Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
All Content > Company Profile > Northeast

Title of entry: 
'Open.' 'Personal.' 'Inappropriate.': Inside the Truist Leadership Institute

Issue or Publication date:
8/16/2023

Publication name: 
American Banker

Publishing/parent company: 
Arizent

View Website home page:
https://www.americanbanker.com/

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

A quick catch-up with an old friend, who now works at the Truist Leadership Institute, left me stunned: Why was one of the largest banks in the country hiring, as she described it, a small staff of neuropsychology PhDs?

I embarked on months of reporting and interviews to find out everything I could about the institute, specifically their claim of a neuropsychology-based approach. After all, the bank’s spokespeople repeatedly told me that it isn’t a “psychological institute,” but their approach stemmed from the work of a sometimes controversial psychologist called James Farr.

Finding a copy of Farr’s 1998 book (some of his only public writing) wasn’t easy. I stomped the pavement at secondhand bookstores and online listings until I found a used copy. The actual stories of participants I interviewed, including former BB&T CEO John Allison, matched closely with the “dramatic and often threatening” personal deep dives that Farr described in his book.

For bankers — especially those who work at Truist — the story directly tells them what to expect should they choose to advance professionally in this orbit. As I reported, participation in the Truist Leadership Institute isn’t technically required, but it is expected and encouraged among the bank’s top ranks.

More widely, the story reflects the extent to which corporations, and banks in particular, are willing to blur the lines between the personal and the professional.

Links to entry URLs

Please note: These URLs are only required for entries in the Online division categories, or digital entries in appropriate Overall Excellence, Design or All Content division categories.

Entry URL(s), if applicable:
Please enter a URL that will direct judges to the entry: 
https://www.americanbanker.com/news/open-personal-inappropriate-inside-the-truist-leadership-institute

Username/password required to view entry?
Yes
Username: arizentazbees@gmail.com
Password: Statenislandferry9?