Banking Lessons
What Six Years in Banking Really Taught Me
There are certain moments in my career that still sit with me — memories from the teller line, the personal banker desk, the junior lender grind, and eventually, the branch manager role where I was holding everything together with duct tape, charm, and whatever patience I had left.
And when I look at my work life now — the calm, the clarity, the lack of chaos — it reminds me just how much those six years shaped me.
When a “Promotion” Isn’t Progress
When I stepped into the branch manager role at Cadence Bank, it looked like a promotion on paper. But emotionally, professionally, and even financially, it was the opposite.
I left commercial lending thinking I was moving up. Retail humbled me immediately.
Retail banking is not peaceful or predictable. It’s not “cute management.” It’s constant fire prevention.
In lending, people come to you because they already know what they want. In retail, people come to you because they want someone to blame.
I had customers yelling over pennies — literal pennies. I’d be thinking, “Ma’am, I assure you, the math is mathing,” but none of that mattered. You are the face they blame for every poor experience they’ve ever had with the entire institution.
And while juggling that, I had a team of six to manage — six people with different personalities, different priorities, and different levels of motivation. I had product goals to hit, morale to maintain, and incentives I often paid for out of my own pocket just to keep the team afloat.
And let’s be honest: Retail doesn’t reward you. There are no meaningful bonuses. You can give them everything and still walk away with nothing but a “good job, team” email.
Retail taught me fast: Retail is a team sport. Lending is an individual sport. And I’ve always been an independent player.
The Junior Lender Era: Excitement, Pressure, Reality
Even before that, becoming a junior lender came with its own type of pressure. Building relationships, convincing people to move their business, getting them to trust you when you’re still proving yourself — that is heavy work.
Especially when you’re young. Especially when you’re still learning to believe in yourself.
You wine and dine prospects who you know deep down will probably never leave their bank. But you still do it — because sometimes all it takes is one moment, one shift, one decision, and everything changes.
Then Came Texas
Transitioning back to Texas brought its own challenges. Texas lending is nothing like Oklahoma lending. People were less open. Less trusting.
And yes — race mattered. I felt it. Every day. Some people only wanted help from someone who looked like them, and they didn’t hide it.
I thought becoming a branch manager again would give me authority, voice, and control. Instead, it reminded me of the same truth: The customers call the shots. The bank calls the shots. And you’re the one carrying the weight in the middle.
Six Years. So Many Lessons.
Looking back, those years taught me more about myself than any title ever did.
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Not every promotion is progress.
A title without peace is a trap, not a triumph. -
Peace is a form of wealth.
If your job drains you more than it develops you, the price is too high. -
I thrive in environments built on production and independence.
Not chaos. Not micromanagement. Not corporate pressure disguised as “leadership.” -
I cannot grow under people who settle for mediocre.
I move too fast. I think too big. Mediocrity suffocates me. -
You’re allowed to walk away from anything that looks good on paper but feels terrible in your real life.
Success is not aesthetics. Success is alignment.
I used to believe the banking ladder was linear — teller, banker, lender, manager, then up and up and up. But that’s not real success.
Success is doing work that uses your gifts without draining your spirit. Success is alignment. Success is peace.
And when I look at where I am now, I finally understand something that took me years to learn: Every season prepared me. Every setback shaped me. Every “wrong” direction still moved me forward.
I’ll see you in the next post.
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