Chapter 1 – Aspirations
Introduction
At the time of this writing it is relatively early in my career, so laying out my career aspirations will likely be widespread, recognizing that not all aspirations may come to fruition. This is not because they are lost sight of, but rather, some may contrast with each other, meaning if one path is chosen, then other goals on other paths may not be feasible. Or otherwise stated, the outlined goals and aspirations may not fall in chronological order, or some may be skipped all together.
That being said, it is not considered a negative thing if all aspirations are not reached, rather it is important to know what action steps are necessary to achieve the most lucrative goals. The ability to distinguish those lucrative goals will come with experience and growth throughout a career.
Aspirations
Progression
This is an immediate or short-term aspiration, meaning within the next two to five years. Advancing my education, business knowledge, and communication skills is in response to an immediate desire for progression within my current employer, First Citizens Bank. After more than three years of experience in my current job position (Branch Manager, Garner, NC), I feel I have nearly developed the necessary skills to move into a branch with higher job expectations and additional staff (resulting in an increase in salary). These necessary skills include:
- Thorough knowledge of our Bank’s lending practices and processes;
- Thorough knowledge of all product offerings;
- Effective staff management, including ‘hands-on’ sales team management, and supervision of operations with branch teller staff;
Following a transition to a larger branch is my desire to transition into Business Banking, and then Commercial Banking, the latter managing a larger portfolio than the former. This is aspiration is relatively short term, compared to the others, and is on the five to ten year horizon. These departments focus on outside business development, sales, and production, whereas the branch level focuses on retail consumers with mostly an inside sales perspective. Naturally the Business and Commercial bankers are the big producers for our company – sourcing the largest loans, and collecting the highest fee revenues while working with high net worth business owners.
The skillset needed to obtain this level of banking includes further in depth knowledge of the Bank’s lending practices, and a mastered knowledge of all product offerings – business and retail. Business and Commercial bankers are not expected to manage a staff like a branch manager. The expectations are to focus on managing a book of customers and deepening those relationships while sourcing new customer relationships at the same time.
In order to accomplish these goals here’s what I will need to do: First, master the job I am in. I feel I am well on my way to accomplishing this, and I may need to soon proceed with discussions on how to get to the next level. Once I have mastered a large branch, it will be time to hone in on my business banking skills. This could be done by increased outside calling activity both individually and with business banking partners. This activity must be noticeable so that supervisors will be confident in recommending a promotion to the business and commercial department.
Area Level Executive
As a part of my internal progression desires, and a more mid-term goal – within the next 15 years, I desire to conquer the business and commercial banking realm and present myself as a well-qualified manager to these bankers. Managing the top producers carries notoriety as well as a larger salary. To be an efficient manager of the business or commercial team would require utilizing the knowledge gained in the branch network as to how to effectively manage people. This knowledge will also be strengthened through the course of my MBA studies.
The skillset described above is necessary in addition to experience gained through years of banking service. Experience is one of the more important factors in achieving this goal.
The method in which to achieve this career segment would be to be a top performer amongst peers for an extended period of time. In addition to that, experience plays another key role, as well as proven, excellent management skills. These two steps in the process require buy-in from current and former supervisors, which is a developmental process in itself, and it is vital for continued success.
Executive Leadership, and more
From a long-term perspective, my career goal is to rise to a corporate level executive, preferably within in First Citizens Bank. My personal and professional values align significantly with the corporate culture of First Citizens, thus it would be enjoyable to make a career with the company.
In addition to the skills required to become an areal level executive, one must present charisma, strong collaborative skills, and ability to work under pressure and scrutiny. The reward for building upon and mastering these skills is very significant financially and socially. The corporate level executives and board of directors are the face of the company.
Like the Area Level Executive, becoming a Corporate Level Executive requires strategic planning. When vying for the Corporate Level Executive suite, however, emphasis is placed less on production numbers and more so on ability to lead corporate initiatives – a somewhat different strategy that that of the Area Level Executive. This type of methodical behavior takes time and commitment. The strategy here is to be recognized as an overall company and corporate culture leader rather than just a top performer who exceeds job expectations.
As mentioned in the introduction, there may be aspirations that move down a different path than staying with one company. As a developed executive leader with experience, I would like to utilize my skills within the sports market. It is uncertain what this would look like or when it would occur, but as a life long sports player and fan, I would certainly enjoy being a part of an executive leadership team within a sports organization or sport affiliated company. My financial background would likely point me in the direction of a CFO or some other financial executive to assist in some sort of treasury capacity.
Another career path that is a viable alternative is obtaining the Certified Public Account accreditation and either establishing my own firm or purchasing an existing firm. This would allow me, and require me, to put to use my sales skills for business development and my business management skills.
A successful and proven career in the banking industry is vital in succeeding in either the sports or accounting industries. In order to move to the sports industry, connections must be made to open doors for career opportunities. These connections could be made through existing connections – warm introductions that generally lead to quality relationships. Transitioning to the accounting industry would be similar in strategy regarding connections; new connections offer prospective clients. Also, the studying for and passing the Certified Public Accountant exam while having a separate career would be a necessity.
Motivations
Family
Providing a quality lifestyle for my family is my number one motivation for developing a successful career. My wife and I plan to have children one day, and we want to be able to provide for them so they grow and develop into great contributors to society. A quality lifestyle is much more than just money – it is about faith, extracurricular activities, and a good education. A family with stable parental careers can provide this.
Never Satisfied
The mark of a true leader is someone who is always looking for more. In order to continually succeed, and be able to provide for my family, and myself, I must never be satisfied with my career achievement. The goals and aspirations aforementioned could take a lifetime to achieve, and that’s the idea. One should never reach a plateau in life and have to wonder: “What’s next?” Life should be a constant climb toward bettering oneself, and having a plan in place to do so is truly an asset.
Passions
Goal Setting, Exceeding
Personal and career goals are necessary to both measure success and encourage it. As I am still in the early phases of my career, it is quite evident that I truly am passionate about setting goals and exceeding them. Goals should be realistic, but challenging. The reward(s) (compensation or otherwise) and self-satisfaction of exceeding goals are truly valuable to me. This is a passion that is applicable to any career field or life stage.
Achieving pre-established goals, and doing so better than most of your peers, is a driving factor in being considered for management or executive level positions. This is a must in order to progress through my company.
Sports
I have grown up playing, watching and coaching sports. Team sports build character, increase motivation, and promote collaboration toward a common goal. Sports are often used as analogies to successes and failures in the work place and in life. And, because of my passion for sports, it would be a true dream to contribute on some high level to the sports industry for a career.
If not literally transitioned into a sporting career field, I would still use this passion to create motivation with team members and staff, create strong collaborative efforts and recognize accomplishments when achieved – no matter which career field I find myself in.
I will also include various sports analogies to draw conclusions and parallels to ideas throughout this book.
Introduction
At the time of this writing it is relatively early in my career, so laying out my career aspirations will likely be widespread, recognizing that not all aspirations may come to fruition. This is not because they are lost sight of, but rather, some may contrast with each other, meaning if one path is chosen, then other goals on other paths may not be feasible. Or otherwise stated, the outlined goals and aspirations may not fall in chronological order, or some may be skipped all together.
That being said, it is not considered a negative thing if all aspirations are not reached, rather it is important to know what action steps are necessary to achieve the most lucrative goals. The ability to distinguish those lucrative goals will come with experience and growth throughout a career.
Aspirations
Progression
This is an immediate or short-term aspiration, meaning within the next two to five years. Advancing my education, business knowledge, and communication skills is in response to an immediate desire for progression within my current employer, First Citizens Bank. After more than three years of experience in my current job position (Branch Manager, Garner, NC), I feel I have nearly developed the necessary skills to move into a branch with higher job expectations and additional staff (resulting in an increase in salary). These necessary skills include:
- Thorough knowledge of our Bank’s lending practices and processes;
- Thorough knowledge of all product offerings;
- Effective staff management, including ‘hands-on’ sales team management, and supervision of operations with branch teller staff;
Following a transition to a larger branch is my desire to transition into Business Banking, and then Commercial Banking, the latter managing a larger portfolio than the former. This is aspiration is relatively short term, compared to the others, and is on the five to ten year horizon. These departments focus on outside business development, sales, and production, whereas the branch level focuses on retail consumers with mostly an inside sales perspective. Naturally the Business and Commercial bankers are the big producers for our company – sourcing the largest loans, and collecting the highest fee revenues while working with high net worth business owners.
The skillset needed to obtain this level of banking includes further in depth knowledge of the Bank’s lending practices, and a mastered knowledge of all product offerings – business and retail. Business and Commercial bankers are not expected to manage a staff like a branch manager. The expectations are to focus on managing a book of customers and deepening those relationships while sourcing new customer relationships at the same time.
In order to accomplish these goals here’s what I will need to do: First, master the job I am in. I feel I am well on my way to accomplishing this, and I may need to soon proceed with discussions on how to get to the next level. Once I have mastered a large branch, it will be time to hone in on my business banking skills. This could be done by increased outside calling activity both individually and with business banking partners. This activity must be noticeable so that supervisors will be confident in recommending a promotion to the business and commercial department.
Area Level Executive
As a part of my internal progression desires, and a more mid-term goal – within the next 15 years, I desire to conquer the business and commercial banking realm and present myself as a well-qualified manager to these bankers. Managing the top producers carries notoriety as well as a larger salary. To be an efficient manager of the business or commercial team would require utilizing the knowledge gained in the branch network as to how to effectively manage people. This knowledge will also be strengthened through the course of my MBA studies.
The skillset described above is necessary in addition to experience gained through years of banking service. Experience is one of the more important factors in achieving this goal.
The method in which to achieve this career segment would be to be a top performer amongst peers for an extended period of time. In addition to that, experience plays another key role, as well as proven, excellent management skills. These two steps in the process require buy-in from current and former supervisors, which is a developmental process in itself, and it is vital for continued success.
Executive Leadership, and more
From a long-term perspective, my career goal is to rise to a corporate level executive, preferably within in First Citizens Bank. My personal and professional values align significantly with the corporate culture of First Citizens, thus it would be enjoyable to make a career with the company.
In addition to the skills required to become an areal level executive, one must present charisma, strong collaborative skills, and ability to work under pressure and scrutiny. The reward for building upon and mastering these skills is very significant financially and socially. The corporate level executives and board of directors are the face of the company.
Like the Area Level Executive, becoming a Corporate Level Executive requires strategic planning. When vying for the Corporate Level Executive suite, however, emphasis is placed less on production numbers and more so on ability to lead corporate initiatives – a somewhat different strategy that that of the Area Level Executive. This type of methodical behavior takes time and commitment. The strategy here is to be recognized as an overall company and corporate culture leader rather than just a top performer who exceeds job expectations.
As mentioned in the introduction, there may be aspirations that move down a different path than staying with one company. As a developed executive leader with experience, I would like to utilize my skills within the sports market. It is uncertain what this would look like or when it would occur, but as a life long sports player and fan, I would certainly enjoy being a part of an executive leadership team within a sports organization or sport affiliated company. My financial background would likely point me in the direction of a CFO or some other financial executive to assist in some sort of treasury capacity.
Another career path that is a viable alternative is obtaining the Certified Public Account accreditation and either establishing my own firm or purchasing an existing firm. This would allow me, and require me, to put to use my sales skills for business development and my business management skills.
A successful and proven career in the banking industry is vital in succeeding in either the sports or accounting industries. In order to move to the sports industry, connections must be made to open doors for career opportunities. These connections could be made through existing connections – warm introductions that generally lead to quality relationships. Transitioning to the accounting industry would be similar in strategy regarding connections; new connections offer prospective clients. Also, the studying for and passing the Certified Public Accountant exam while having a separate career would be a necessity.
Motivations
Family
Providing a quality lifestyle for my family is my number one motivation for developing a successful career. My wife and I plan to have children one day, and we want to be able to provide for them so they grow and develop into great contributors to society. A quality lifestyle is much more than just money – it is about faith, extracurricular activities, and a good education. A family with stable parental careers can provide this.
Never Satisfied
The mark of a true leader is someone who is always looking for more. In order to continually succeed, and be able to provide for my family, and myself, I must never be satisfied with my career achievement. The goals and aspirations aforementioned could take a lifetime to achieve, and that’s the idea. One should never reach a plateau in life and have to wonder: “What’s next?” Life should be a constant climb toward bettering oneself, and having a plan in place to do so is truly an asset.
Passions
Goal Setting, Exceeding
Personal and career goals are necessary to both measure success and encourage it. As I am still in the early phases of my career, it is quite evident that I truly am passionate about setting goals and exceeding them. Goals should be realistic, but challenging. The reward(s) (compensation or otherwise) and self-satisfaction of exceeding goals are truly valuable to me. This is a passion that is applicable to any career field or life stage.
Achieving pre-established goals, and doing so better than most of your peers, is a driving factor in being considered for management or executive level positions. This is a must in order to progress through my company.
Sports
I have grown up playing, watching and coaching sports. Team sports build character, increase motivation, and promote collaboration toward a common goal. Sports are often used as analogies to successes and failures in the work place and in life. And, because of my passion for sports, it would be a true dream to contribute on some high level to the sports industry for a career.
If not literally transitioned into a sporting career field, I would still use this passion to create motivation with team members and staff, create strong collaborative efforts and recognize accomplishments when achieved – no matter which career field I find myself in.
I will also include various sports analogies to draw conclusions and parallels to ideas throughout this book.