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Climbing the Community Bank Career Ladder
What’s special about community banking is the support and growth young bankers see throughout their careers.
Lindsay LaNore: Why Following Up After Training Matters
We all know how important training programs are. Education is critical for keeping up to date with new developments and expanding skill sets, plus it’s often a great boost to morale.
A Decade of Trust. Ready For the Future of Governance.
Is your bank’s board ready for AI? Take the 2025 survey to benchmark your readiness, explore what peers are doing, and request a VIP seat at our exclusive webinar with ICBA’s Charles Potts.
What Makes a Leader Truly Great? Experts Weigh In
Good leadership is about much more than one individual’s impact on the bottom line. It’s about how effective leaders use these skills both internally and in the community to build a stronger bank.
How Can Legal Expertise Smooth Succession Transitions?
Succession planning is complicated in all sorts of ways. An attorney or legal team can help iron out the issues and lay out documents that ensure long-term continuity for community banks.
Lindsay LaNore: Strategic Success Starts with a Thoughtful Plan
It’s hard to believe it’s already May, but since we’re here, let’s talk about planning.
Lindsay LaNore: How to Bridge Gaps With Fellow Employees
In a diverse world, one of the greatest skills a leader can have is the ability to talk to people with different perspectives.
Preparing and Nurturing Future Bank Leaders
How can community banks foster future leaders and make sure they’re prepared to take on a managerial role? It takes a healthy dose of attention, understanding and room for trial and error.
Lindsay LaNore: 8 Healthy Habits for Conflict Resolution
We’re all different. We work differently, and we have different opinions, biases and values. Some of us thrive under pressure, while others shy away from confrontation.
ENTER NOW: 40 Under 40: Community Bank Leaders awards
Nominations for 40 Under 40: Community Bank Leaders 2025 are now open! 40 Under 40 seeks to recognize community banking’s brightest, most promising young professionals. Winners are featured in...
Lindsay LaNore: How to Be a Memorable Employee
Last month, we asked what makes a leader memorable. And now, we’re turning the tables: What makes an employee memorable?
Lindsay LaNore: How To Be a Memorable Leader
Managing people is hard work, no matter what level of management you’re at. There are expectations from above and below, with never enough time to meet them all.
Establishing the Right Dynamic at Family-Owned Banks
Family-run community banks, like any family business, come with both strengths and challenges.
Lindsay LaNore: 5 Values to Look for in Prospective Leaders
When it comes to identifying future leaders within any organization, it’s easy to resort to clichés.
Lindsay LaNore: The 5 Ws of Goal Setting
As we look at budgets for the coming year, it’s a great time to think about how we set goals.
Lindsay LaNore: 7 Essentials for Your Leadership Backpack
It’s August, and for many, it’s time to get back to school. Supply lists are on their way, reminding us to get organized for the coming year.
Lindsay LaNore: Practical Tips for Knowledge Transfer
When community bankers with decades of experience retire, they take with them a precious commodity: their knowledge. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Lindsay LaNore: Make Space for Creativity
Out of all the qualities that make a great leader, it could be argued that creativity ranks highest.
Readying the Bench: A Guide for Community Bank Succession Planning
Community banks can prevent costly and disruptive talent gaps by kicking their succession plans into gear sooner rather than later.
40 Under 40: 2024's Community Bank Leaders
Our sixth annual 40 Under 40 community bank leaders awards recognize an insightful group of professionals who have continuously stepped up to make a difference in their communities.
Lindsay LaNore: How To Be An Ambassador For Change
Whether your bank is a de novo or a long-established institution, change is an inescapable constant.
Lindsay LaNore: 10 Quick Wins For New Leaders
Here’s the scenario: You’ve just been put in charge of a new team or new project. No matter how seasoned a leader you are, that can be daunting.
Lindsay LaNore: Purposeful Abandonment and the Art of Letting Go
There’s a great deal of pressure on organizations to be innovative. And in a constantly changing world, that can sometimes be daunting.
What Makes a Good Manager?
Even though taking on managerial duties often comes part and parcel with a promotion, not everyone is suited to it.
Lindsay LaNore: Developing Drive
Drive. It’s a quality we all need and a characteristic we look for when hiring new employees, considering who to promote and identifying leaders within the bank. Yet, it’s often elusive.
ENTER NOW: 40 Under 40: Community Bank Leaders awards
Nominations for 40 Under 40: Community Bank Leaders 2024 are now open! 40 Under 40 seeks to recognize community banking’s brightest, most promising young professionals. Winners are featured in...
Build a Better Board-Succession Process
As customer requirements evolve, a forward-thinking community bank board of directors is critical. Two community bankers explain how they set their boards up for success.
Tips For Community Bank Mentorship Programs
Mentorship programs benefit both mentors and mentees—and it doesn’t have to be an overly formal undertaking. We give tips for getting started.
Lindsay LaNore: How to Dress Up Discussions
Workdays can bring exciting opportunities and challenging headwinds, and the ability to have open dialogue makes it easier to manage both. Communicating effectively within your team can unlock...
Compensation and Benefits for Community Banks' C-Suite
When selecting benefits for your executive employees, their wants and needs may differ depending on the state of the market, where they are in life and other factors. Learn how to tune into those...
Lindsay LaNore: 5 Skills to Master Early in Your Career
What are the career skills you need to learn in your twenties?
40 Under 40: 2023 Community Bank Leaders
In our fifth annual 40 Under 40 community bank leaders awards, meet the winners who are making a difference in their banks and communities through trailblazing innovations, a philanthropic spirit...
Lindsay LaNore: How to Work the Room
These days, we do a lot of our networking online via forums like LinkedIn, but they’re no match for meeting in person.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Cultivate Lasting Success
Preparing for the future is not as much about filling a particular job description as it is about creating a conscious path for our banks and communities.
Step-by-Step Succession Planning for Community Banks
Community bankers and other experts offer a guide to succession planning that'll ensure a seamless transition and future success for the bank and its customers for years to come.
Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust and the Road to Succession
Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust’s succession planning professionals have built up their expertise to better serve the community bank’s retail business customers.
ICBA's Terry Jorde has eyes to the horizon
As Terry Jorde, ICBA chief of staff, prepares to retire, she and her colleagues reflect on her journey from bank teller and bookkeeper to an industry leader.
New ICBA chairman Derek Williams’ commitment to community
Derek Williams, president and CEO of Century Bank & Trust in Georgia, is bringing his passion for community banking to his term as ICBA chairman for 2023/24.
What to expect at ICBA’s 2021 LEAD FWD Summit
This year, the LEAD FWD Summit will continue to be open to more community bankers than ever thanks to its virtual format. It’s time to expand what you know about leadership, technology and more.
CEO Roundtable: Ideas for a successful 2023
We recently spoke with community bank CEOs from across the country to gain insights on how they’re proactively positioning to manage risks and take advantage of growth opportunities in the coming...
Aaron Stetter & Joe Schneider: ICBA state association partnerships
ICBA works closely with our affiliated state associations to identify creative ways to communicate our collective message to Congress and the regulatory agencies.
Board succession planning after a merger
From blending differing values to choosing a new chairman, many challenges can arise after a merger or acquisition.
Introducing the 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator finalists
The 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator spotlighted some of the most innovative fintech providers. We asked this year’s cohort how community banks can harness today’s technologies and solutions to...
40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders in 2022
Our fourth annual 40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders competition highlights the achievements of young community bankers across the nation, who are leading the charge on the future of...
Rebeca Romero Rainey: The power of discussion
Healthy debate helps us achieve an outcome where we’re all pushed to think beyond what might be readily in front of us.
Brad M. Bolton: Educating future leaders
Focusing on the ‘whys’ helps employees see how decisions fit together in a perfect puzzle for high-performing success, and it motivates them to be contributors to that success.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Focus on the light
While our decisions over the past year have been driven even more by our mission than by our bottom lines, we’ve also achieved good results.
Robert Fisher: Committing to being in the moment
Let’s collectively commit to being more present in all of our interactions. It won’t be long until we recognize what a true gift that is to ourselves and those we serve.
Lindsay LaNore: Moving from idea to implementation
Terms like ideation and innovation have become buzzwords in our industry, but it takes great leaders to translate exciting ideas into real value.
9 tips for smooth succession planning
Community bankers and other experts are using succession planning to benefit the entire institution through better communication, recruiting and planning. Here are their tips for finding the best...
Lindsay LaNore: The great brainstorming session
If your bank is entering a new market, offering a new product or service, or establishing a new process, brainstorming is a tool that can help set you on the right trajectory.
Robert Fisher: Who sits at your table?
Working with a community bank is like being welcomed into the fold, and that’s why we choose our partners with care.
Robert Fisher: Education is the foundation
Educated customers form stronger relationships with their community banks. They are more likely to repay loans, live within their means and maintain higher balances.
Robert Fisher: A legacy of good
It’s our responsibility to help make our communities better places to live, to help pull people out of poverty and address issues they’re facing.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Engaging with talent
The people we employ embody our banks, and the personal relationships our teams forge with our customers make us unique in the industry and keep our customers returning.
Lindsay LaNore: Lake rules for the workplace
Rules are the principles that govern conduct within an organization, and they can extend well beyond perfect attendance and dress codes.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Use your voice
[There is a] need for strong voices to weigh in on how new regulation will affect our communities and the customers we serve.
Robert Fisher: What it means to be a community bank
This is our moment to communicate just what it means to be a community bank.
CFOs reveal how they’re budgeting for change
In 2020, we spoke to community bank CFOs about how they were planning amid pandemic-related uncertainties. In 2021, we talked again to many of these executives to get their take on how things went...
Lindsay LaNore: The power of “I don’t know”
In the fast-moving world of social messaging, the phrase “I don’t know” has its own abbreviation. The very existence of “IDK” suggests that the state of not knowing—and being willing to admit...