Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.>> Breakout sessions will include such topics as inclusive leadership, building and sustaining your personal brand and how to help grow Omaha.
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Would-be leaders should think about the words they want other people to use to describe them, such as trusted, respected, responsible and accountable, and then "walk the walk."
Get outside your comfort zone and try new things.
Those were among the tips Wednesday from three veteran bankers speaking to about 80 young professionals at Farm Credit Services of America, where Doug Stark is CEO.
Stark said people in the workplace develop a "brand" or image among their co-workers and bosses, whether they realize it or not. He said young people should work on what sets them apart from others.
"Life leads you to a series of choices and steps," often unplanned, Stark said. "Just be the best you can every day" so that you are prepared and flexible enough to take advantage of opportunities, even the unexpected.
He urged people to "get outside your comfort zone. That's where you'll grow the most." To be a leader, he said, "you have to be out in front" and not just following past best practices.
Sid Dinsdale, CEO of Pinnacle Bank of Omaha, said: "As a country, we are poised to have greater success than we've ever had. You people are going to lead the world."
Dinsdale, who was a leader in last year's effort to recall Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, said young business people should consider being active in politics, saying his recall work was rewarding even though the vote failed. "It was just a kick," he said.
Dan Gomez, who worked for Dinsdale at Pinnacle before joining UMB Bank of Kansas City, Mo., as president of its Omaha market, said he has benefited by working with a "growth coach" in recent years to establish goals. He recently added a "stretch" activity by joining the board of the Omaha Community Playhouse, where he said he has met people with new perspectives.
The three CEOs encouraged young people who want to start their own businesses to go for it, but be prepared. People starting new businesses should plan for the "worst case" as well as "perfect projections," Gomez said, and should communicate early and often with their bankers and others who serve as partners in new ventures.
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