Spark book review: Bankers Like Us by Leda Glyptis

Getting under the skin of our clients’ industries is absolutely crucial if we want to understand the issues their customers and prospects are facing.

As part of a research project with core banking fintech, SaaScada, we asked the question: “Have you ever felt that your bank is stuck in the past, even as technology advances should reduce friction in our lives?” To help us answer this question, we read Bankers Like Us, a deep dive written by Leda Glyptis, a banking influencer the SaaScada team know well. This book offers great insights into the industry-specific challenges that plague modern banking.

The book helped inform this research project, so we thought it was the perfect candidate to be the next in the series of our Spark book reviews. From the book’s outset, Glyptis gives credit where it is due. She doesn’t admonish banks for clinging to their outdated technology but instead paints its mere existence as a sign that a spirit of innovation once ruled in banks. That this mentality once existed means that it can be rekindled – senior bankers just need a push in the right direction.

Unfortunately, in banks, this push can often be fatal – to the pusher. Glyptis states that many junior bankers are afraid of challenging the status quo for fear of losing their jobs or missing out on promotions, and that many senior figures refuse to move on from their legacy tech due to an emotional attachment. In this environment, emotions rule the roost, perpetuating inefficient processes and stymying innovation.

The innovation conundrum

The tech world thrives on interdependence, building solutions using shared tools, assets, and knowledge. Banks, however, often silo innovation to its own team, which creates a fragmented approach. Glyptis argues that innovation must be a mindset embedded across the entire organisation, rather than confined to a single department. This is a necessary part of creating a culture that recognises the need for change without destabilising the whole operation.

In the banking sector, innovation teams are common, but their roles are limited. The real battle for change sits with the wider bank. It is this wider team that needs to shift its mentality to embrace better processes. Just because a process has always been done one way doesn’t mean it should continue ad infinitum.

Service with a smile

A key focus for Glyptis is the idea that banking is a service industry. Customers want consistent, reliable service, not outages, disruption or upheaval. For internal teams, predictability is just as crucial. While change can equal improvements, there have been several, high-profile incidents recently where updates or reconfigurations have led to outages. To keep service levels high, improvements cannot come at the expense of consistency.

What’s the takeaway?

Bankers Like Us should be a wake-up call for the banking industry. Glyptis uses the book to offer a roadmap for meaningful change. The lessons she gives here are applicable regardless of the industries we work in. Above all, it is vital to remember that clinging to outdated methods out of nostalgia or convenience hinders progress, while questioning the status quo can yield significant benefits.

Glyptis' book isn't just about banking. It gives us a lesson in how we can adapt to do the work we do in a better way. There’s no point doing what has always been done just because ‘that’s how it works.’ Ask questions, update processes, and take control of your professional circumstances. And be sure to read the book – and let us know what you think, and what you learn.