Ep 38 - The Power of Connection with Neil Stevens

Bank Marketing Show

Connection – with your team, your bank, your customers, and your own self - is the key to great leadership and to creating a truly engaged team. It starts at the top. Your bank’s leadership needs to feel confident in and connected with the values, vision, and mission of your institution. When this happens, and you hire people whose personal visions are already aligned with yours, you start building a great company culture, too.

In this episode, Dan Novalis, Chris Bates, and Neil Stevens discuss what goes into connected teams. Neil shares his LEAD methodology for creating stronger connections: Love, Equip, Affirm, and Develop others. Being a better and connected leader starts with prioritizing yourself and your emotional and mental health. When you treat yourself right, you can encourage a better performance from your team.

Topics Include:

● Why connection is so important for bankers

● How to develop a company culture that makes sense for your organization

● Why you need strong leadership to lead your company culture

● Why leaders need to prioritize themselves and their emotional/mental health

● How to encourage better performance in your team

Neil Stevens is an accomplished banker, speaker, community leader, brand strategist, and fitness enthusiast. As President & CEO of Oconee State Bank in Watkinsville, Georgia, his visionary perspective inspires growth, drives direction, and helps clear obstacles for team members to achieve their personal and professional goals. Happiest when surrounded by his family, Neil’s passion is to create a positive impact on others through servant leadership.

Personal Best: Marrying my bride 35 years ago. We’ve been together for almost 40 years.

Business Best: We just made an acquisition of a savings and loan company. The collaboration between our bank and their team was incredible to watch.

Favorite Book or Resource: Good to Great by Jim Collins https://www.amazon.com/Good-to-Great-Jim-Collins-audiobook/dp/B003VXI5MS and The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath https://www.amazon.com/The-Power-of-Moments-audiobook/dp/B074TZFTDG/

Most Impactful Advice Received: “Not everything that can be counted counts. And not everything that counts can be counted.” - Albert Einstein

Advice for Staff: What’s on the walls, we must live in the halls. Our vision, mission, and values has to become part of our DNA and who we are.

Resources Mentioned:

• Website: https://www.oconeestatebank.com/
• The Remarkable Foundation: https://www.oconeestatebank.com/resources/remarkable-foundation
• Make Your Remarkable Podcast: https://www.oconeestatebank.com/business/makeyourremarkable
• Book: Love Works by Joel Manby: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Works-Timeless-Principles-Effective/dp/0310359740/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1689791648&sr=8-1
• Book: Good to Great by Jim Collins https://www.amazon.com/Good-to-Great-Jim-Collins-audiobook/dp/B003VXI5MS