ABA Banking Journal
No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Ag Banking
    • Commercial Lending
    • Community Banking
    • Compliance and Risk
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economy
    • Human Resources
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Mortgage
    • Mutual Funds
    • Payments
    • Policy
    • Retail and Marketing
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Technology
    • Wealth Management
  • Newsbytes
  • Podcasts
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Magazine Archive
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Podcast Archive
    • Sponsored Content Archive
SUBSCRIBE
ABA Banking Journal
  • Topics
    • Ag Banking
    • Commercial Lending
    • Community Banking
    • Compliance and Risk
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economy
    • Human Resources
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Mortgage
    • Mutual Funds
    • Payments
    • Policy
    • Retail and Marketing
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Technology
    • Wealth Management
  • Newsbytes
  • Podcasts
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Magazine Archive
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Podcast Archive
    • Sponsored Content Archive
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Community Banking

Change Agents: Banking’s Next Generation

June 17, 2018
Reading Time: 3 mins read

By Ken Burgess

When FirstCapital Bank of Texas opened its doors in 1998, we had just a handful of people. You know the drill for a small bank just starting out: Everybody wears a lot of hats.

At that time, everybody in the bank just walked into my office whenever they wanted to, and we would sit down and discuss things. That’s changed over time because it’s just not possible anymore. As our bank has grown, it’s transitioned from everybody being hands on and involved in everything to a system of teamwork and managers—attributes you see in a larger organization. That creates cultural challenges in terms of both finding and nurturing talent as we continue to change and grow.

I view change as a constant. This means we’re not the same bank this year that we were last year, and we won’t be the same bank next year that we are right now. We emphasize as part of our culture the need to embrace change. It’s built into our recruiting, hiring and onboarding efforts because we will always be growing and adapting to the communities and customers we serve. I need people on our team who look at change as opportunities. Otherwise they’re not going to be happy and we as an organization won’t be as nimble.

The world is changing and technology is changing, whether we want it to or not. I believe that if you’re going to be successful, you have to have a willingness to embrace change. One way to remain at the front of the wave is to cultivate and nurture banking’s next generation—our industry’s emerging leaders.

Supporting and growing the involvement of our industry’s emerging leaders is one of my top priorities this year as ABA chairman. It was gratifying earlier this year to see a record attendance at ABA’s Emerging Leaders Forum in Washington, but also to spend some time with the members of ABA’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board. 

The bankers are committed, passionate and excited about our industry’s future.

They will challenge us in ABA’s leadership just as your emerging leaders challenge you in your banks. It’s what they do. And they’re good at it.

They recognize that things don’t stay the same. 

Five years ago, we started a leadership development program for our bank’s newer team members. Our motivation for this was fairly simple. We wanted a way to identify young people—emerging leaders at FirstCapital Bank—and provide them a more structured path to help them develop their leadership skills.

One benefit of this initiative is that, today, we have 40 team members serving on FirstCapital Bank’s Grassroots Committee. This committee, among other things, is responsible for promoting our bank’s political advocacy efforts. Our emerging leaders also are making a difference for our bank, our customers and our industry. We have team members supporting Habitat for Humanity, volunteering in our public schools and sharing their skills and expertise with many other local nonprofit organizations. 

Our culture emphasizes that we care about our customers, and each other. We work together as a team. We have each other’s backs. And we put our customers first as our number one priority. We want to be staying out front—leading on behalf of our bank, our customers and the communities we serve. Together, our industry will be out in front and poised for the future as well.

ABA Chairman Ken Burgess is chairman of FirstCapital Bank of Texas, Midland. 

ADVERTISEMENT
Tags: LeadershipMillennialsProfessional development
ShareTweetPin

Related Posts

ABA faults banking regulators for confusing CRA rule rollout

Banking agencies propose to rescind Community Reinvestment Act rule

Community Banking
July 16, 2025

The Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC issued a joint proposal to rescind the Community Reinvestment Act final rule adopted in 2023.

OCC sees need for regulatory reform in bank merger process

Bank acquisitions announced in three states

Community Banking
July 16, 2025

Huntington Bancshares, First Community and Civista Bancshares announce planned acquisitions in Texas, Georgia and Ohio.

FDIC withdraws proposed rules on brokered deposits, corporate governance, executive pay

FDIC board advances proposals on industrial banks, supervisory appeals, bank branches

Community Banking
July 15, 2025

The FDIC board voted to roll back Biden-era actions on industrial banks, supervisory appeals and CRA implementation. It also introduced a proposal to streamline the agency’s approval process for new bank branches.

Director’s Briefing: How a Maryland bank’s CEO is prioritizing strategy and governance

Director’s Briefing: How a Maryland bank’s CEO is prioritizing strategy and governance

Directors Briefing
July 14, 2025

Why deliberately separating CEO and board chair roles is a good idea. And the value of strategic planning ahead of a major asset threshold.

How to Hyper-Segment Your Customer Communications without Losing Control

Marketing Money Podcast: The 30-month plan to future-proof bank marketing

Retail and Marketing
July 11, 2025

How aligning marketing with executive and business-line goals can make a massive impact.

ABA donates to Texas flood relief efforts, urges bankers to contribute

ABA donates to Texas flood relief efforts, urges bankers to contribute

Community Banking
July 10, 2025

ABA will donate $10,000 to Texas Bankers Foundation to assist with immediate disaster response and recovery following the recent catastrophic flooding in Central Texas.

NEWSBYTES

ABA urges FCC to impose call authentication requirement for non-IP networks, mandate IP transition

July 16, 2025

Banking agencies propose to rescind Community Reinvestment Act rule

July 16, 2025

Beige Book: Economic activity ticks up

July 16, 2025

SPONSORED CONTENT

Navigating Disruption in Ag Lending – Why Tariffs Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Navigating Disruption in Ag Lending – Why Tariffs Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

July 1, 2025
AI Compliance and Regulation: What Financial Institutions Need to Know

Unlocking Deposit Growth: How Financial Institutions Can Activate Data for Precision Cross-Sell

June 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Account Opening Platform: 10 Key Considerations for Long-Term Success

Choosing the Right Account Opening Platform: 10 Key Considerations for Long-Term Success

April 25, 2025
Outsourcing: Getting to Go/No-Go

Outsourcing: Getting to Go/No-Go

April 5, 2025

PODCASTS

Breaking down the bank-related provisions in the big budget bill

July 10, 2025

Podcast: Inside ABA’s new Treasury Check Verification System API

June 25, 2025

Podcast: Staying close to clients amid tariff-driven volatility

June 18, 2025
ADVERTISEMENT

American Bankers Association
1333 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-BANKERS (800-226-5377)
www.aba.com
About ABA
Privacy Policy
Contact ABA

ABA Banking Journal
About ABA Banking Journal
Media Kit
Advertising
Subscribe

© 2025 American Bankers Association. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Ag Banking
    • Commercial Lending
    • Community Banking
    • Compliance and Risk
    • Cybersecurity
    • Economy
    • Human Resources
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Mortgage
    • Mutual Funds
    • Payments
    • Policy
    • Retail and Marketing
    • Tax and Accounting
    • Technology
    • Wealth Management
  • Newsbytes
  • Podcasts
  • Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Magazine Archive
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Podcast Archive
    • Sponsored Content Archive

© 2025 American Bankers Association. All rights reserved.