As Carolina Money previously reported, Wells Fargo recently named Kathy Heffley as regional president for South Carolina and Liza Hall as the community banking area president in the Midlands. Both women began their careers as tellers, Heffley at Wells Fargo, Hall at a bank in Georgia, and gained the skills that allowed them to advance to their positions today. Carolina Money previously spoke with Kathy Heffley about her plans for Wells Fargo, but today, Liza Hall is sharing her thoughts on leadership, her personal motivation and the importance of relationship building in the financial industry.
Liza Hall, community banking area president of the Midlands, S.C., Wells Fargo:
Q: Describe your new position at Wells Fargo. What duties and responsibilities will it entail?
A: As the community banking area president of the Midlands market, I oversee the 515 Retail and Small Business Banking team members located in 42 stores across the Midlands. I’m responsible for providing strategic business leadership and guidance and representing Wells Fargo in all aspects of community leadership.
Q: How would you describe your leadership strategy?
A: I use Wells Fargo’s Vision & Values as a guide while considering the needs of our community. I work hands-on with my leadership team to ensure we are doing everything possible to deliver the world-class experience our customers deserve. Our Vision & Values states that, “We want to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.” Therefore, part of my strategy is to develop our team members so that they are building lifelong relationships one customer at a time – our customers are the reason we wake up in the morning. One of my goals is to ensure our team members are living our Vision & Values day in and day out.
Q: What qualities should an efficient leader possess?
A: An efficient leader should possess an open mind, patience, personal accountability, passion for what you do, and consistency, to name a few. Leaders connect to Wells Fargo’s vision – they share their passion and their discipline about how to make our vision come alive. Only when a team member understands how much the leader cares does the team member then permit the leader to lead. How we behave as leaders is just as important as the results we get. Going back to our Vision & Values, “Good leaders inspire teams to have confidence in their leadership; great leaders inspire team members to have confidence in themselves.” How true!
Q: Do you have a leadership role model?
A: I do have leadership role models. Thankfully, the leaders of Wells Fargo are truly exceptional role models, specifically Kathy Heffley and Rick Redden, our lead regional president for the Carolinas. The best leaders are the best coaches. They don’t rely on authority or force of personality. They believe in the inherent knowledge and talent of every team member. They empower their people to develop ideas, test them, quantify the results, and then share the good ones with our other businesses and functions throughout the company. That’s what Kathy and Rick do.
Q: What advice can you offer students who hope to begin a career in finance? What skills and traits should they possess?
A: Finance is about building relationships, which is one of the many reasons I chose this career. My advice would be to capitalize on every opportunity you have to master your relationship-building skills, and you will go far. Take advantage of workshops and classes that focus on building relationships with others, and surround yourself with people who are great at it.
Q: What is your personal motivation?
A: My motivation is my family and my team members, who are like family. I take into account that we all have spouses, children, pets, etc. We have a life outside of our job, and the equilibrium between work and non-work is essential. It’s a personal value I care for deeply. The fact that my team counts on me to lead them gives me the extra motivation I need to do my very best every single day.