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Liz Magennis – Seeking out like-minded leaders, focusing on customers first, and the courage to be curious | Episode 3
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Welcome to episode three of Builder, Banker, Hacker, Chief! The guest on today’s show is Liz Magennis, President of ConnectOne Bank, a commercial and retail bank in the New York metro and New Jersey markets.
On this show, I’m unpacking the stories, decisions, and influences that make people successful leaders. I’m very excited about my conversation with Liz. ConnectOne Bank has a reputation as one of the most creative and forward-thinking banks in the industry.
My name is Nathan Baumeister; I am the CEO of ZSuite Tech and the host of this podcast.
It’s no coincidence that Liz has worked at ConnectOne for 17 years. She caught the CEO’s vision for a radically customer-focused institution and ran with it. You’ll hear Liz talk about how the boldness of her immigrant parents set her up for a life of courageous leaps. She also peels back the curtain on a business decision that everyone said was a sure-fire win, but didn’t pan out as expected. Although she doesn’t brag about it, Liz is a breaker of glass ceilings and a strong believer in the idea that business should be personal. Her commitment to surrounding herself with like-minded people whose strengths complement her own is proven in the trajectory of her career and the phenomenal success of the team at ConnectOne. For Liz Magennis, the life of a leader starts with a willingness to raise your hand first and often.
I’m honored to share a small piece of Liz’s amazing journey with you in this episode.
Resources:
Liz’s media recommendations:
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
Connect:
Recommended
Transcript
Ethical Decision-Making and the Greater Good
00:00:00
Speaker
I make hard decisions every day, but I don't want to say I don't take it personal because I do take it personal regardless of what the decision is. But when you keep in mind what is the greater good of the company, like I always say to some of the people that I work with here, if they have a problem, okay, what is the greater good here? What is it that we're trying to solve? What do we envision here?
00:00:30
Speaker
So if a client has a problem, is it the client's problem? Is it the bank's problem? And how did this problem come about? And what can we do to help rectify it? At the end of the day, it's not necessarily about the profits. It's about how we handle ourselves in order to get to the profit. That's what's important. And I think that's been a great foundation for our organization.
Introduction to Builder Banker Hacker Chief and Guest
00:01:06
Speaker
Hi, my name is Nathan Baumeister, and you're listening to Builder Banker Hacker Chief. A podcast where executives from the world of finance and technology share the story of how they got where they are and the decisions that made them who they are. I'm looking for hidden moments of truth and sacrifice, wisdom and folly, and what it's like to navigate treacherous waters at the helm of a growing company.
00:01:26
Speaker
I want to do all that so that together we can learn from their journey and use that insight personally and professionally. In Episode 3, my guest is Elizabeth McGinnis, President of Connect One Bank. Liz is a remarkable human being, and the story of how she came to lead one of the most creative and forward-thinking banks in America is inspiring.
00:01:46
Speaker
In an industry where profit margin often eclipses the importance of human connection, Liz has helped build a culture of authenticity and intense customer focus. She is the embodiment of courage and empathy in a high-pressure leadership role. Sit back and listen close. You're about to learn the connection between a New York sweater factory and higher education. Watch your step during the presence of a leader who has broken more than one glass ceiling in her career.
Connect One Bank's Community Focus
00:02:24
Speaker
All right, so Liz, super excited to have you on Builder Banker Hacker Chief. If you could, for the audience, just real quick, do an introduction of the amazing bank that you're a part of. Yeah, so my name is Liz McGinnis. I'm the president of ConnectOne Bank. We are a community bank based in Englewood-Cliff, New Jersey, which is in the New York City metro market. We are closing in on $10 billion in assets.
00:02:53
Speaker
We have 24 locations. We have offices in New York, New Jersey, and recently Florida. So we're really excited to have this opportunity to speak with you today.
00:03:05
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's great. And we're going to definitely get into Connect One and all the things that you love about it, but also that I love about it as well because it's such a unique bank with the amazing leadership team that's just accomplished so much. But we want to dive into the stories that made you who you are to be able to accomplish those types of things that you've done at Connect One.
Liz's Upbringing and Family Values
00:03:27
Speaker
And I've always found it helpful as we're thinking about those things that have really shaped the types of leaders that we've become, that there's no doubt that the stuff that happens to us kind of in our formative years really does have a big impact. So I'm curious about as you think about your development as a leader and you think about those formative years, what are some of the stories that come up in your mind that have really played an impact on who you've become?
00:03:57
Speaker
Well, you know, I think not having fear as a as a child, my dad always encouraged me that I could do almost anything. And, you know, I was a tomboy growing up, so I always hung out with the boys and, you know, played sports and
00:04:14
Speaker
did sort of just about anything that I wanted to. So I think I grew up in a unique time and a unique environment. I'm the child of immigrant parents, so they came to this country thinking that anything was possible, which was absolutely true. They valued education and hard work. And so that was, I think, also part of my journey growing up. I grew up in a very middle-class neighborhood in Queens. My parents were laborers.
00:04:45
Speaker
And they always envisioned a good life for their children and always encouraged us to pursue anything that we really wanted to pursue here. And that with good education and the right mindset that you could accomplish almost anything. And I think that's very true. Yeah. I love this idea that one of the first things that you mentioned was that you aren't controlled by fear.
00:05:14
Speaker
and that you're willing to kind of take on a challenge as it goes. I know we've talked about in the past, I think that perhaps some of that story of your parents as they immigrated to the United States might've exemplified that. Could you just tell just briefly kind of that story and how that probably shaped them and how they brought you up and the rest of your kids and being willing to face fear and move forward even in that.
Immigration Story and Impact on Liz
00:05:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, when I think back, I mean, my parents emigrated from communist Yugoslavia. They went to Austria for two years, and they were on their way to Australia, but they made their way to the US instead. I was only two years old. I was a young child. And the fact that they came to an unknown country, not being able to even speak the language and be willing to start their life over,
00:06:13
Speaker
to better the lives of their children was remarkable to me. I think back now and I say, what kind of courage that had to take.
00:06:24
Speaker
And I think I was a fearless child. I have plenty of scrapes and bruises to prove it. I got into some trouble, you know, growing up and always raising my hands in class. I remember, you know, I was that kid that, you know, everybody thought was annoying because I always wanted to, you know, know the, you know, I wanted to know the answer or ask too many questions.
00:06:48
Speaker
Um, but I think that really says a lot about, um, you know, this country in general, that you can come here and pretty much start a new life. So that takes so much courage. And I think that really did shape me. Um, it showed if my parents could do it, anyone could do it. Yeah. I love that.
00:07:08
Speaker
Um, and, uh, I can't help but think of Hermione Granger and Harry Potter always raising her hand, trying to answer, answer the question. No, I love it. I love it.
00:07:20
Speaker
You mentioned education a couple of different times as a key tenant that your parents instilled in you from an early age that that was going to be a great equalizer for you. I remember you shared a story about a lesson that your mother gave in regards to maybe one of your first jobs that really helped to drive
Early Job Experience and Educational Pursuit
00:07:41
Speaker
that point home. Would you mind sharing that story?
00:07:43
Speaker
Oh yeah, that was a tough one. Yeah, so I was 15. I had just gotten my working papers in New York City. My mother was a factory worker and one summer she made me go to work with her for the summer. And in this factory, they sewed sweaters, actually some designer sweaters.
00:08:04
Speaker
And so I went to work with her every day at 7 a.m. and we worked an eight-hour shift. I think at that time, the minimum wage was $3.15, if I remember correctly. And basically what she said to me, and there was no air conditioning, so it was hot in New York City summer. And basically she said to me, if you don't go to school and you don't pursue your dreams,
00:08:31
Speaker
this is the life that you can expect. And that was just very eye-opening. The fact that I didn't understand how hard my mother worked until I actually saw it.
00:08:45
Speaker
You know, that led me to, I mean, I did work a lot, you know, through high school, but I worked at not necessarily the factory. I found, you know, better opportunities where, you know, I would work in a clothing store or I worked in a pharmacy and I had a lot of exposure to sole proprietors and business people. So I saw that side of it too, which was, that was more interesting to me, you know, not necessarily about the work itself,
00:09:16
Speaker
But how is it that these people came into business and how did they get where they were? And so that was always appealing to me. How do I become one of those people?
00:09:27
Speaker
Yeah, that level of curiosity is super interesting in how it drove. My guess is that the same curiosity that made you want to know the answer to all the questions and test out things also drove it as you started working and getting jobs asking, hey, how did this business start or how did this happen and really helped you to get a greater view of what was going on there.
00:09:51
Speaker
So as you finished off high school and the education was such a big piece, I'm guessing you went to university, right?
00:10:01
Speaker
I did, but I went in a very fandangle sort of way. So I graduated high school six months early, and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. My options were very limited. My parents did not believe in going away to school, which was always my dream. So I was actually contemplating going to Queens College for an accounting degree, but I wasn't really sure. And I had a friend of mine that was working for a bank in New York City.
00:10:30
Speaker
She was the secretary for a company back then known as Irving Trust Company, which was a very prestigious bank in New York City. She said that she knew somebody that was looking for administrative help. I said, okay, I'll just go interview, see what it's like.
00:10:46
Speaker
And when I went to go work for this gentleman, my typing skills were absolutely horrible. But I was that curious kid. And I remember going to work for this gentleman who ran a banking office. And back then, branches had a lot of lending authority. This particular branch, which was located on the corner of Park in 42nd Street, right across the street from
Career Beginnings in Banking
00:11:12
Speaker
Grand Central Station,
00:11:14
Speaker
You know, it was very business banker oriented. So there were a lot of law firms there, real estate firms.
00:11:22
Speaker
I was in the business banking center. I was learning a lot. Interestingly enough, I had thought about just working there for a couple of months or a year, and then I was going to go off to college. But then I had an opportunity. My boss said to me, we will pay for your schooling if you stay here. I said, what do you mean? They had this whole tuition reimbursement program.
00:11:49
Speaker
And then I actually got to go to St. John's University, which was really the school that I wanted to go to, which I didn't think I could afford. So I ended up going there for two years. I got promoted at the bank. I was in a personal banker training program with college graduates of schools that I'd never even heard of, like, you know, Smith College and Bucknell and, you know, really bright, bright kids. And, you know, just had such a tremendous opportunity. So,
00:12:19
Speaker
I ended up staying there for a couple of years, and then I continued on with my education, but ironically, I didn't graduate college until much later after I was in my 20s. But it was an interesting experience, but I definitely learned a lot along the way. Yeah, well, I love that path that you followed in being different.
00:12:48
Speaker
I'm not going to work for four years. I'm going to just do my degree and then I'm going to move forward. But it seemed like you intermingled a start of a career with education at the same time. How do you think that that helped you and gave you perhaps, at least for you, an edge up kind of in the banking world?
00:13:08
Speaker
I think it taught me a lot of grit, a lot of perseverance. You know, it was interesting how I could transition from being a student to being a business person, to being a banker, really understanding every aspect of my daily life and really taking advantage of the networking opportunities that I had, the mentoring opportunities that I had,
00:13:36
Speaker
and just having a broad group of people that were able to influence me and help me along my journey as I continued to grow. You know, after Irving Trust Company was taken over by Bank of New York, and after working there for several years, I ended up going to a commercial bank in the Garment District, working as I was
00:14:02
Speaker
an assistant manager already of a branch, also very business-oriented, at the age of 21. I was an assistant vice president. I eventually took over that branch at the age of 25. I was the youngest VP in that particular bank.
00:14:22
Speaker
And I learned so much from the management of that bank of how client service was so important and how important it was to really understand the client and really dig deep as to what the client's wants and needs were and to provide a level of service that was in a very competitive market that could make a significant difference.
00:14:51
Speaker
This level of promotion at such a young age is no accident. It's a testament to Liz's hard work competence. At a time when her peers were in their junior year of college, she was an assistant vice president to the bank. Let that sink in. You can't sustain that kind of success if you're fueled by fear. Her teachability allowed her to learn from a diversity of people in a demanding environment. And while some bankers focus on getting better numbers, Liz focused on better relationships with her clients. And the numbers followed.
00:15:26
Speaker
So, you know, I learned a lot. I was there for seven years until I decided to start a family and moved to New Jersey.
Mentorship and Maintaining Relationships
00:15:35
Speaker
So, you know, that's sort of how I ended up in New Jersey. But I learned a lot of lessons along the way, so it was a great experience for me.
00:15:44
Speaker
Yeah, the breadth of mentorship that you exposed yourself to at a young age, I think is really, really cool because you had your mentors at the various banks that you worked with, but at the same time, you were also working through your educational pursuits. You had your different professors and students.
00:16:04
Speaker
Does does any of them stand out in particular or any lesson as you think back through those times that that kind of has stuck with you since then? Interestingly enough, you know, one thing that I did learn early on was not to burn any bridges. You know, the world is very small. And as I've gotten older, it's gotten significantly smaller.
00:16:33
Speaker
Um, people do know one another and, um, you know, Ironically, you know, just a few years ago, Frank ran into someone that I worked with at this particular bank, um, 20 years ago in the garment district. And he said, does Liz McGinnis work for you? And he said, yes. And he said, Oh my goodness, please tell her I said, hello. And it was just so, you know, it was just so eyeopening because what you learn along the way is.
00:17:03
Speaker
that there are so many people that intersect and cross your, you know, cross in your life that you need to keep those conversations open. You need to be open minded and you need to make sure that you're genuinely a good and authentic person because people can see right through that. And it's sort of how I've always lived my life, you know,
00:17:31
Speaker
Frank, my boss always says, Liz, don't play poker because you wear your emotions on your sleeve. But I don't know how to be any other way. And for me, that's been really important. And I encourage even my own children to always be authentic. And if you do the right things for the right reasons, you won't necessarily be wrong or you won't be in trouble for it, is what I tell them.
00:18:01
Speaker
I love that. I know one of the old adages for many years back is, hey, it's not personal, it's business.
Authentic Leadership and Company Alignment
00:18:12
Speaker
That's never really struck me as a really good saying because I am a person, whether I'm in business or in my family life or with my friends. I love that you brought up this idea of being your authentic self.
00:18:27
Speaker
And, um, doing that all throughout, um, no matter where you find yourself, because in the end, everybody is connected. Yeah, absolutely. And listen, you're not going to necessarily like everyone that you come in contact with, or you might not hit it off with everyone that you come in contact with, but you know, you can still be polite and you can still be professional and you can still be nice to that person. Um, and,
00:18:56
Speaker
You know, when it comes to that saying, I think that's a terrible saying, it's not personal, it's business, because I'm with you on that. You know, we're all human beings, and we're all people in the end. And, you know, at the end of the day, I want to feel like I served
00:19:13
Speaker
you know, my client or I served my staff and I was there to help them. Um, I never want to go home and feel like I made a decision or I said something that would have insulted someone or upset someone that just wouldn't sit well with me. Yeah. How do you balance that against some of the hard decisions that you have to make as a business leader though?
00:19:36
Speaker
I make hard decisions every day, but I don't want to say I don't take it personal because I do take it personal regardless of what the decision is. But when you keep in mind what is the greater good of the company, like I always say to some of the people that I work with here, if they have a problem, okay, what is the greater good here? What is it that we're trying to solve? What do we envision here?
00:20:06
Speaker
So if a client has a problem, is it the client's problem? Is it the bank's problem? And how did this problem come about? And what can we do to help rectify it? At the end of the day, it's not necessarily about the profits. It's about how we handle ourselves in order to get to the profit. That's what's important. And I think that's been a great foundation for our organization.
00:20:35
Speaker
We put so much stress on culture, but so many people have different definitions of what culture is or how do you maintain a certain culture or what is the culture? Everybody has a culture, right? And then you want to make sure that you don't have subcultures. And so.
00:20:51
Speaker
I think at the end of the day, if you, you know, when I think about the values of our organization, our number one core value is people first, right? So that means people everywhere. That means our clients. That means our staff. That means our shareholders. That means, you know, our vendors. It means the people that we deal with every day. And how is it that you are presenting yourself to the people as a representative of the institution and of our bank, of our organization?
00:21:21
Speaker
I tell people all the time, after you leave the office, it doesn't end how you represent Connect One Bank, because people still associate you with the bank. And so it's so important to keep that in mind that we're a reflection of what we do every day.
00:21:46
Speaker
Talk about integrity. Who you are is a reflection of what you do every day. That's not to say that you should never be able to disconnect from your work, but it does mean that if you're living a double life, if you treat people better at work than you do in your personal life, eventually something will break.
Breaking Stereotypes in Banking
00:22:03
Speaker
If a leader is duplicitous, untrustworthy, or vindictive, those behaviors will manifest in the team. If a leader models transparency, empathy, and integrity, the employees will follow that example, and the culture will rise.
00:22:20
Speaker
Absolutely. And vice versa, too. Right. Like when you leave your family every day to go to the bank, you don't stop representing who your family is as well. Exactly. Which comes back to this idea that we are a person no matter where we find ourselves and really lean into being our own authentic selves. As as you shared your story of, you know, very quickly moving into significant leadership roles,
00:22:49
Speaker
I can't help but ask myself, what were the things that you've learned? Because there's really two big stereotypes that you broke through in the banking industry. One, your youth and moving into these significant banking roles very early on, as well as you probably, as you looked around the leadership at the various banks, you probably didn't see a lot of females there as well in those leadership roles.
00:23:19
Speaker
What have you learned kind of breaking through some of these various different stereotypes throughout your life and how is it that you take those learnings and now apply that to your own mentorship or own leadership styles?
00:23:33
Speaker
You know, it's interesting. I was thinking this morning about our upcoming conversation and I was thinking about Irving Trust Company and specifically, and I was thinking about, you know, I was working in a branch network and back then, so that's 1987, that company was actually pretty diverse. I never thought of it, but this morning when I was thinking about it and we had,
00:24:04
Speaker
You know, I remember this one woman, Joan Kelly. She probably had children my age, so maybe she was in her 40s. She was a very well educated, beautifully dressed, you know, woman. She happened to be black and she was a banker.
00:24:24
Speaker
And I remember, you know, her help helping me along and mentoring me. And then I could remember some of the branch managers getting together at our office and some of them were, you know, they were probably 50, 50 women and men. And even when I think about my personal banking class, I would say it was okay, maybe it wasn't 50, 50, but maybe it was 60, 40 men to women. So I think they were a little ahead of their time.
00:24:52
Speaker
And also, I think in New York City, it's a little bit easier to be diverse than maybe other parts of the country. When I came into community banking here in New Jersey, that's sort of where I saw a difference. And I think Urban Charles Company was a big company. Bank of New York was a big company.
00:25:14
Speaker
Um, even commercial bank of New York, where I worked in the garment district, you know, there were women that were in the international banking department and there were women, um, you know, in positions of power. Um, but it, you know, it's just strike. It struck me this morning when I thought about it. And, um, I don't know if it's just because community banking is smaller. I don't know if it's just because when it starts, maybe, you know, more
00:25:41
Speaker
people tend to bring boards together and management together that are more like them. So that was striking to me as I made the move from New York City into New Jersey. And as you made that move, how did you react to that? How did you deal with that? I mean, did it affect you in any way or did you just keep going as you do?
00:26:06
Speaker
So I had one situation where I went to work at a bank and it was a community bank. And I was the only female loan officer. And there were five men working in the department that I was working for. And I could tell that they were not happy to have me there. And they were sort of like, well, you know, what's this woman going to do? And I was the youngest again.
00:26:35
Speaker
the youngest woman. You know, I had computer skills, I would say that some of them did not. I was quicker, I was, you know, just
00:26:46
Speaker
very anxious to get started and moving. What I did was I took on a project and I said to myself, okay, how can I get on everyone's good side? There was this project that they had where they had to call all their customers and let them know about a promotional rate that was going on for a loan program. I volunteered to call all of these clients because this was a little bit of a burden for the loan officers at the time.
00:27:16
Speaker
I sort of had to suck it up and just prove that I was one of the team and that I wasn't there to steal their clients. I wasn't there because I had an agenda. I just wanted to come to work, do my job, do a great job, make everyone look good. We were a team. And so I always sort of, you know, try to get on everyone's good side by saying, Hey, I'm here to add value. I'm not here to disrupt anything.
00:27:43
Speaker
you know, how can we be stronger and better together? And I think that was, it was good for me because I had to figure out a tough situation and it was good for them because I think that they had a, you know, a newfound appreciation. Maybe they had some preconceived notions about me before, you know, I even got there. And, you know, I think that helped everyone in the end.
00:28:10
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And it's focus on the objectives, focus on the results and focus on working together to get there. And if you're in a good organization with a good culture, that will be recognized and valued. I love that. Absolutely. I love that. I'm sure sometimes it happens where folks try to do that and it's not recognized and valued. It doesn't sound like you've ran into that situation in your life, but do you have any advice for people that find themselves in that situation?
00:28:41
Speaker
Yeah, I think you have to make an effort to search out like minded people. I think sometimes one of the challenges I think that every organization has is that you might not necessarily have the best manager that has happened to me in the past where I sort of had a run in and ironically she was a woman and
00:29:08
Speaker
you know, I tried to actually develop friendships with other people of her peer group. So I had some allies, right? So when, you know, she tried to maybe disparage me or say that I wasn't working out, I had other managers that said, well, I would, I'll take Liz if, you know, if you guys, if something's not working out, I'll take her. So I moved to offices.
00:29:38
Speaker
So I found that to be very helpful because I developed a reputation outside of that particular office of always raising my hand and always volunteering. So I tried to get in front of other people in the same organization that may be in other departments, in other offices, so that, you know, just like I said, not everybody clicks.
00:30:04
Speaker
So sometimes you just have to find your person that maybe you click with in an organization. Yeah. Well, and I think that's a great transition about, you know, finding leaders that you can click with. Um, because, you know, when you first told me about your story of joining connect one, looking at the rest of your career, it's like, that's a pretty crazy decision.
Joining Connect One Bank
00:30:29
Speaker
Right. So would you share a little bit, you know, from a career perspective, where were you?
00:30:35
Speaker
when you first met Frank, and what was it that got you to make this, but now you could say amazing decision, but I'm sure at that point is like, this might be a little crazy. It was actually crazy. I will share with you. It was a very difficult time in my life. I was newly divorced. I had two young girls. They were six and seven.
00:31:05
Speaker
And I was at an organization where we were doing participations with, at that time, it was North Jersey Community Bank. And the chief lending officer and I developed a relationship, you know, a friendship over these loans and stuff. And, you know, one day he said to me, he's like, you know, would you consider come working here? And I was like, you guys are a de novo. Like, are you crazy? I was like, you know, everything's fine here. Everything's great.
00:31:30
Speaker
But the president of the bank that had hired me had retired. And I said, okay, something's going on here. Let me see if that job is still available at North Jersey. So I called the gentleman and I was talking to him and he said, okay. He said, you just have to meet the chairman of the board. It's just a formality. I said, okay. And I came all prepared. I had all my
00:31:55
Speaker
write-ups. I was ready for any question that he would ask me. I had the pleasure of meeting Frank Sorrentino, who was the chairman of the board at the time and the founding member of Connect One Bank. Now it's Connect One Bank.
00:32:13
Speaker
We were just having a conversation and he was asking me, you know, what I thought about client service. What did I think about? And it was so reminiscent of the bank that I had worked for in the garment district because he was so client focused. And I had been working at a, I've worked at larger institutions, I've worked at smaller institutions, but they were all
00:32:35
Speaker
more concerned about my book of business or they were more concerned about what kind of margins we could make or even talking about returns and all this stuff. Frank never spoke about that. What he talked about was his vision about the bank and what he envisioned for the future of Connect One Bank. I was just like, oh my goodness, I love what this
00:33:00
Speaker
the gentleman is saying, I was like, I think I could really make a difference here.
00:33:09
Speaker
Building a bank can be about so much more than a strong balance sheet. By setting out a compelling vision for the bank, Frank was able to attract other leaders who shared that vision. You can understand the fundamentals of building a sound bank without understanding how to attract employees and clients who want to collaborate on something bigger. Liz has been building that vision with Frank for nearly two decades, and it's working out very well. And I said, you know what?
00:33:37
Speaker
If it doesn't work out, I can always go back. I can get a job anywhere. Um, I could go back to the city if I had to. And I said, you know what, let me just take that leap of faith. You know, at this point I had nothing to lose. And so I took the leap of faith. I don't know. There must've been someone tapping me on the shoulder to say, just do it. Um, again, that whole fear factor, right? Like what's the worst that can happen?
00:34:03
Speaker
And I joined the company, and that was in 2006. And then Frank became the chairman and CEO in 2007. So at that point, I didn't even know Frank was going to be in charge. There was a management shift. And then at the end of 2007, he asked me if I would consider being the chief lending officer. And again, I was like, OK, I don't know. I've never done this before.
00:34:34
Speaker
I've never run a bank before. We'll figure it out together. We were very tiny at that point. We were only 200 million in assets. I said again, what the heck with it? What do I have to lose? If I fail, I can always get a job somewhere else or have other options. In 2007, I became the chief learning officer. I had to learn really quick.
00:34:58
Speaker
I was joking with Frank. I said to him, more than half of his management team at that point were female, which was unusual in community banking in New Jersey. But here we are. And then in 2020, I had the opportunity to take on the role of president. And I can't believe it's been over two years.
00:35:21
Speaker
I'll be with the company now at the end of September. It'll be 17 years and it's been an amazing run.
00:35:32
Speaker
Yeah. There's so many amazing nuggets just in that really brief story, Liz, that I just want to peel apart a little bit. The first is, as you mentioned, kind of going back to this fear aspect, like how do you have courage when there are things that you fear? And one of the things I saw you touch on several times is you always ask yourself, well, what's the worst that could happen?
00:35:55
Speaker
I think lots of times the fear that holds people back is based off of an expectation of things are going to, like the worst is actually really the worst. But if you sit back and you ask yourself really though, what is the worst? Like I do this thing when I have to make big decisions. Um, I take out a piece of paper and I draw a line down the middle of the piece of paper and I do pros and cons and I just kind of write out my thoughts. And then I kind of just look and I say, you know what,
00:36:25
Speaker
nothing's that bad, you know, like, it's worth it. So that's sort of what I did. And, you know, it's been amazing. And even, you know, taking on the chief lending role at that time, was a challenge. But
00:36:41
Speaker
Again, what is the worst that can happen? When you really think about it, it's really not that tragic. And I think as women, and this is one thing that I've told my daughters, we don't have to have it right 100% of the time. I read an article where they said, if a man and a woman have an opportunity to be promoted, if the man only knows 60%, he'll raise his hand and jump in.
00:37:10
Speaker
The woman feels like she needs to know 100%. And I tell people all the time, don't do that. Just go for it. Don't be afraid. You don't have to know everything. And I think what's also really a lesson that I learned early on, this one woman that I had worked for briefly,
00:37:31
Speaker
Don't be insecure. And so I've, as a woman, make sure that, you know, I'm confident in my ability to surround myself by people that might know more than I do. And that's perfectly fine.
00:37:46
Speaker
I'm perfectly okay with that because I can't know everything. It's just not it's not humanly possible. So, you know, I surrounding myself by right people that I can motivate to come together.
00:38:02
Speaker
for the goal or the purpose or the vision of the company, that's really what my role is, to help, to serve them and how can I help them get to where they need to be successful to make our company a success. Yeah, absolutely. The other lesson that I got from your story of your decision to join Connect One and then subsequently staying there and all the promotions,
00:38:28
Speaker
is Frank's ability to vision cast and provide this idea that was inspirational beyond just, hey, we're going to be profitable and make some money. So I'm curious what you have taken from that and how you recruit and how you grow your teams and lead your business.
00:38:56
Speaker
I think what's so unique about us as an organization is that we genuinely care about the client and genuinely care about our reputation in the marketplace, how we conduct ourselves, the image that we portray, and what we do on a day-to-day basis. It's interesting because, frankly,
00:39:21
Speaker
is an entrepreneur. I tell him now he's a banker, so I can't say that anymore. But he was an entrepreneur. And I think when you have an entrepreneurial spirit, it's actually a little freeing, right? Because you're making business-based decisions.
00:39:39
Speaker
And I think too many people in banking, especially when you grow up in banking, um, you're like, Nope, this is the rule. These are the rules. These are the regulations. This, you know, it's in a box and you can't go outside the box, but that's not necessarily true. I just think that you have to, um, think differently and think about, okay, what is it that the client, you know, what is it that they need and how you deliver the message? So it's always easy to just say no.
00:40:07
Speaker
I tell my bankers that all the time. What are the options though? When a client comes to you with a request or a problem, you need to offer solutions and options to that request or those problems. Saying just yes or no, that's easy. It can be an order taker for that, but that's not what we're providing. We're providing that level of advice and trust and loyalty from our client base.
00:40:37
Speaker
We want to be more than just order takers or saying yes or no. At the end of the day, I tell new recruits especially, if you want to feel like you have a sense of accomplishment, this is a great place to work because you'll be able to raise your hand. Your ideas will be taken into consideration. Your voice matters. You're empowered to make decisions.
00:41:04
Speaker
You have access to senior management. If you're just looking for a nine to five job, this is probably not the right place for you because we encourage people to share their ideas and really be a part of the fabric here at the company.
00:41:23
Speaker
And I think that's really powerful for people if that's the environment that you thrive in. It's a fast-paced environment. You have to think on your feet. You have to make decisions. And for some people, that may be a little too stressful. But I think we have put together a very amazing, we've put together an amazing team. I mean, we've run a lean organization
00:41:52
Speaker
For a company our size, we still have only 500 employees, which is remarkable, which means that everyone rolls up their sleeves, everyone keeps each other accountable. As we've continued to grow and add new staff and add new recruits, how do we have them become part of the Connect One team? And how do we really encourage them to make a difference in the organization?
00:42:22
Speaker
And, you know, for some people that's intimidating, but for others, that's a thriving environment. Yeah. Well, one thing that I always talk about, and it sounds like you all live this on a day to day basis. If you're very overt about your culture.
00:42:38
Speaker
from the very first moment that you interact with the possible candidate, oftentimes they will self-select whether or not they're going to like that culture. And it's helpful for everybody because you don't want a bad fit on either side of the coin. And so having that clear distinction of here's how we do things and why, you might love it, you might hate it.
00:42:58
Speaker
But you'll know that before you can make the decision to join us. Yeah, absolutely. It doesn't help anyone to put on pretenses or to tell people that we're something that we're not. I tell people all the time, I remember having a conversation with someone, they're like, wow.
00:43:18
Speaker
everything that you said when we met was true. What do you mean? Well, it's a very fast-paced environment and everybody's very helpful and everybody loves to collaborate. I said, yeah, because if you don't like to do those things, why would you join our company? Again, being authentic and genuine, I think serves everyone well in the end. Yeah. All right. So 2006, you joined this little de novo.
00:43:48
Speaker
And obviously you can fast forward now approaching 10 billion in assets. From my perspective, one of the most innovative banks in the country
00:43:59
Speaker
on how you do business, how you integrate technology, caring about your customer, all that fun stuff. But I know that not everything's been sunshine and roses during that whole time. As you and I have talked in the past, there was one story in particular that I thought was really interesting that I think the bank probably learned a lot.
00:44:21
Speaker
But I also think our listeners can learn a lot too about some of the difficulties that you had.
Taxi Medallion Crisis and Risk Management
00:44:29
Speaker
And the one I'm thinking about is the taxi medallion side. Yeah, we hate talking about it. But there's so much to learn from these things. And actually, what's important about that is what's happening in today's news as well. So I think
00:44:50
Speaker
I forget exactly what year it is. But we had a tax medallion portfolio where we lent money to tax medallion owners for the purchase of tax medallions. And that market, once Uber came into the New York City market and upset that whole entire market, the value of those medallions had dropped significantly.
00:45:16
Speaker
And so, you know, we had some loans on our books where we had issues with those loans and other banks did as well. What was interesting about that time was, you know, New York City only issued 13,000 medallions. And that started back in, I believe in the 1920s or 30s because they wanted to protect the taxi drivers.
00:45:42
Speaker
And they protected, it was the TLC and Taxi and Limousine Commission of New York City that issued these licenses. So when we initially thought about going into this space of lending, I could remember auditors, regulators saying, this is a great business and there's no risk here because you have a limited amount of licenses.
00:46:10
Speaker
had to buy a medallion to get into this business. Okay, great. Everything's hunky dory. Well, the regulators said it was good. The regulators said it was good. Everybody said it was good. Except no one at that time could fast forward into the future to think that an app would disrupt the whole entire industry. And all of a sudden, everything came to a screeching halt.
00:46:40
Speaker
And taxi drivers who sometimes would not own a medallion but actually work for a medallion owner started driving for Uber. So now all of a sudden, taxi medallion owners didn't have drivers. And so they were jumping ship because Uber promised them all this money and that they would
00:47:02
Speaker
you know, it's going to be so much better for them. They could drive their own car. They didn't need to have all the right rules and they didn't have to follow all the rules and regulations of the taxi and the machine commission. So now they're like, Oh, this is great. I'm going to make more money and everything else. And, um, that was sort of a dark time for us because it just goes to show that nothing is a hundred percent guaranteed and
00:47:30
Speaker
There are things that will happen in the future that we just can't predict. And you have to be prepared for that. And so we learned a valuable lesson. There are always risks associated with any line of business that you're in. And you can't possibly predict everything that's going to happen, but you have to be somewhat prepared.
00:47:55
Speaker
And we dealt with it. We had some repercussions of our actions. Our stock price was suffering a little bit. And people were concerned about the bank and how we were going to work out these loans. But in the end, we did. And now, we still have a small percentage of loans on the books, but we got through it.
00:48:23
Speaker
but it just goes to show that nothing is 100% guaranteed. No matter what anyone tells you. Yeah. Even your auditors and regulators, right? Exactly. Yeah. The case study of Uber disrupting this industry is one of the most interesting disruption stories of all time. And it's interesting that you were in the center of it while it was happening from a banking perspective.
00:48:54
Speaker
But I can't help but wonder if watching what happened to the taxi industry has informed the way that you all think about technology, innovation, and disruption in different ways than other banks have.
Adopting Technology in Banking
00:49:07
Speaker
Any thoughts on that? Listen, I think technology is here to stay. I think there are so many bright ideas out there. And I think we could easily take advantage
00:49:24
Speaker
of technology from a banking perspective. One of the things that I would always joke with Frank about is, you know, when you go to Amazon and you buy something and you literally just do the one swipe, you know, buy now, just do one swipe. I say to him all the time, like, we have to get to that point where want to open an account, one swipe, right? We have to make it so easy and so seamless for someone.
00:49:51
Speaker
And we haven't gotten there yet, right? We haven't figured that out yet. But I think it's so important because as we continue to go on into the future, it's all about convenience. People want whatever's convenient. That instant gratification is so strong, especially as the younger generation gets a little bit older. No one wants to be inconvenienced by anything.
00:50:20
Speaker
You know that whole, oh no, you have to wait for something. There's no waiting anymore. So I think it forces us to think differently because we are a lean organization and because we have a low efficiency ratio, we want to make sure that we're using technology.
00:50:40
Speaker
to the best way that we can. Back in the past, we've tried certain systems that just didn't work and we would just scrap them and say, okay, let's try something else.
00:50:53
Speaker
And you have to be willing to do that. You know, don't just stick with something because you're like, well, yeah, it's not perfect, but we'll figure it out. It just, it'll drain your, it'll just drain your staff. It'll, you know, people will not use it. It'll become cumbersome and it'll just get worse as time goes on. You're better off just scrapping it and just trying to find a new solution.
00:51:15
Speaker
And I think our Chief Brand and Innovation Officer has done a great job of partnering up with different technology companies and really vetting the whole process to see how we could be more efficient, how we can do things better, faster, in a very safe and secure manner, right? Because our clients are trusting us with their money. So we have to make sure that we're very disciplined and prudent about those decisions.
00:51:43
Speaker
So I think those partners have to work together with us to make sure that we're delivering not only a good product and something that works, but also a safe and secure product.
00:51:56
Speaker
You know, I love it. I think every time, it doesn't matter what I'm doing, reading a new article, doing a Google search, whatever it is, if I see some new software or an app or something, I'm so curious about what is it that they could do, right? And have we thought about this and, you know, how does this, you know, help us in the future? And it could be something very simple. It could be, you know, something just to organize. We were talking about Slack the other day, you know, just
00:52:23
Speaker
and things that maybe you take for granted that you see more often than I do. When we went on the Google platform, that was like, oh my God, what are you thinking going on the Google platform as a bank? But we just said, listen, we love the chat feature. We love the email system. There are certain things about it that just would help us with our flexibility and our ability to adapt and be mobile.
00:52:52
Speaker
Liz is talking about a posture, not a piece of software. ConnectOne has a singular focus on serving their clients' needs. When they find technology that could help achieve that outcome, they're willing to try it. As a leader, Liz is setting the tone for her team to dive into a problem and hack their way into solution. It isn't about writing software, it's about a culture that embraces creative problem solving.
00:53:21
Speaker
And that was always sort of Frank's vision for the company was to always use technology to help us just be ahead of the curve. And I think that it's important, especially as the future evolves.
Curiosity and Innovation in Banking
00:53:39
Speaker
It's just amazing what's happening out there right now. I mean, I don't even want to talk about chat GPT.
00:53:47
Speaker
Yeah, I've recently started putting the window on my extra monitor with chat GPT. Just, hey, let me try something now and see what it can do. And it is quite amazing. But there's two things that I took from what you said that really, really stood out. One, you're not allowing yourself or your bank to be comfortable in the status quo.
00:54:12
Speaker
and you're pushing and it ties back to that curiosity aspect that we talked about way back like in the beginning when you're talking about your formative experiences, like always be curious, always looking for new things, being able to ask, well, why not instead of why? And it strikes me that as an industry from a banking perspective, the number one thing that you get from a reward perspective is
00:54:41
Speaker
When you're making loans, you don't get huge celebrations for making a decision where a loan ends up being good. But there's huge ramifications and repercussions if you say no, or sorry, if you say yes to the wrong loan. And so I think that's why there is a lot of default in the banking industry to want to say no first and then maybe crawl back to a yes. But if you have that mentality in technology and innovation,
00:55:08
Speaker
Then you're going to miss out because making a decision on a technology solution isn't like making a decision on a loan and you are always able to, as you mentioned, hey, if it didn't work, we're going to move forward afterwards and we're going to scrap it and we'll start over again. And I think making that shift is pretty hard in our industry, but even just from a human condition perspective,
00:55:28
Speaker
Psychologists have said that people look at a loss as two to three X bigger than any gains. So if you lose $10 versus winning $10, the losing $10 actually feels like you'd have to be able to win like 30 or $40 for it to be equivalent. And I love how through your story you've been able to share how you're changing that dynamic within this industry, which is just amazing.
Leadership Insights and Conclusion
00:55:56
Speaker
So, okay, we have two questions that we always like to ask our guests. The first one is, what's your favorite non-business book that you'd recommend? And the reason we love asking this is because look, there's plenty of people that ask what business books you like to learn. It's kind of boring. That's kind of boring. So what's one of your, some of your favorite non-business books that kind of stands out to you?
00:56:25
Speaker
So there's one very simple book. It's a tiny book. And this is why I tell people that I like this book. It's called Tuesdays with Morrie. Mitch Albom actually wrote it. He was a sports writer. And it tells the story about how it's based on a true story, how he interviewed one of his professors while the gentleman was dying. And Morrie, you know, looks back on his life and
00:56:52
Speaker
wants to celebrate all the good things in life and wants to be remembered in a certain way. So he actually has, I don't know if it's actually a funeral or it's been a while since I read the book or a party, because he didn't want, he didn't want people to say all nice things about him when he couldn't hear about it. He wanted to hear what people had to say about him while he was still alive. And so it always kind of stuck with me because, you know, we take
00:57:21
Speaker
everyday life for granted. And I think that it's so hard to maybe take a step back and say, okay, is everything okay today? What am I grateful for? They always tell you to do this whole grateful exercise, but do we really do that? And even driving to work in the morning, sometimes I'm just like,
00:57:42
Speaker
Wow, it's sunny out today. And you know what? It's winter right now, but in a couple of weeks, the trees will start blossoming. And to actually be able to do that, I think, is so powerful. And we need to take that into consideration and think how fortunate we are to just wake up every day, because there's so much to look forward to. Yeah, I love that. All right, next question.
00:58:06
Speaker
At Builder Banker Hacker Chief, obviously the big thing that we're doing are capturing stories from amazing leaders within the industry, both on the technology side as well as on the banking side. And what we're hoping is, is people can use this as a way to become better leaders, right? Learn from experiences from those of you that have accomplished so much. So is the leader born or is the leader made? Tough question. I think it's a combination of both actually.
00:58:37
Speaker
But I think you could definitely, even if you weren't a natural born leader, I think you could learn how to be a leader. But I do think that you need to have some grit. I do think you need to have some perseverance. And I do think that fear factor, you have to take that out of the equation. I also think that you have to be humble.
00:59:07
Speaker
And you have to think about how you can serve the people that you're trying to lead. Just because you have a title doesn't mean that you're a leader. I have seen plenty of people with titles that can't lead a team or can't motivate a team to do something that they're trying to accomplish. And just because something's
00:59:33
Speaker
set on your business card doesn't make you a leader. So I think you could learn the good qualities of being a leader. I always say there's a very big difference between being a leader and being a manager. Managing is just something that you look over every day. Leading is when you're trying to go in a direction and trying to follow a vision and trying to bring people along with you for that journey.
01:00:03
Speaker
And I think that's an important distinction, but I do think they can be made. Excellent. Well, Liz, I can't tell you how grateful I am for you to have spent the last little bit with myself in this conversation. I personally just learned so much and I'm very inspired by all your different stories and I hope our listeners will be too. So thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Nathan. Thank you for having me.
01:00:33
Speaker
Whether you work in finance or technology, I hope that Liz McGinnis' story can help you find other like-minded people who are passionate about the same vision you are. I'm so inspired by her relentless curiosity and courage to take risks that could make a real difference in the lives of others. That's the kind of leadership the world, not just the banking industry, needs more of. I hope that you've enjoyed this conversation and will share it with your friends and colleagues.
01:00:56
Speaker
You'll find the book recommendation Liz made in the show notes. Thank you for listening to Builder Banker Hacker Chief, a podcast produced and distributed by Z Sweet Technologies Incorporated, all rights reserved. I'm your host, Nathan Baumeister, the CEO and co-founder of Z Sweet Tech. The show was recorded using Zencaster and was written and edited by Zach Garber. If you enjoyed the episode, please take a moment to leave us a review or share this episode. It helps other people to find our show.
01:01:24
Speaker
You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.