ELS Spotlight With Justin McCarty
Justin McCarty is a Community Banker for Simmons Bank in Conway, Arkansas.
I Maintain and grow commercial banking relationships with a focus on growing loan production and deposit balances in Conway and the surrounding markets.
What is the most important leadership lesson that you’ve learned?
Through my time in banking and even before, during my collegiate baseball career, I quickly learned that an important key to good leadership is installing a team approach. Obviously, that can be easily applied to my time in baseball as it is a true team sport, but my banking career, especially in my current role as a community banker, has been no different. Being able to put egos aside and come together to ensure that our customers’ needs are met is without a doubt the best way to do business in my opinion.
What is the greatest advice you have ever been given?
The greatest advice that I have ever been given was given to me by Marty Casteel, whose banking career speaks for itself especially with those within Simmons Bank and the Central Arkansas area. Before I transitioned into my new role as a community banker, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Casteel to get some advice on making the move into a customer facing role for the bank. Mr. Casteel advised me to always look out for your customer and work with them to get to know their business. He said not to try and strictly be a salesman on behalf of the bank pushing products, but rather work with them to become a trusted advisor that will allow for my banking relationship to grow as their business grows. If I do this, then I can separate myself from others throughout my career. I know this sentiment is at the core of Simmons Bank, but having the chance to hear that from Mr. Casteel himself has and will continue to shape the way I try to conduct business with current Simmons Bank customers as well as potential customers.
What does effective leadership look like to you?
I have always felt that effective leadership starts and ends with trust. I believe that effective leadership allows for mistakes to be made but never without a lesson learned from that mistake. By doing this, it allows for organic growth within a team that can really make a difference in the production and success of a team or company. I have never felt that micromanaging pays off in the long run, and when it comes to effective leadership I believe it is important to keep the long-term success in mind at all times.