NAFCU Journal March April 2021

36 THE NAFCU JOURNAL March–April 2021 EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT Q: What led you to the credit union sector, and to GTE Financial? A: I started my career at a large regional bank in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was fortunate because despite its size, this bank had a warm and engaging culture focused on both its customers and its employ- ees. Being new to the banking world, I thought all financial institutions were built this way. After I left Ohio and joined large national banks, I quickly found that culture and serving the customer fell by the wayside and ROA, margin, stockholder value and pure balance sheet management took precedence. A friend of mine worked at a credit union and wanted to start a commercial banking division and asked for my help to develop it—this led to my first credit union experience. In 2010, I was approached about joining GTE Financial. GTE had suffered consid- erable losses during the 2008 recession. I started my tenure at GTE with the goal of repositioning its downward trajectory. With my special assets and commercial banking experience, I felt optimistic that we could turn the credit union around as GTE has a unique historical place in Tampa Bay. It was undoubtedly import- ant to preserve that legacy and reshape its future for its membership and the Tampa Bay community. Q: What’s your leadership style? How do you lead an engaged team? A: I am a servant leader focused on employee engagement and accountabil- ity. At GTE, the employee is the epicenter of the organization. If you were to ask my employees about my leadership style, they would say I am vocal, approachable, and utilize humor quite a bit. I have found that humor tends to neutralize the pressure employees place on themselves. Showing humility can take away fear, allowing you to obtain success easier and faster. I’m known to work in the call center and our branches, and personally answer member messages. It’s important to understand the work you ask of your employees. Creating and obtaining a level five leadership platform is a true challenge. You must be visible and not micromanage. No job is beneath the CEO. I encourage my team to focus on our membership in every decision they make. I give my team autonomy to make their own decisions. I stay out of their way, but partner with them to help reach our goals. I support them when we make an error and celebrate their success. While we may not always be successful in each endeavor, setbacks can be extremely valuable for future strategies. Q: Over the past year, what has the coronavirus pandemic revealed to you about GTE Financials’ strengths and challenges? A: The pandemic has once again shown me how resilient GTE and the credit union industry is as a whole. GTE’s goals were two-fold: Continue serving our members in a safe way while doing our best to preserve our employee centric culture. Over the course of 2020, our operations team has worked well with our business BRIAN BEST It’s important to understand the work you ask of your employees. Creating and obtaining a level 5 leadership platform is a true challenge. You must be visible and not micromanage. No job is beneath the CEO.