The Power of Authentic Leadership

Cathy Nash has had a long and illustrious career in banking, though she often felt like she challenged the stereotype of a “typical” executive.

“I made a point of being honest with people. I earned their confidence by letting others know what I was working toward and how I intended to get there. Most importantly, I showed my employees that I cared about them, which helped them care about me.”

As the former CEO of two large community banks (one public and the other private), Cathy’s approach was defined by empathy and near-radical transparency. Not only did this set her apart in the male-dominated banking industry, it also helped her steer multiple organizations through periods of massive transformation. 

The financial crisis

Cathy started her career at a regional bank in Boston before taking a marketing role at SunTrust Bank. After 13 years, first in Florida and then Georgia, Cathy moved to Michigan to accept an executive team role with Citizens Republic Bancorp, responsible for retail and small business banking.

It seemed a great career move at the time, but this was in mid-2006. Less than two years after she joined Citizens Republic, Bear Stearns failed, and the banking industry faced a dire financial crisis. To make matters worse, her bank was especially vulnerable due to increased regulatory scrutiny and the retirement of its long-time CEO.

The search for the next CEO started immediately, and Cathy was a strong succession candidate. However, she wasn’t sure she wanted the job.

“I knew that saving Citizens Republic would be a challenge but I also knew that the community depended on that bank. If the bank failed, they would be the ones who suffered.”

In the end, she accepted the CEO role and began to mobilize the leadership team. Even if it was going to be a difficult task, the bank needed to survive the financial crisis.

The value of transparency

If Cathy’s leadership team was going to save Citizens Republic, they needed the commitment of the whole organization. However, increasingly negative news continued to create anxiety about the banking industry’s future. The employees needed a reason to believe—they needed to know how leadership intended to weather the storm.

That’s when Cathy came up with a simple solution. To increase leadership transparency, she started a weekly blog for her employees. In it, she shared everything she legally could about the leadership team’s efforts.

“My blog didn’t pretend we had it all figured out. I was honest about what I was hoping for, what I was striving for, and what I was afraid of. I never over-promised or guaranteed success, but I did promise that we would do the right thing along the way.”

While some leaders were skeptical of the blog, Cathy persisted, knowing that it was an important part of building trust in the organization. And she was proven right.

As a result of her transparency, she received a flood of support from employees, with the blog becoming the most visited page on the company’s intranet. This communication channel helped employees get to know Cathy and built trust in her vision for the future. Despite the unprecedented uncertainty of the financial system at the time, Citizens Republic employees actually saw an increase in engagement as a result of their connection to leadership. 

Eventually, Citizens Republic Bancorp survived the financial crisis, thanks in part to the transparency of Cathy’s blog. In 2013, the bank merged with First Merit Bank, and Cathy began to look for her next opportunity.

Creating a space to be vulnerable

In 2015, Cathy accepted the role of CEO of Woodforest National Bank in Texas. This move presented an interesting opportunity; not only was this the first time that Cathy joined an organization as CEO but the existing leadership team had worked together for a long time.

Cathy knew that, as an outsider, she first needed to establish trust as a leader. That is why, in one of their early meetings, she shared her habits as an executive.

“I brought the leadership team together and talked about my development areas. One thing I shared was that when I get stressed, I micromanage and, if we were going to work together, they needed to be brave enough to call me out.”

Cathy had two goals in sharing this. The first was to create a sense of trust that this team could challenge her when needed, and the second was to encourage them to open up. 

The result was immediate. After Cathy’s speech, other leaders chimed in. The executives were quick to share their development areas, opening up about themselves and inviting others in. As at Citizens Republic, Cathy again found people willing to put their trust in her because she led by showing her vulnerability first.

Embracing your authentic self

As a peer advisor, Cathy is every bit as honest and transparent with her clients as she was as an executive. She knows that great leadership stems from authenticity, and it is hard to be effective when pretending to be someone you are not.

“In my work as a mentor, I meet a lot of executives who think they need to put up a ‘perfect’ façade to be a leader. But they don’t—it’s far better to be honest about who you are and leverage that self-awareness to make you more effective in your role.”

To Cathy, authenticity isn’t just about how you lead, but what you care about and which opportunities you choose to pursue. That’s why she makes a point of helping her clients connect their leadership tendencies with what matters to them and the impact they want to have on others.

After all, that’s what Cathy did. As a leader, she focused on far more than the success of her banks—she focused on the success of the employees and the community they served. During one of the most volatile financial chapters in recent history, Cathy mobilized her compassion and turned it into a key asset for leading others through uncertainty.

Reuben Cohen is the North American Managing Director for LHH's International Center for Executive Options (ICEO). He and his team work as trusted advisors to CEOs and top executives, guiding them through career inflection points toward various new paths.

Learn more about ICEO’s portfolio of support for executives and senior leaders at www.lhh.com/iceo.