Insights

Real-world perspectives on leadership, coaching, customer conversations, and performance execution.

Built from decades of work inside banks and credit unions.

Latest Insights

The Bywater Group Inisights - Banking on People. Driving Performance

Your Brand Promise Is a Check. Can Your Front Line Cash It?

Your bank or credit union promises great service and meaningful relationships. But can your frontline employees explain what makes you different, and prove it through

Coaching Isn’t a Meeting. It’s a Daily Discipline.

I’ve worked with a lot of leaders over the years, and one thing continues to stand out. Most organizations talk about the importance of coaching.

The Bywater Group Inisights - Banking on People. Driving Performance

I Made Him Miserable in 1995. Then He Thanked Me for It.

Sometimes the impact of leadership doesn’t show up for years. Sometimes it takes 30. A few weeks ago, I posted something on LinkedIn about why

Stop Calling It Role Play. Bankers Need Practice.

Why do bankers hate role play? Maybe because we’ve spent years making something as important as professional practice feel awkward, uncomfortable, and sometimes downright embarrassing.

The Bywater Group Inisights - Banking on People. Driving Performance

If You Have to Incent It, It’s Not Culture.

I’m not against incentives. I’ve seen them work. Run a campaign. Put a prize behind it. Focus the organization. Activity goes up. Sometimes dramatically. But

The Bywater Group Inisights - Banking on People. Driving Performance

Strategy is Rarely the Problem. Execution Almost Always is.

How much time and money does your organization invest in developing strategies? Now here’s a tougher question. Six months later, what’s actually changed? Banks and

Accountability Has Become a Dirty Word in Leadership.

Somewhere along the way, accountability got a bad reputation. For some employees, it means being written up, being counseled, or being one step closer to

The Bywater Group Inisights - Banking on People. Driving Performance

Deposit Growth Isn’t the Real Problem. Conversations Are.

Banks and credit unions spend a lot of time talking about deposit growth. Rates. Promotions. Marketing campaigns. New products. Incentives. All have their place. But

Training Doesn’t Change Culture. Leadership Does.

Culture isn’t created in a training room. It’s built every day by what leaders do, what they tolerate, and what they reinforce. Organizations spend a

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