Kayla Henderson

I attribute my success to my mom and my family. She always believed in me and told me I could be whatever I wanted to be. I think she sees a lot of herself in me. That older generation didn't have a lot of assets to advance and be more successful than their parents were, but she always saw something in me and my sister to advance and be something way better than she could be. So I owe it all to her. She's been my biggest supporter and the reason I've been able to achieve what I have in my career.

The best career advice I ever received came from my branch manager at Regions. I was leaving to move to Nashville, and I had a lot of reservations about it. She told me that I needed to branch out, that I shouldn't live in the same space forever. She said I should branch out and see what's out there for me, and that I didn't have to commit to it or do it forever, but I should try it for a little bit. She told me I didn't have to move away from my family forever, but to do it for a few years and see what happens. If it works out, it does. If it doesn't, it doesn't, and that's fine. That really helped me overcome my reservations and gave me the confidence to take that leap and try something new.

I would give the advice to do it for yourself. Customers are a very broad term, of course, and they're very different in every field you're in, but do it for yourself. One thing I always told myself was to treat people like they're humans. They're not strangers, they are, but treat them like you'd want to be treated if you walked in somewhere and were going through a hard time. I think back to Regions all the time, and I remember these people walked in there thinking that I was going to judge them or judge where they're at financially, but you can't have that mindset. You have to treat them like they're human. That's the most important thing in customer service.

I would say trying to build rapport is very hard, especially in this political climate that we're in. Everyone feels very guarded to everyone they meet. No one really feels safe to open up, and that can be horrible sometimes. That was my biggest struggle. I worked at a bank during COVID, and people were getting laid off and couldn't afford their mortgages or loans anymore because of layoffs. So I think the biggest struggle for me was just trying to overcome this very horrible political climate that we're in and help people feel comfortable enough to trust me and open up about their situations.

I always value my family first and foremost. Equality and women empowerment are also very important to me. I don't love the political alignment that we're in right now, and I think a big part of me wants to push towards a more attainable, realistic future. Not something that's so tied down to working a 9-to-5, being exhausted, working 40 hours a week and barely being able to pay your rent. I want to work more towards a future that exemplifies that hard work can pay off and you don't have to work yourself to death to achieve success and stability.