It took the worst employee to transform the worst branch of the bank…
He couldn’t find an explanation as to why he was asked to resume as the branch manager of the worst branch in the country, after such an outstanding performance.
From the feedback, coupled with the economic crisis in the country, he knew a miracle may not be enough. In any case, he had to answer the call of duty.
The branch was situated in a remote town in the southwestern part of the country. A sharp contrast to the bubbling city life he left behind.
“I must have offended someone in the bank’s leadership.” he commented. Somehow, he encouraged himself and got to work.
There was every need to get a good grasp of the situation. So, he buried his head in documents. In his consideration, it was more than vital to know his new team members and what they could offer to this reconstruction project.
After several readings, there he was stirring at the reports from his predecessors about a certain member of his team. The summary of the report: There was nothing to write home about this colleague.
Unarguably, he was the worst employee in the worst branch. Logic would fairly award him the worst guy in the bank.
He quickly moved on with the decision to focus on the high flyers with the potential to change the fortune of the branch within the shortest possible time.
“Something in me felt like I was not done with him.” Said the manager. “Eventually, I decided to give him a new start, a fresh beginning, and a new page.”
“Coaching, mentoring and spending time with the supposedly worst guy in the bank wasn’t just awkward to the employee, it was to the whole office. It was as if I was unveiling some kind of taboo, and wasting scarce resources,” said the manager.
One evening after work, the worst guy told the manager he has a relationship and business lead in capital city, which they could both explore.
That was the birth of a joint project, between the worst employee of the bank and the manager.
The result of this unlikely partnership changed the fortune of the branch and placed it amongst the best in the country as at that time.
At the time when deposit was so key, they got a very high digits deposit from the capital city lead, and it was all a new beginning for the branch.
Dear leader, here are 5 lessons from this story:
…Beware of your prejudices, either generated by others or self created. Being open-minded is easier said. The reports from previous managers didn’t match the end of the story, not because they were right or wrong. Leaders should remember that none of us is objective, our objectivity is seen through our subjective prisms.
… Attention could change all things, if laser focused. People could travel from the sane world to insanity to get attention. Leadership includes being available for the ones we serve.
…You’re not just a leader when going is easy. Leadership is about solving problems, otherwise, it’s irrelevant and the leader is.
… There’s no useless team member. Just that you’re yet to discover their usefulness. There’s a place for everyone, it’s the leader’s responsibility to find it. Even if that place is out of your team
…Worst, best…are frame dependent. leaders should endeavour to see people and situations through as many as possible prisms. What a colleague does outside of work and other climes could give an insight to some values s/he could bring to work.
#leadership #teamwork #teammotivation #Effectivecommunication
