Leading On The Edge: A Guide for Community Bank CEOs

Ladies and gentlemen, as community bank CEOs, you often find yourselves searching for a safe path—a secure way to achieve greatness for your bank. Let me be clear: there isn’t one. 

If you’ve worked with me, you’ve heard me say time and again: 

“There is no safe way to be great and no great way to be safe.” 

The well-trodden paths of safety have already been taken. What remains are the challenging, uncharted courses that require true courage. Leadership is inherently risky. If we anchor our lives to safety, we remain perpetually insecure. But when we align our lives with our purpose, we create the futures we are destined for. And with that, we find a deeper, more profound security.

Now, I understand this may seem counterintuitive. But, wrapping our heads around the idea that caution isn’t the safest path can be challenging. 

In our roles as CEOs, more leaders are replaced for their caution than for their courage. By committing to a purpose, we embrace the inherent risk of leading and living fully, which brings its own sense of security. External forces don’t provide this security, even though our future may seem to depend on them. Instead, we root this security in our ability to create the future we aspire to achieve.

There is no safe path. To lead is to live at the edge. And that’s the reality of true leadership. 

For more information, please feel free to contact us!