Donald Thompson: Talking business capital, retention, and belonging with Jim Sills of M&F Bank

Editor’s note: Donald Thompson, a serial entrepreneur and investor, writes an exclusive column about leadership, equality, entrepreneurship and management. His posts are published on Wednesdays.

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – This week, I’m releasing season four of The Donald Thompson Podcast and cannot wait for you to hear the premiere episode – my interview with Jim Sills, president and CEO of the nation’s second-oldest African American financial institution, North Carolina’s own M&F Bank.

In our hour together, Jim and I talk about transformational leadership, the current state of inflation, talent retention, and what new business owners need to know about accessing expert financial advice and resources. There are so many pieces of the interview that impressed me, but here are two.

First, I learned that in its 115 years of business, M&F bank has been profitable for 113 years, including a 108-year streak. It started with just $10,000 and nine founders who earned their bank charter from the NC state legislature way back in 1907. Their intention was to provide access to capital for small businesses, nonprofits and churches.
Second, when I asked Jim to answer my favorite closing interview question – if you had a magic wand, what would you do with it? – his answer was concise and excellent. “It’s very simple,” he told me. “I would reduce the wealth gap.”

Then he showed me why. “Donald, did you know that when we’re talking about just consumer-to-consumer, a White consumer and a Black consumer, the wealth gap is 10 to one in terms of your net worth? But if you’re a business owner, it’s three to one. If we have more entrepreneurs and business owners, the wealth gap reduces. That means, if you have a relationship with a financial institution and you’re a business owner, you can potentially reduce that wealth gap significantly to create a better life for your community, for yourself, and for your family.”

James Sills (M&F photo)

The thing is, maybe lots of people say that, but at M&F, Jim is in a position where his everyday actions can turn that vision into a reality, not just for himself but for thousands of business owners and founders across the state.

Here’s a sneak peek into our conversation.

Donald Thompson: Let’s talk about talent acquisition and retention. I’m seeing a lot of CEOs invest in mentoring and career development training. In our client organizations at The Diversity Movement, one of the things we’ve seen – and it’s a pretty powerful data point throughout hundreds of companies we’ve worked with – is that an employee’s relationship with their manager has a direct link to retention.

Right now, everyone’s throwing money at people. Everyone’s trying to equalize the perks. But those things are not going to change the game, because everybody’s doing them. What people want is the ability to see their career being developed on a plan. Investing in them as mentors is one of the things that our market leaders are seeing really helps with those attrition numbers. But you’ve got to slow down to grow, right? It’s not just task, task, task. It’s task, train, task, train, lead and educate.

I’ll tell you this: ten years ago, five years ago, four years ago, I was still that hard-driving entrepreneur CEO, until a business coach said to me very clearly “Don, what kind of success could you have if you were a more empathetic leader?” That statement stopped me in my tracks. My question to you is, having been a leader for many, many years now – a CEO, a former CIO – what are some of the things that you value, want to emulate as a leader, and that you’re still trying to achieve?

Jim Sills: Especially right now, I think empathy is critical to leadership, because your employees are going through a lot of different challenges, all at the same time. They’re dealing with the pandemic, childcare issues, inflation, the whole economy, what’s going on politically, and all the racial issues we’ve had over the last 22 months or so since the murder of George Floyd. You’ve got to take a step back and say “What are my employees going through? What are my customers going through, and how do I adjust?”

As a leader, as a younger person or as an entrepreneur, interpersonal skills are critical. Listening, communication, negotiation, public speaking – all of those things are super important if you’re going to lead people. You cannot hide behind your phone or keyboard. You have to be approachable, and you have to be open to both criticism and commentary. You have to be open to “Hey, maybe there is a different way to do whatever it is that we’re trying to accomplish here at this company.” Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Also, take the time to have those one-on-one conversations with individual employees and figure out what it is that they’re trying to achieve. If you can blend what the company’s trying to achieve with what that individual employee is trying to achieve, you can be super successful as a leader, and your company will be super successful too, because now everybody is rowing the boat the same way.

DT: What you’re describing is how to link personal goals with corporate goals. The important piece is the leader slowing down to really understand what that team member wants.

JS: Right. This year, I asked my direct reports, “What do you want your legacy to be? And what do you want the bank’s legacy to be?” And I made them write it down and send it to me. Now, I’m aligning their legacy goals with what we need to achieve to take the bank to the next level. And it has been so impactful for me to look and see, well, this person’s trying to do this. And this person is trying to do that. And this is how their goals fit in with where the bank is trying to go. So far, it’s working really well.

DT: I really appreciate that. That’s so powerful. People know the things they want, and they respect the people who want to help them get there.

What we’re all chasing is to be a part of a team where we feel respected and valued. Often, leaders will ask me, “What’s all this belonging stuff at work? How do I make someone feel like they belong here?” But what you just described very succinctly is one good way of helping people feel a sense of belonging at work, because they feel that sense of respect and belonging when their leader is in lockstep with them to achieve some of their goals.

One of the final things I want to share with our audience as I talk with Jim and listen to some of his leadership lessons is just to say that leadership is a journey, and you’re going to make mistakes. It’s OK, as long as we don’t make the same mistakes again and again.

Listen to the rest of the interview by subscribing to my podcast, and as always, reach out to me on Linkedin if you see ways I can be helpful.

About the Author

Donald Thompson is co-founder and CEO of The Diversity Movement which offers an employee-experience product suite that personalizes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) through data, technology, and expert-curated content. His autobiography, Underestimated: A CEO’s Unlikely Path to Success, is available for pre-order now. With two decades of experience growing and leading firms, Donald is a thought leader on goal achievement, influencing company culture and driving exponential growth. An entrepreneur, public speaker, author, podcaster, Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) and executive coach, Donald also serves as a board member for several organizations in marketing, healthcare, banking, technology and sports. Connect with or follow him on Linkedin to learn more.