Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 1
Interview Project with Jan Lanie Executive Vice President of Retail/Operations for KANZA Bank By Ashley Twyman
Organizational Leadership and Ethics 7/6/2009 – 8/16/2009 LEAD 505 Dr. Jeni McRay
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 2 Opening and History I chose to do my interview with Jan Lanie for many reasons. First of all, Jan serves as the Executive Vice President of Retail/Operations for KANZA Bank, the organization I am currently employed by. I aspire to hold an Executive position in a company, myself, so Jan seemed like a perfect candidate for this interview project. Jan also owns Anthony Liquor. She has proven that she is both a motivated and a self driven individual and also an entrepreneur! I think it’s admirable that Jan has been able to hold an Executive position in a work force which tends to be male dominated. I personally admire and look up to Jan for her professional and personal accomplishments. I have observed that Jan is a dominate force in the work place and she seems to handle issues appropriately and professionally. She has a wonderful ability to present herself in a professional manor. In addition, I would like to get to know Jan on a professional and personal level better, and thought this interview process would give me an opportunity to do so. Jan is a leader by nature. She radiates the type of personality that people want to follow and do so willingly. I have chosen her so that I may take a closer look at what makes her so appealing to work with/for, not to mention, successful. Because she holds such predominant leadership roles in our community, I was very interested to learn her opinions on the moral and ethical values of leadership and their roles and presence in company policy and individual psyche. Jan is also a member of the Anthony Hospital Board of Directors, which has become a true passion of hers because it provides “another opportunity for me to help people through the assurance of quality.” Quality was a large area of emphasis for Jan, because she truly believes that everything should have an extremely high level of quality. “I would much rather have quality than quantity any day!” she sates. “It is important for me to find the best and most profitable ways
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 3
to create high levels of satisfaction through quality service, processes and people.” This applies to all aspects of Jan’s professional and personal life. Jan Lanie began working in the banking industry 1986 as a teller at Mid West Savings and Loan in Wichita, Ks. She then moved to Security Savings Bank in Salina, Kansas, and served as a teller and teller supervisor for the company. In 1990, she moved to INTRUST Bank, in Wichita, and was a customer service representative there for six years. In 1996 she became the Retail Operations Officer at INTRUST. Jan held that position for two years and in 1998 became a Branch Manager and Retail Banking Officer for INRTUST. In 2000 Jan came to work for KANZA Bank, and since her arrival has held the same position, though her title has changed. She entered into the company as the Vice President, then was promoted to Senior Vice President, and now serves as the Executive Vice President. KANZA Bank has been a family owned community bank since 1905. KANZA Bank, originally The Sate Bank of Kingman, was chartered on May 23, 1905. I was founded by and for the pioneers who settled in this part of the country. Among founding members of the bank you can find current CEO, John Edgar Boyer IV, and President, Clark E. Boyer’s, greatgreat grandfather, David Walkers and greatgrandfather John Edgar Boyer. The bank’s name was changed to KANZA when expansion efforts called for a more universally friendly name that was nonspecific to the Kingman area. The Kanza name has deep roots in Kansas as it originally referred to the Kanza Indian tribe that initially inhabited these plains. From the Kanza tribe came our state name Kansas. KANZA Bank is a name that reflects the bank’s heritage, roots and commitment to this state.
Interview Results 1. What does “being a leader” mean to you?
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 4 A: The first and most important aspect of being a leader is leading by example. You have to set the standard and live by it and influence others to do the same. Secondly, being a leader means mentoring and coaching. You should be able to help other people see what the right things are and how to do them. 2. Do you consider yourself more of a leader or a manager? A: I would consider myself more of a leader than a manager. Primarily because what I do is more influential than procedural. I sell ideas, concepts and processes. I love to bring in fresh new aspects of the industry as well. I take the lead to resolve conflict or to figure out how to make something better. 3. Do you believe that leaders and managers have the same requirements? A: No, I think that typically a manager manages, or oversees, processes. They make sure specific steps are taken to achieve a specific end result. 4. What is the difference, from your prospective, of a leader vs. a manager? A: Management is more structured than leadership. The difference is when you are a manager you manage processes or people in a process. A leader has the ability to influence those people. Mangers fill more technical roles and expectations. 5. What are some moral/ethical values important in organizational management? A: Among others, integrity, honesty, respect, loyalty, dependability and reliability are important moral/ethical values in organizational management. 6. In your organizational setting, why would moral/ethical values be important to the entire company?
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 5 A: Because they influence everyone and everything in that setting. The values influence the people. You must always be considerate of how you are impacting other people; you can create a good impact with good morals. More satisfied people equals a better company. You can’t teach someone to be nice. You have to find people with a solid foundation to begin with and then build upon that. 7. What types of things does your organization do to ensure their perceived company morals are being upheld throughout the company structure? A: When we first hire employees, we sometimes use a leadership selfassessment test called a “Caliber” assessment. This helps us, as upper management; we get to know that person better than we might in an interview setting because we can see those answers. The test asks questions on the same aspect in four different ways, so it’s not like you can trick it. I have found, in my experience, that a self assessment is never wrong. 8. How do you incorporate your own morals with the company’s desired moral/ethical values? A: It’s pretty easy when your values and the company’s values go hand in hand. I would never work for a company that didn’t share my ethical and moral values. Trust and respect are the most important things. 9. Do you find it difficult to be a woman who holds an Executive position within a company which is mostly male dominated? Why or why not? A: Absolutely not. I am blessed to have John and Clark (John Boyer IV, CEO and Clark Boyer, President) as the people who surround me daily. They never would
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 6 be unfair because of someone’s sex. Generally speaking, I believe it depends on the company. People do make comments. Gender shouldn’t matter. We always make sure we have both genders represented in our print ads. People think that women are less capable, at times, of being leaders and managers because they are “emotional” but I know men who are just as emotional in different aspects. A man may be easily angered – this is still an emotion. I think the most important thing to remember as a leader or manager is that it is ok to act but not react, especially not to react with emotion. 10. Why do you think we hear about so many corrupt upper management and CEOs in the news today? A: They lack the basic values, principles, and ethics. Many are driven so intently by money and power, not by caring about satisfaction. 11. Do you believe, in today’s corporate society that it is socially acceptable or common place to be immoral and corrupt? A: No, because I generally deal with local area bankers and Kansas bankers typically are conservative, trustworthy people of integrity. The people I network with are high integrity people. I don’t surround myself with anything but. 12. Do you believe people “get ahead” in their industries by “bending the rules” or being unethical when it is popular to do so? A: Well, there is a difference between “bending the rules” and “reasonable flexibility”. You can always “slightly flex” the rules but if it is downright immoral, you have to hold that person accountable. Everyone must be
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 7 accountable to others. As long as a person has good, documented reasons for their actions, there shouldn’t be a problem. The problem starts when a good reason can’t be found. 13. Do you think it’s valuable for potential leaders to establish their moral/ethical values before they are in a leadership position? Why? A: Yes. In my opinion I can tell in the first five minutes if a person is ethical or has moral standards. A leader should be able to do this. Of course, there will be time when leaders are faced with situations where they are going to be tested in this aspect, but generally, people should have their values established early on in life. Personal Reaction and Conclusion I certainly agree with Jan’s assessment that in her current position, she is more of a leader than a manager. Her position primarily concentrates on advising, coaching and mentoring branch managers at all of KANZA Bank’s four locations. She spends most of her day talking with her immediate subordinates (retail managers) about what they are accomplishing, what may be new in their branch, the current events in the lives of their employees, and offering advice and coaching on how to handle difficult situations and help the managers learn how to coach their subordinates as well. She doesn’t put together schedules or balance the vault at night (technical aspects), but she does provide a good sense of leadership for others to emulate. Throughout our discussion there were a few areas of conversation that, as I look back through my notes, I find very interesting. First, Jan states that she has never had a
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 8 selfassessment on a leadership test to be wrong. I find this interesting because I have read that it is commonly thought that a selfassessment will typically be different than what other people perceive of you. Jan and I discussed this is further detail and she said that the assessments she has seen have always ended up being “right on”. She used an example of a new employee and his assessment. The assessment concluded that this employee has strong leadership skills and, long story short, summarized his personality perfectly. I brought up the argument that usually a person’s image of themselves is different than the one perceived by others. Jan insisted, because these tests ask many questions in order to come up with one answer, that she has never had one of the leadership selfassessments not match how that person actually is. Even after this discussion, I still believe that a selfassessment, while interesting, could still not be an accurate depiction of the person taking it. My reasoning lies in the fact that when a person fills out a selfassessment, many times they answer the questions how they want to be (their ideal) instead of answering the questions about how they currently are. Another aspect of my conversation with Jan that intrigued me was how she emphasized the importance of surrounding yourself with people with the integrity and same value system as you do. She also made the comment that she would never work for an organization that didn’t share the same ethical values that she, herself, had. It made me think about what I would do if I were in a situation where I discovered that I was employed by and organization that lacked ethics and morals. At first, I wasn’t sure if I would leave an organization if I had a good job there, simply based on that fact. But then I started realizing the impact that poor ethics has on an entire company (from our group
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 9 project on Solomon Brothers). I began to realize why it is important to have people around you that share your beliefs and morals; because you want the individuals that surround you to lift you up, no break you down. It is important to note that in order to succeed, a person must have some type of support system, and if one can build that within the work place, it can serve as a huge benefit and will eventually better their career. Lastly, during the course of our conversation, Jan emphasized that she does believe there are uncoachable people. This is a topic of debate that I have notice that is presented in almost every class I have taken. One theory is that there are no uncoachable people. This same theory states that it is the leader/manager’s job to find a way to coach these people. Another view on this issue states that there are uncoachable people, and that, try as they might, managers/leaders just cannot reach them. “Sometimes you can just coach and coach and coach until you have exhausted every available avenue,” she said. Personally, I tend to agree with Jan’s view of the theory. I believe that it is part of your job as a manager to exhaust your options, but that there are people who simply choose not to listen. I don’t know that I can say this interview has changed me or that any new information was presented, but it certainly was interesting to sit down and talk with someone whom I actually consider to be a good leader. The best advice that I got from our meeting was Jan’s guidance that “you can act, just don’t react”. Letting emotions get the better of you as a manager can cause some unfavorable reactions. It is better to stop and think about the issue at hand and formulate an educated decision before acting. This
Twyman Interview Portfolio Project 10 keeps you from getting too emotionally involved in the situation and levels your train of thought. Many of the things Jan said and areas that her and I discussed, only enforced what I have learned so far in this class, and throughout the entire management program. I feel as though this interview with Jan has really reiterated what I have learned in this program so far. Reading about leadership and management styles and theories is one thing, but seeing it in action and watching how the things which I am currently learning about can and are implemented in the real corporate setting is a nice complement to my current education. Seeing how the methodology of leadership is put into practice was a great experience.