Pub. 10 2015-2016 Issue 4

November/December 2015 27 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. T HIS YEAR’S INCOMING CLASS OF 209 NEW FRESHMEN AT the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are not only working toward building their banking credentials, they’re also embarking on a new, tailor-made leadership development program. Through a new partnership with the UW-Madison School of Business, GSB students will now earn a Certificate of Execu- tive Leadership in addition to a GSB diploma upon completing the 25-month program. Before coming to campus for their first two-week, in- person session that began Aug. 2, freshmen took the Life Styles Inventory™ online. Students received their individual assessment reports on their first day of class and began in- terpreting the results, which examine specific patterns of thinking that contribute to, or detract from, personal effec- tiveness as a leader. “It’s a really good starting point that we’re implementing now in year one that students will carry with them throughout their 25 months,” said GSB President & CEO Kirby David- son. In all, 600 students attended this year’s GSB program, including 45 international students representing seven dif- ferent countries. Leadership skills also gained more emphasis in BankSim, the capstone course for seniors in their third year of the program. Students formed executive leadership teams and simulated running a bank throughout their two weeks on campus as they always have; however, this year they spent more time analyzing the key skills that individuals bring to successful leadership teams, including strategy, management, communication and execution. For more information about the Graduate School of Banking at UW- Madison, contact Kathy Kienitz, assistant vice president, marketing and banker relations, at 800-755-6440 or at kkienitz@gsb.org . A portion of this article previously appeared in BankNews. Leadership Takes on New Emphasis for Bankers Attending GSB The impetus for the addition of the certificate program, Davidson said, was the transition of leadership within the banking industry. This has helped generate the enrollment increases the school has seen over the last few years as a new generation of leaders comes up through the ranks. “They’re coming to us younger than they used to be, and they’re really looking for that big picture of how to run the bank. Current bank executives are making sure their next leaders have more than just the technical know-how, but also leadership and human relations skills, vision, and strategy,” Davidson said. The school’s primary demographic is still the 35-40 age group with five to nine years of banking experience, he said. But the fastest-growing demographic are 30- to 35-year-olds. Nearly half of all students (46 percent) work in a role such as vice president, trust officer, or loan officer. Another 20 per- cent are assistant vice presidents or managers, nearly equal to the 20 percent who serve as president, CEO, executive vice president, or senior vice president. The majority (41 percent) work at banks with $101 million to $500 million in assets. Updated course offerings each year track changes in the industry. That can mean a new emphasis within a certain core section–such as marketing, bank performance analy- sis, asset-liability management, or strategic planning–and new classes within various sections. For example, this year’s retail banking core curriculum focused more on growing the banking franchise in the digital world; and, the loan portfo- lio management section covered stress testing from both a bottom-up and a top-down approach. These areas of focus are not only covered during on-cam- pus classes, but also will be a part of students’ intersession projects back at their own banks, Davidson explained. To stay dialed into these changes, GSB convenes a three-day meet- ing of its Curriculum Advisory Committee each winter. Lead instructors for each core section, bankers from the school’s Banker Advisory Board, and trustees–leaders from each of GSB’s sponsoring state bankers associations–participate on the committee. Extensive review of the previous session’s evaluations and discussions about industry issues lead to the development of new coursework. Throughout the session, members of the Banker Advisory Board and education directors from the state bankers asso- ciations come to campus to get firsthand feedback on what students liked–or saw as areas for improvement–during their time on campus. “We have a lot of sounding boards that we call upon,” Davidson said.  Kathy Kienitz