TRUST AND REPUTATION IS VITAL FOR BANKING BUSINESS

Jan14

TRUST AND REPUTATION IS VITAL FOR BANKING BUSINESS

Trust is a state of mind – a feeling of confidence. It is one thing that is common to every relationship, every team, family, organisation and nation throughout the world. It is so critical that its removal would destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character or the deepest love. On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, trust has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. One area in the business world where trust is so very vital is banking. The business of banking started by the goldsmiths was based on trust, credibility and reputation. And although the business of banking has grown in complexity over the centuries, the basic tenets of trust, credibility and reputation associated with goldsmith are justifiably demanded of practitioners today. Banking business demands integrity and unquestioned reputation. The Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana, the professional association of bankers in Ghana, subscribes to this assertion by having as its motto the phrase “Honesty and Integrity”. Lack of these tenets could endanger a financial institution. The adverse economic consequences and contagion effects of financial crises and failures can be long term for any country.

Current banking scene
The banking industry in Ghana is in turmoil. Within a period of one year (from August 2017 to August 2018) the Ghana banking industry has witnessed the collapse of seven local banks due to liquidity and capital deficiency challenges. These bank failures were not caused by forces or pressures external to these banks. They were caused by breakdown in values, unethical behaviour and corporate irresponsibility by senior personalities of these banks. In banking, poor governance and management practices result inevitably in losses which negatively affect liquidity and/or solvency. Problems may be hidden for a while, but the truth will eventually become evident, leading eventually to collapse if remedial actions are not promptly taken. That was the fate of these seven banks. These high-profile failures have been the subject of much opprobrium especially in the media. As a result, public confidence in banks have declined and trust in the local banking industry have sunk low. Currently there are indications that depositors are moving funds from the indigenous local banks to the foreign banks, trusting that they would be secured and properly managed. Investors and stakeholders are also demanding that banks implement rigorous corporate governance principles in order to achieve better returns and security on their investments. The Central Bank, Bank of Ghana, in a bid to promote the sector stability and integrity to stern the growing lack of confidence have introduced new corporate governance guidelines and directives for banks. It is also working on other changes and reforms to be implemented very soon.

Trust in banking
A culture of trust protection is essential in banking. Banks need to understand how to earn and maintain trust, and how to build on existing trust. Trust can take years to build, a moment of badness could ruin it forever. After all the fabulous work banks have delivered over the years in this country, they have been rocked by these mistakes and errors of judgment that have affected the existence of some of them and threatening the whole industry. It would have been bad enough if the focus and concern was on management failures but it’s the integrity of the banking industry which is on the line. Mistakes can be usually forgiven, but one once trust is lost, it is extremely difficult to recover. Trust is critical to the success of the banking industry. It is trust which enables stakeholders to engage positively with banks and customers to place their assets with banks. Trust creates business, drives customer activity, delivers brand loyalty and generates income. It also keeps customers satisfied with services, helps colleagues feel valued, and contributes to the organisation’s long-term legacy. Trust can reduce uncertainty and risk. High levels of trust in the workplace will always reduce the need for costly and restrictive control. But the lack of trust can be expensive and highly damaging to both individuals and organisations.

Trust and Reputation
Reputation is ultimately a measure of trust. The banking sector is one where society is entitled to expect probity and entitled to demand high standards. These high-profile banking failures and mistakes have taken its toll on public confidence. The actions and inactions by the leaders of these banks have set many pulses rising and the reputation of many of its leaders are at stake and for some their reputations have been seriously affected. Reputation dictates how people behave and in whom they place their trust. Once trust is gone it is very difficult to regain and in some cases its loss is irredeemable. The saying ’’Trust is earned’’ rings true when it comes to reputation management. The directors and key shareholder of these banks should never delude themselves by thinking that people will wink at these stories or believe what they have to say when it is clear they have failed. There is a point at which people will draw the line and refuse to engage with you. This is particularly true when alleged criminal conduct is involved. It’s not easy to come back from that kind of failure and repair your reputation.
A number of key personalities, religious leaders, business executives and politicians, who have built solid careers and earned respect for their contributions to society, have been implicated in these scandals, which may taint their reputations irrevocably. Whether or not they have criminal charges to answer to is immaterial. The fact that they have been associated with alleged malfeasance and corrupt behaviour renders them untouchables on many levels. Their alleged indiscretions have become public knowledge and their reputation have been dragged through the mud and tarnished forever. Mark Twain said “Laws control the lesser man…right conduct controls the greater one”. If these allegations are true, i.e. being part of a conspiracy which eventually led to the collapse of banks, then these leaders are not the great personalities they portray to the public. Actions prove who someone is, words just prove who they pretend to be.
What is sad is that some of these individuals have qualifications, gifts, skills and experience that could be used to help turn this country around. It will be interesting to see how they will come back from this loss of reputation.

Building confidence
Trust and trustworthiness are critical for effective relationships and effective organizations. Individuals and institutions incur high costs when trust is misplaced. There’s a ‘crisis of trust’ in the Ghanaian financial industry. Public confidence has been corroded. There is perception that banks and financial institutions are not acting in the interests of their customers. The Ghanaian public need to be reassured that it is safe to deal with or rely on banks. Rather than looking towards outside to blame regulators and authorities, banks must make integrity the norm in their operations. Banks must go to great lengths, both internally and externally, to convince its stakeholders and public at large that they are serious about changing their culture for the better. This means that they must operate in an ethical and trustworthy manner. They must acknowledge their mistakes and make company-wide changes. These changes include transforming the banks culture, their balanced scorecard, the citizenship lens, reputational risk, and put values in action. They must create “speak-up systems” which encourage individuals to report questionable or corrupt behaviour from peers or supervisors instead of the prevailing culture of ‘wilful blindness’ where staff members ignore situations which they know to be wrong. Working individually and together, banks can make the difference, and when they succeed, they will all feel proud of the turnaround in the industry.
Now is the time for the regulators to develop working solutions that combine strong corporate governance and effective anti-corruption initiatives to restore trust in the Ghanaian banking industry. This will guide the banks in upholding business integrity, promoting ethical culture, enhancing transparency, and maintaining robust checks and balances on inappropriate behaviour within their business. Fidelity to rebuilding trust in bank is an essential element in the success of businesses, governments, and societies. It is in everyone’s interest.

COLLABORATION AND HIGH PERORMANCE AT THE WORKPLACE

Jan14

Kindness and Respect are key values

A team consists of a group of people who interact to complete interdependent tasks and work towards a common goal. The terrain of the contemporary workplace especially in the developed world is now characterised by living, constantly changing teams and independent knowledge workers who are collaborating together within the office (colocation) and across the globe (virtual). A collaborative workplace is where a conscious effort has been made to create structures and institutionalise values and practices that enable individuals and groups to effectively work together to achieve goals and business results. A team leader’s responsibility is to strive to achieve a positive atmosphere, connectedness and team affiliation by developing a work environment where commitment grows. The goal is to harness and take full advantage of team power to create a collaborative workplace. People commit themselves to a group, project or organisation that they feel part of. To create a harmonious environment which helps bring out the best in people, a leader must practice the act of kindness. Many behavioural studies have shown that practising acts of kindness has a positive effect on a person’s happiness, satisfaction in relationships, and even one’s physical and mental health.

Kindness and the business world
In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business landscape, kindness appears to be irrelevant. Some corporate cultures dictate that kindness is not necessary. It can almost be seen as a hindrance which possibly slows down and dulls competitive edge. But kindness is good for business and is more relevant at the workplace than we think.
What does kindness have to do with achieving business objectives? What is the benefit to employers and employees to practise kindness and graciousness in the workplace? Is it simply something that is “good to have” but not essential, or deemed unimportant, compared to the need to scale up performance and increase the bottom-line? The truth is kindness and performance are not mutually exclusive. In fact, practising kindness and graciousness at work leads to connection and connection or affiliation is a motivator for teams or organisation which can lead to better performance and profitability. Researchers at the Harvard Business School have found that happy workers who enjoy their work and have fun working together perform their jobs better. Also Australian School of Business research into business practices also confirmed that compassionate behaviour in a leader has the highest correlation with productivity and profitability.

The leader and kindness
Practicing kindness starts with the team leader. To be kind is to be strong. To be a kind leader is to risk showing that you are a human being, with a softer side but you still hold others accountable for their work. The ability of a leader to wield power is tied directly to his/her relationships with his/her team and with stakeholders. This relationship is a form of affiliation which is a sense of connectedness. Exhibiting and experiencing kindness helps to build those connections. It is easier to feel kindness for others when you feel a connection to them. There are many opportunities for team connections to be established and strengthened in a group. As a leader the first step is to get to know your team members. Create some bonds with them. Learn about them and about things that matter to them. As you build your connections with your team members it will be easier for you to feel kindly toward them. Showing genuine care and appreciation to the people who work for and with you makes the team feel more connected. In project teams, many connecting opportunities are provided to the team by difficult stakeholders, impossible deadlines and challenging project requirements. During these situations, the leader encourages group work, group discussion sessions and active support of team members. These activities serve to reinforce the experience of achievement reached through teamwork to encourage collaboration.
A leader’s preparedness to engage in authentic, honest exchanges coupled with genuine curiosity, care and willingness to go out of way for others, a willingness to pitch in with energetic assistance makes up this picture of a kind and compassionate leader. In creating a culture of support and about encouraging acts of kindness, a team leader can include examples of acts of kindness in team discussion and meetings. This encourages team members to be on the lookout for kindness and also prompts all to engage in kind acts.
Are you a leader? Get started in your workplace and see how infectious kindness can be and how the flame of connectedness will spread through your team. When you bring kindness to your team, you draw on a potentially powerful motivational approach. The connected team does a much better job working together to reach difficult milestones. People want the people who lead them to have their best interests at heart, and they reward this behaviour with greater loyalty and discretionary effort.

Respect and the business world
Another behaviour or value which is missing in our workplaces is respect. In a recent survey by Georgetown University of nearly 20,000 employees worldwide, respondents ranked ‘‘respect’’ as the most important leadership behaviour. Yet employees worldwide report more ‘‘disrespectful and uncivil behaviour’’ each year by their leaders, and their lack of understanding of what constitutes workplace respect. Respect is signalled by civility and an atmosphere suggesting that every member of the group is inherently valuable. In environments with too little respect, we typically see micromanagement, incivility and abuse of power.
People’s jobs are often central to who they are and how they perceive themselves; respectful cues in a professional setting are important signals of social worth. What’s more, employees often join organizations in the hope of, growing professionally and becoming better versions of themselves over time. Respect is an important feedback mechanism and catalyst for this growth. A respectful workplace brings enormous benefits to organizations. Employees who feel respected are more satisfied with their jobs and more grateful and loyal to their companies. They are more resilient, cooperate more with others, perform better and more creatively, and are more likely to take direction from their leaders. Conversely, a lack of respect can inflict real damage. Disrespectful treatment often spreads among co-workers and is taken out on customers by poor service attitude.
In all but the most toxic workplaces, building a respectful organization does not demand an overhaul of policies or any other formal changes. Rather, what’s needed is ongoing consideration of the subtle but important ways in which owed and earned respect can be conveyed. Whether we are leaders or co-workers, we can all shape an environment where colleagues reinforce respectful cues and make social worth a day-to-day reality for one another. Recognize that respect has ripple effects. Just as incivility can spiral throughout an organization, so too can respect. Leadership behaviours are often mimicked throughout an organization. The cascade from the top down also shapes the way employees treat customers, industry partners, and other stakeholders. Leaders must build a workplace of respect that allows employees and as a result their companies to become the best possible versions of themselves. Over time consistent experience of respect is a driver not just of employee well-being but also of the company’s high performance.

Final thoughts
When kindness, graciousness and respect are deeply rooted in the team and corporate culture, businesses will profit from higher levels of employee engagement, greater synergy and loyalty, and more fulfilling working relationships. This translates into a more motivated workforce and lower staff turnover, so employers can better retain talent. Furthermore, engaged and loyal employees will be more proactive in innovating and creating solutions for the organisation. The net result is higher profitability in more ways than one. In sum, kindness and respect is good for business. Kindness and respect pays off in business.

GRATITUDE

Dec15

“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” – G.B. Stern

As children most of us were constantly reminded to say “Thank you.” As your mother or father picked you up from a birthday party or some other event, you were most likely asked, “Did you say thank you?” Those of you who are parents probably go through a similar routine with your children. Saying thank you is one of the basics of good manners. It is also an excellent form of motivation.
“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. Truly express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.” – Ralph Marston

Speaking of gratitude – thank you for reading this.

POWERFUL QUOTES FROM LEADERS

Oct20

1. Not on some analogical version of vicarious liability. Evidence has demonstrated step by painstaking step.

2. A company is much more than the sum of its inputs and outputs. It is people that matter more than anything else in business. it is people – their collective ability and energy, how they feel about working in the organisation, how passionate and engaged they are in its agenda and how they work together for a common purpose – that makes a company great.

3. It could only be explained, she argued, by prurience, callousness, and lack of judgment.

4. Focusing on core – what we are good at, where we are good at it, what is material, what is financially compelling, and where we are and can be successful.

5. Instil a high performance ethic, with personal accountability, reduced unnecessary bureaucracy, spending less time internally and more externally, and continuing to build on our values and culture.

6. I have therefore made personal accountability central to how we should operate, eliminating unnecessary committees, and speeding up decision making, which enriches everyone’s roles.

7. We also need to instil a greater sense of urgency in the way we operate. Our shareholders have been incredibly patient, but won’t be for long.

8. The future is one of great opportunities and that requires confidence and leadership and it will be lost if we embrace the politics of fear and scaremongering.

9. He said policies would change in the light of changed conditions, but did not signal any immediate amendments to contentious issues including same sex marriage and climate policy.

10. He said the prime minister had failed to provide economic leadership; had lost the confidence of the business sector; had failed to explain to the public the challenges and opportunities the nation faced; and had developed policy on the run.

11. We need advocacy, not slogans.

12. And it’s fair to say that anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds, regardless of what they think their motivations may be.

13. The United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense gun-safety laws – even in the face of repeated mass killings.”

14. When Americans are killed in mine disasters, we work to make mines safer. When Americans are killed in floods and hurricanes, we make communities safer. When roads are unsafe, we fix them to reduce auto fatalities. We have seat belt laws because we know it saves lives. So the notion that gun violence is somehow different, that our freedom and our Constitution prohibits any modest regulation of how we use a deadly weapon, when there are law-abiding gun owners all across the country who could hunt and protect their families and do everything they do under such regulations doesn’t make sense.

MESSAGES THAT TOUCHED MY HEART

Oct20

1.Life is green and green is life; Green life starts in our homes. Green ideas bloom; Let’s navigate the road to green life.

2.Our vivacious, ambitious, smart, engaging, hilarious, beautiful and immensely talented Alison was taken from the world. This is senseless, and our family is crushed.

3.She just happened to be really really good on TV. Really really good. And captured humanity with everybody she spoke with.

4.I believe (she) would want our love to be shared because it was a love that was genuine and a love that I hope everybody else gets to experience at least once in their life.

5.Powerful pictures tell powerful stories, Some are terrible stories and some are even happy or inspiring ones.

6.One picture is equal to one thousand words.

7.The full horror of the human tragedy unfolding on the shores of Europe was brought home on Wednesday as images of the lifeless body of a young boy encapsulated the extraordinary risks refugees are taking to reach the West.

8.We get a lump in a throat every time we think about the female bankers who, wearing skirts, had to climb the ladder with unimaginable fear, and male bankers who threw off their coats at the last minute regardless of the cold weather, their fear, despair and regret.

9.It’s more satisfying and fun dealing with customers and clients than sitting in endless internal meetings and committees.

10.In a loving tribute at his grave, ‘There is always a face before me, a voice I would love to hear, a smile I will always remember, of a husband I loved so dear. Deep in my heart lies a picture, more precious than silver or gold, it’s a picture of my soul mate, whose memory will never grow old.’

11.But as I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It’s not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel. And it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America — next week, or a couple of months from now.

12.Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We’ve become numb to this.

13.May God bless the memories of those who were killed today. May He bring comfort to their families, and courage to the injured as they fight their way back. And may He give us the strength to come together and find the courage to change.

14.Sophie left a message that read: “Daddy, my hero, my super daddy, my world. I love you so much. I will miss our cuddles, tickles, giggles and smiles. I love you lots and lots. Your little princess Sophie x x x x x.”

15.A second bouquet from Abigail, with scrawly handwriting, read: “Daddy, I love you so much, you are the best daddy in the whole wide world, you are my hero! I will miss you. XXX Love Abigail XXXXX.”

16.Jennifer left her own bouquet of white lilies with a wedding photo. Her message read: “Dave, my poo Bear! I can’t believe you’ve been taken away from me, you are my everything and have no idea how I am going to carry on with you not by my side. I love you with every inch of my heart and will miss you so so much, Your Mrs XXXXX.”

7/7 LESSONS REVISITED

Jul10

Whether lessons have been learned and actioned.

I thought this week with the 10th anniversary of 7/7 I would look back through one of the reports on the incident by the London Assembly (Report of the 7th July Review Committee) and highlight in this bulletin some of the learning points from the incident. If we can learn from incidents and improve our response, then something good has come out of a terrible incident. In reading the report one of the things that struck me was a number of communication failures during the response. This should not surprise us as almost every incident report or exercise report highlights failures in communication as one of their key learning points. There were three main failures in communications; loss of communications to those responding underground, overload of the mobile phone system and the failure of the ambulance communications system. The difficulty of communicating underground was identified as a significant issue in the report into the Kings Cross fire in 1988. During 7/7 the report noted that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, told us that he regarded the inability of the emergency services to communicate underground as ‘a significant problem for London’. The lessons from the last incident in this aspect of communications had not been learned. Do you go back through your own incident reports and those of other organisations, which are relevant, and check that the lessons identified have been learned or actioned in your organisation? All of our mobile plans are highly dependent I suspect on mobile phones working. Much of the communications failure during the response to 7/7 was due to the emergency service and other responders having a high reliance on mobile phones and the system not working in certain areas. This was again identified in the report as a foreseeable problem. The same happened during 9/11 and actually happens in many areas each New Year’s Eve. The failure of the mobile system was due to the large number of calls overloading the system which the report details: “London’s telephone networks experienced unprecedented volumes of traffic. Vodafone experienced a 250 per cent increase in the volume of calls and a doubling of the volume of text messages. There were twice as many calls on the BT network as would normally be the case on a Thursday morning. Cable & Wireless handled ten times as many calls as usual to the Vodafone and O2 networks – 300,000 calls were placed every 15 minutes, compared to 30,000 on a normal working day. O2 would normally expect to handle 7 million calls per day. On 7 July, 11 million calls were connected – 60 per cent more than usual – and this does not include unsuccessful calls”. Have you got plan of how to deal with an incident without mobiles, especially at the scene of the incidents, and how staff caught up in the incident will inform you that they are safe? Lastly on communications, although it didn’t affect the overall response, there was a major breakdown of The Ambulance Service communications. This lead to “repeated instances of London Ambulance Service officers requesting more ambulances, supplies and equipment and receiving no response”. Failure of communication within the ambulance service was due to issues with their radios and failure of the mobile phone system. Could your response be majorly impacted by failure of communications and are your existing communications fit for purpose, tested and staff trained in their use? One of the themes I have been promoting in my bulletins is ‘do our plans have sufficient emphasis on looking after people during an incident’. I was disheartened to see the following within the report: “The response on 7 July demonstrated that there is a lack of consideration of the individuals caught up in major or catastrophic incidents. Procedures tend to focus too much on incidents, rather than on individuals, and on processes rather than people. Emergency plans tend to cater for the needs of the emergency and other responding services, rather than explicitly addressing the needs and priorities of the people involved”. I am guilty of this as well, but I think we should look again at our plans and see if they take account the need to look after our people and those affected by the incident? My last point is the importance of leadership at the scene of an incident and in someone taking command. The following is an extract from the section on communications from people in authority within the first 15 minutes: ‘Michael, survivor of the Aldgate explosion said ‘Information is essential when in shock people freeze and can’t make rational decisions, people need to know what to do, even if it is to remain on the train and wait’. Nobody knew what to do immediately after the bombs had gone off. They were in an unfamiliar environment and were unsure whether it was safer to leave the train or to remain where they were. A number of survivors talked about the relief of having someone in authority, the train driver, tell them to what to do and “walk down the track to Russell Square”. This highlights to me the importance of training for staff likely to be at the scene of an incident so that they can make quick decisions and be the voice of authority in an incident.

Charlie Maclean-Bristol

Director of Training

Business Continuity Training Ltd