ELS Spotlight With Brandon Gentry
Brandon Gentry is a Vice President and Loan Officer for Cross County Bank in Wynne, Arkansas.
I have been in banking since 2005 when I took a job as a teller with Twin City Bank in Little Rock upon graduating from ASU Jonesboro. I worked at Twin City/Centennial Bank until 2011. In 2011, I moved to Wynne, AR and started working at Cross County Bank. My responsibilities involve managing a loan portfolio, handling cash flow analysis on large credits over 1MM, managing the bank’s appraisal process, and I sit on loan committee as a voting member. Also, I am involved with the local community as I sit on the Executive Board for the Cross County Chamber of Commerce, and am a Board member for the Technology Center for the Delta. In the past, I have served as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Group 1 of the ABA and I am a member of Leadership Arkansas Class XIV.
What is the most important leadership lesson that you’ve learned?
One of the most important leadership lessons that I have learned over the years is to lead by example. Meaning, don't ask someone to do something that you yourself are not willing to do yourself. Showing co-workers and people you manage that you are willing to get down in the trenches with them to do what needs to be done will go a long way. By doing so people will trust and support you more than they would were you to say go do something, but not be willing to help along the way. They will be willing to go out of their way to make sure things get done if you show them the same willingness. Also, in my experience showing this kind of support to those you lead or co-work with will improve your office morale and increase overall productivity. So get out there and help and be involved where you can.
What does effective leadership look like to you?
There are many forms of effective leadership in my opinion. To me, effective leadership consists of two primary qualities, the ability to lead through Action and the ability to Communicate clearly. These two are interdependent of each other as one without the other is ineffective.