Favorite Parts of Working in the Banking Industry as an Assistant Vice President
Zach's biggest challenge as an Assistant Vice President stems from rapid career progression, resulting in "folks...coming to [him] with issues and for mentorship," a situation requiring careful attention to detail to maintain trust. This challenge, experienced across roles at Morgan Stanley and Amazon, underscores the importance of building credibility when occupying leadership positions unexpectedly early in one's career.
Leadership, Mentorship, Building Trust, Overcoming Challenges, Career Advancement
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Zach Bransky
Assistant Vice President
Fortune 100 Bank
University of Arizona
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey, MBA
Finance
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Dealing with challenges related to rapid career advancement and the need to mentor former colleagues.
2. Building trust and credibility with team members, especially those who may be older or have more experience.
3. The importance of accuracy and attention to detail in providing guidance and support to others, as one mistake can damage trust and relationships.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
That's a good question. I've actually come across this a couple times. I started at Morgan Stanley as more of a rep, and I had the right licenses.
So, when I got promoted, I basically skipped a level. The people I was going to for mentorship were now coming to me with issues. Of course, when you get a bigger promotion like that, there are people who will be jealous or don't think you're suited for the role.
I was pretty confident at first. I've been in it for a couple of years, so luckily all that has resolved. The other big thing that helps resolve that is when people come to you with problems.
If you need an extra five minutes to make sure you're giving them the correct answer, take it. It takes months or years to build trust in a business environment. But if you give them one wrong answer one time, it can derail things permanently.
I also dealt with this at Amazon. When I started as an area manager, I was 22 right out of school with five years of experience. Many of the people I was managing were in their forties.
That was another situation where we just had to really work to build trust. But once you build it, they do start to respect you, and it gets a lot easier.