ELS Spotlight With Lyndsay Carter
Lyndsay Carter is Chief Legal Officer with Farmers & Merchants Bank in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
What is the greatest advice you have ever been given?
My mentor introduced me to a quote from Zig Ziglar that has been one of the most impactful pieces of advice I have been given in my career. Mr. Ziglar once said “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.” During my career I have often struggled with the fear of failure, and this quote helped me reshape the concept of failure and accept that learning is a never ending process. Part of that process is failure and learning from mistakes. Accepting the possibility of failure as an event rather than a statement regarding who I am or what my abilities are has opened the door for me to more confidently engage in the type of creative problem solving that is needed in today’s ever-changing environment.
What does effective leadership look like to you?
I believe the most effective leaders are the ultimate team players. They are willing to be in the trenches to truly understand the needs of the team. They are someone that the team knows that they can rely on to help the team and its individual members achieve and exceed their goals. They do this not for their own personal gain, but because they derive their own sense of success from their ability to help others be successful.
What is the most important leadership lesson that you’ve learned?
It is difficult to classify only one lesson as the most important, but I think one important lesson that I have learned is that few, if any, decisions will be unanimously well received. This has been especially true as companies have been required to navigate implementation of pandemic-related policies and procedures. Leadership requires us to do the right thing even when it's not popular. Learning to trust my decision making process and keeping my focus on the best interest of our company, its employees, and its shareholders has helped me navigate through challenging times.