winning culture - an environment that enables / inspires the team to be successful.

Think about your favorite sports team and the last time they won a championship. It is most likely because their team BELIEVED they could win and everyone FELT good / confident about their organization.

If your favorite team hasn't won a championship for while - despite having a talented roster of players - it's most likely because they don't BELIEVE and they do NOT FEEL good / inspired about their organization.

Collaborate with your fellow teammates and agree on HOW YOU ALL WANT TO FEEL about your team, your department, your bank.

Then consider WHAT all of you need to do to consistently FEEL that way. Create a CULTURE STATEMENT and uphold it. EVERYONE is responsible for creating and committing to a winning culture.

Winning teams have strong captains who get to know each team member personally and motivates them to excel. They provide each team member with clarity on what to do and how to succeed. They act as a personal mentor for each team member to help them win.

How well do you know each team member?

Do you know what "winning" means for them?

How well do you know WHY they come to work every day and WHY they want to succeed?

I encourage you to act like a captain and learn more about your colleagues. Leverage this knowledge to motivate each other to succeed.

Sit down with your teammates and develop a clear plan for success. Hold each other accountable for executing that plan.

Regardless of your official title / role in the team, it is important to act like a captain and ensure everyone is clear and focused on winning.

How confident are you and your teammates about winning?

How often do you train as a team?

No matter how talented their players, every successful team engages in regular training to sharpen their skills, behaviors, and beliefs.

If you agree that "banking is a team sport", then why are you not regularly training as a team? No successful team simply hires talented players and then just expects them to win a championship.

So why do we do that in banking?

The secret to achieving extraordinary success is not to rely on the talent of a few individuals, but to train together as a team and share success stories and best practices.

I encourage you to meet weekly as a team and coach / train each other on a particular skill that can help you win more. Don't simply discuss wins and losses. Agree on HOW you achieved those wins and HOW you can avoid those losses.

If you have ever watched a live sporting event, you will notice that the cheerleaders consistently cheer for their team, regardless of whether they are winning or losing.

They celebrate their team's victories on the sporting field and they motivate their team when they are not winning.

How do you consistently celebrate and motivate your teammates?

Every team member needs a cheerleader. Not just the successful ones. Aim to consistently praise your teammates when they do something good and to consistently encourage your teammates when they are struggling.

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It is very clear that you cannot achieve success in banking on your own. Your success is dependent upon the strength of your team.

So how are YOU inspiring your teammates to win?

Stop relying on others to build a winning team. Take the initiative to create a winning culture by collaborating with your teammates and encouraging each other to act like a Captain, Coach and Cheerleader.

If everyone plays those roles, I am confident you will easily beat your local opponents and win far more local "championships".

Good luck and GO TEAM !!!!!!

"Banking Is a Team Sport" (7 minutes)

Click the above picture to watch the latest video blog from Joe Micallef.

During this video, Joe will share four simple tips to creating a winning team and the roles you can play.

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Article written by Joe Micallef – Sales Strategist & Coach – Grow UP Sales. For more advice on how to build a caring culture, please email [email protected] or visit the webpage www.growupsales.com

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