Petr Baron, CEO TBIF (TBI Bank): “Now is the time to step up your game!”

“As a leader you work with senior managers and people who have gone through many different experiences. But now they face a completely new business situation and challenge. Suddenly, we must spin the wheels much harder just to stay in the game and be competitive: everything previously planned over 10 years’ time, now got squeezed into the next three to five years maximum,” Petr Baron, CEO TBIF (TBI Bank) told The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“Times now might look hard, but this is the moment to really step up our game. We have to adapt and evolve quickly in order to stay competitive and we have to embrace this chance as it gives us unique opportunities for the future. This is a moment when you build yourself as a character – be it as a whole company or as an individual. Now’s the time to create the environment where colleagues know that you have their back and they have yours and this will have a long-lasting effect on any organization.”

What leadership skills do you find most useful in the current changing work environment?

True leadership has always been about vision and how consistent it is transmitted and executed by the team. These leaders’ skills do not change, regardless of the environment – you either have them or not. However, now we are facing one of the biggest psychological challenges both as a society, and each one of us personally ever. Hopefully, we will never have to go through something similar again, but in the current demanding times, a leaders’ compassion is really called for. The complexity of the situation creates an environment in which many people are lost, since they have not experienced something similar before. So, for me, the most important role of leaders now is to act as a balancing factor. They should not only motivate and drive, but also show compassion and the human side of a work relationship.

Which are the empowering mindsets for building the sense of meaning and purpose, both for employers and employees, to keep each other engaged in reaching the business objectives in 2020 and in the next year?

As a leader you work with senior managers and people who have gone through many different experiences. But now they face a completely new business situation and challenge. Suddenly, we must spin the wheels much harder just to stay in the game and be competitive: everything previously planned over 10 years’ time, now got squeezed into the next three to five years maximum. Here I would like to mention Ray Dalio’s book “Principles”, where he explains how he has built his company and one of my favourite parts in it is focused on his approach on building meaningful relationships at work. For me, the empowering mindset for the team starts from building such meaningful relationships, because work is a huge part of our life. I personally come to work happy and very often also leave work happy, and I believe most people in our team feel the same way. And coming back to the previous question, those meaningful relationships at work are much easier established when you show real human side at work, especially in the tough moment every one of us is going through right now.

Another important aspect for us is the very agile and flat organizational approach. It nurtures people to be self-driven and develop as independent thinkers. We’ve been a multicultural team that moves through offices in different countries for many years and we have the adaptive mindset, we all need right now, in our DNA.

What should be a CEO’s and leader’s power message on business resilience conveyed to peers, partners, and employees for 2021, in order to enhance the trust and engagement?

Times now might look hard, but this is the moment to really step up our game. We have to adapt and evolve quickly in order to stay competitive and we have to embrace this chance as it gives us unique opportunities for the future. This is a moment when you build yourself as a character – be it as a whole company or as an individual. Now’s the time to create the environment where colleagues know that you have their back and they have yours and this will have a long-lasting effect on any organization.

How can a CEO and leader of an organization capitalize on the current challenges to enhance and promote the company’s competition advantages currently?

You show by example that you don’t relax and don’t let yourself go. This is actually a way to push yourself even further as a team. You have to persevere now. Slowing down is just not an option! And in order for all of us to succeed, there’s a moment when we need to push ourselves as much as possible to adapt to this demanding reality.

Which are the current concerns of a CEO / leader in 2020? Which are the hopes for 2021?

Both my concerns and hopes are connected with the safety of our team, loved ones and our societies. I believe that life will come back to normal: It’s not a question of “if”, it’s only a question of “when”.

The COVID-19 situation also overlaps with another exceptional moment in time – the digital revolution. It’s another circumstance many have to adapt to. So overall, this is a difficult time as it is a new time. And here comes my role as a leader of TBI: To make sure that the weight is evenly distributed among the team and the situation does not affect anybody’s health long term.

What kind of innovative measures and inclusive leadership initiatives have been applied within your organization this year, to better cope with the current context and bring the business forward in 2021?

We started getting prepared before many other companies and that makes me very proud of my team. Early February we made sure that we were able to continue to both protect our customers and our employees. For us as a bank, it was very important that our services continue being uninterrupted and we keep on lending and supporting our customers. We implemented the so-called moratoriums way before they were brought upon us by the regulator.

We also implemented a four-pillar strategic approach based on cost optimization, liquidity management, and ensuring our customers’ and teams’ safety. At the same time, we were looking for opportunities, because crises always bring such. Continuing to adapt to the new way of living and working together with speeding up all the processes that are ongoing, will remain our goal for 2021. Of course, combined with all measures to keep everyone safe.