Latest news with #AtlanticUnionBank
Forbes
19 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Moving From 'Too Nice' To Effective Leadership
Maria Tedesco, President and Chief Operating Officer at Atlantic Union Bank. In the early days of my career, I encountered an unexpected critique from my supervisor. As soon as I sat down in his office, I could sense his discomfort, and he seemed to be steeling himself to deliver the message. I feared the worst, thinking I was about to be fired. The words he shared were startling to hear, but clear. He looked me in the eyes and said, 'You're too nice. I need you to be tougher.' He then challenged me to put his feedback into action, tasking me with the unenviable responsibility of letting go of a beloved employee. The employee, let's call him Tom, was a congenial and dedicated member of the team. Tom's positive energy was contagious, and he was well-liked by everyone. However, his performance metrics consistently fell short of our organization's expectations. Delivering the news to Tom was one of the hardest conversations I've ever had. Yet, it was a defining moment for both of us. I was forced to step outside my comfort zone and confront the reality of leadership: the necessity of making tough decisions for the greater good of the organization. For me, the experience was transformative. It taught me that difficult feedback, though uncomfortable, can be a constructive force. It can drive growth, not only for the individual receiving it but also for the leader delivering it. I only wished that someone had given Tom feedback earlier that perhaps could have helped him address his gaps in performance. Shortly after his departure, I heard through mutual connections that Tom landed a job at another firm where his skills were better aligned and he thrived in his new role, quickly climbing the ranks and eventually leading a team of his own. His success was a testament to the idea that sometimes, what seems like a setback is actually a redirection to a more suitable path. Fast forward to today, and as a COO, I understand that providing difficult feedback is a cornerstone of effective management. Before engaging in a tough conversation, I often reflect on that pivotal moment with Tom that forever changed my perception of leadership and the intrinsic value of offering difficult feedback. Ambiguity or beating around the bush with employees may feel like doing them a favor in the short-term, but it can lead to confusion. Direct, honest feedback can pave the way for growth and improvement while building a culture rooted in trust and transparency. By addressing shortcomings, managers provide employees with a roadmap for improvement. This can not only enhance individual performance but also strengthens the organization as a whole. Delivering difficult feedback is as much about the manager's growth as it is about the employee's development. Navigating these challenging conversations hones a leader's communication skills, empathy and emotional intelligence—qualities that are invaluable in any leadership role. When I'm trying to provide the most meaningful and impactful feedback, I try to be objective, basing comments on specific examples and measurable outcomes. While honesty is crucial, empathy should never be sidelined—and effective leaders can still encourage a two-way dialogue and brainstorm actionable steps for improvement together. Reflecting on my journey from being 'too nice' to embracing the necessity of difficult feedback, I realize it's an integral part of leadership that cannot be overlooked. It's a tool that, when wielded with care and precision, can unlock potential and guide both employees and leaders toward greater success. In the world of banking, where precision and performance are paramount, the ability to provide constructive feedback is an imperative. As leaders, it's our responsibility to nurture talent and drive our teams toward excellence, even if it requires us to step into uncomfortable territories. By doing so, we not only enhance organizational effectiveness but also empower our employees to achieve their full potential. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Axios
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
It's Hanover Tomato Festival weekend
The Hanover Tomato Festival is back. Why it matters: It's a big weekend for people who like Duke's Mayo and giant tomatoes. The big picture: The festival has been around for nearly 50 years and is one of Hanover's greatest pride and joys. All the tomatoes you'll come across are locally grown, and all the food vendors will have tomato-themed dishes. There's also tomato golf, tomato guessing contests, tomato tosses and tomato coloring sheets. There's also music, jugglers, dance parties and magic shows. If you go: The festival is at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville on Friday, 5-9pm, and Saturday, 9am-1pm. Other things to do this weekend: 🎂 The National Park Service is celebrating what would've been Maggie L. Walker's 161st birthday starting: Friday with tours of her Jackson Ward home. 9am-4:30pm. Free And a historical tour from Elegba Folklore Society on Saturday at noon. $15. 🤠 Country singer Darius Rucker is at Atlantic Union Bank After Hours in Doswell on Friday. 7pm. Tickets start at $51. 🦈 James River Cellars in Glen Allen is doing " Shark Week Shark-cuterie Flights" with four wines, meats and cheese in honor of "Shark Week" all weekend. 11am-7pm. $19. 🛍️ The East End Street Fair is back at Occasions Too on Nine Mile Road with live music, food and local vendors on Saturday. 11am-5pm. Free. 🐦⬛ The Counting Crows are playing at the Amphitheater on Saturday, too. 6pm. Tickets are still available starting at $40. 🎭 The Greater Richmond Convention Center is having " Cosplay World" this weekend, where people can show off their costumes and meet other fans. 10am-5pm. $12.51 💃🏻 And there's " Lip Sync Battle Burlesque" at Ember Music Hall on Saturday, where performers will battle it out for the top spot. 6pm. Tickets start at $26.60.
Forbes
02-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
16 Best Practices For Giving And Receiving Constructive Feedback
Creating a culture where feedback flows openly and constructively is essential to employee growth and organizational health. But giving and receiving feedback in a way that's both timely and helpful, rather than overly critical or unclear, can be challenging. When constructive feedback isn't delivered thoughtfully, it risks being dismissed, misunderstood or even resented, rather than used as a tool for growth. To help you avoid these outcomes, members of Forbes Human Resources Council recommend these 16 best practices to foster healthy, effective feedback that can strengthen communication and performance. 1. Collect Real-Time Feedback In Multiple Modalities At our organization, we prioritize real-time feedback. Our executive leadership team hosts 'Ask Us Anything' sessions to promote accessibility and transparency, and we use engagement and pulse surveys to ensure employee voices shape future initiatives. We also rely on our Teammate Experience Advocate program, which provides anonymous feedback to support the recruitment process. - Clare Miller, Atlantic Union Bank 2. Model Seeking Feedback And Sharing Learnings Feedback is a gift, but only when people feel safe. An environment where transparency is embraced and encouraged is the foundation upon which we set the stage for receiving and giving feedback. Trust, honesty and empathy embedded in the culture foster the right environment. We model behaviors we expect across the org: Ask for feedback, share successes and failures and provide growth opportunities. - Maria Miletic, MM Consulting 3. Prioritize Psychological Safety Through Structured Practices And Informal Inquiries We make psychological safety a cultural priority, starting with how leaders model it. I regularly ask for and receive feedback from my team to normalize openness. We also use structured practices like 360-degree reviews and post-mortem debriefs after major projects, which invite honest reflections and shared learning. Over time, this builds a feedback culture rooted in growth, not judgment. - Nicole Brown, Ask Nikki HR 4. Take A Curiosity Approach The curiosity approach to performance conversations is effective. Encourage the employee to walk you through their process, and ask probing questions along the way. More often than not, this approach will lead the employee to discover the feedback you intended to share yourself. - Quyen Nguyen, Mckinney Trailer Rentals 5. Share Updates And Input In Regular Team Meetings We're a relatively small team, so transparency and regular communication are key. In our regular meetings, everyone shares what they're working on, which creates a natural space for open, constructive feedback. It's not top-down—it's a team effort where anyone can offer input, ask questions or suggest improvements. - Milos Eric, OysterLink Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify? 6. Offer Feedback Early To Avoid Surprises Or Larger Negative Impact Providing constructive feedback is received excessively negatively if you have been waiting for things to improve, or are being conflict-avoidant. If you have an issue to discuss, provide that feedback quickly and early to stem the negative impacts of surprises. If you are a leader, accept feedback without anger, recourse or any perceived or real threats coming from that feedback. - John Pierce, John Pierce Consulting 7. Develop Leaders' Listening And Communication Skills Giving and receiving feedback effectively is hinged on good listening and communication skills. Building capabilities in leaders in these areas is vital for delivering effective and impactful ongoing and real-time performance feedback. - Ijeoma Onwordi, Tetracore Energy Group Ltd. 8. Tie Continuous Feedback To Individual Development Plans Collaborative Individual Development Plans (IDPs) align each employee's "personal brand" development with company goals. Feedback is an ongoing, supportive dialogue tied to these IDPs, integrated into structured coaching. This ensures constructive interactions, fostering growth, engagement and mutual success where employees feel valued. - Michael D. Brown, Global Recruiters of Buckhead 9. Build Soft Skills Through Workplace Training It pays to allocate some workplace training cycles to building typically undervalued soft skills: active listening, accepting that an issue with a deliverable isn't a personal assault, even civil team-meeting behavior. Upleveling hard skills is so important right now, it's easy to take one's eye off the people-skills ball—but they're more critical than ever today to organizational cohesion. - John Kannapell, CYPHER Learning 10. Ensure Dialogue Is Bidirectional, With Both Positives And Areas Of Growth For constructive feedback, establish a culture of consistent, two-way dialogue. It's important to offer both positive reinforcement and areas for growth, framed with empathy. In industries like digital banking, where rapid change is constant, regular check-ins help align goals and address concerns quickly. Make sure all feedback is actionable and focused on development. - Julie Hoagland, Alkami 11. Actively Encourage Formal And Informal Employee Feedback We make it a priority to provide ways for employees to share feedback formally and informally. Our Engagement Survey runs twice a year to collect feedback that helps shape our culture, and we leverage this feedback to develop key action plans across the organization. We host AMA sessions with our leaders and encourage people to share constructive feedback to help us grow and thrive. - Kathleen Pai, N-able 12. Conduct Frequent, Real-Time Check-Ins We embed feedback into the rhythm of work. Frequent, real-time check-ins build trust, alignment and growth. It's not about waiting for an annual review; it's about creating a culture of open, continuous conversations. - Jamie Aitken, Betterworks 13. Focus On Clarity With Context, Curiosity And Care We normalize feedback through weekly one-on-one prompts in an engagement/ performance tool, manager training and real-time recognition tools. Feedback isn't a moment—it's a habit. We focus on clarity, not comfort, and coach teams to give input with context, curiosity and care. We also partner every people manager with an HR business partner to ensure they're getting dedicated support to workshop matters. - Stephanie Manzelli, Employ Inc. 14. Offer Feedback In The Moment Coach in the moment. The CEO of my firm once gave me feedback before we even left the site of a client meeting. He shared what he appreciated, what he would have done differently and why, and what to consider next time. Then we went to lunch and moved on. Feedback given only at set intervals can start to define a person's potential. Timely, direct feedback in the moment helps ensure they grow. - Soni Basi, Pop HR 15. Embed 'Feedforward' Into Everyday Interactions One best practice we follow is embedding feedback into everyday conversations, not just during annual reviews. Using our FEED approach—frequency, empathy, example, dialogue—we ensure feedback is timely, two-way and rooted in growth. It's more than feedback; it's feedforward—focused on building a better, stronger future for individuals and teams alike. - Ankita Singh, Relevance Lab 16. Use Both Top-Down And Peer-To-Peer Data We let data guide us on what really matters to the employees. With real-time feedback loops, we can identify what's working and what's not, and predict future challenges. Additionally, we ensure that feedback is not only top-down but also peer-to-peer, which fosters a sense of collaboration and mutual respect. - Sourabh Deorah,
Business Wire
02-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation To Release Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results
RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (the 'Company') today announced that it will release second quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Following the release, the Company will host a conference call and webcast for investors at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, July 24, 2025. The listen-only webcast and the accompanying slides can be accessed at: For analysts who wish to participate in the conference call, please register at the following URL: To participate in the conference call, you must use the link to receive an audio dial-in number and an Access PIN. A replay of the webcast, and the accompanying slides, will be available on the Company's website for 90 days at: About Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE: AUB) is the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank, which operates branches in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Certain non-bank financial services affiliates of Atlantic Union Bank include: Atlantic Union Equipment Finance, Inc., which provides equipment financing; Atlantic Union Financial Consultants, LLC, which provides brokerage services; and Union Insurance Group, LLC, which offers various lines of insurance products.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Atlantic Union sells roughly $2B in CRE loans to Blackstone
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter. Atlantic Union Bank has closed the sale of about $2 billion in performing commercial real estate loans to Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, the company announced Thursday. The CRE loan sale, primarily covering locations in the Washington, D.C., metro area, was announced as part of Virginia-based Atlantic Union's merger with Sandy Spring Bancorp, which closed in April. The lender retained customer-facing servicing responsibilities and sold the loan portfolio at a percentage of par value in the low-90s. 'After closing our acquisition of Sandy Spring, we have been focused on integration and execution,' Atlantic Union CEO John Asbury said in a statement. 'The loan sale transaction reduces our CRE concentration and frees up capacity for potential future growth.' Blackstone, an alternative asset manager with nearly $76 billion of investor capital under management, has snapped up $20 billion of CRE loan portfolios over the past two years. The acquisition includes a roughly 20% stake in the $17 billion Signature Bank CRE debt portfolio. 'This transaction demonstrates the breadth of our market-leading platform and deep expertise providing solutions to financial institutions for their commercial real estate portfolios,' Tim Johnson, global head of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, said in a statement Thursday. Several banks have sought, in recent years, to limit their exposure to commercial real estate. Souring CRE loans played a prominent role in a surprise $252 million loss at New York Community Bank that nearly spurred its collapse in January 2024. The bank, months later, announced it would sell roughly $5 billion in mortgage warehouse loans to JPMorgan Chase in an effort to boost liquidity levels. A strong concentration of CRE loans also contributed to the termination of an expected merger between HomeStreet and FirstSun. HomeStreet sold $990 million in multifamily CRE loans to Bank of America in December, then inked a $300 million deal to be purchased by California-based Mechanics Bank. Bank of America has been a frequent acquirer of cast-off CRE loans. The bank bought roughly 2,000 commercial multifamily real estate loans from Seattle-based WaFd in May 2024 for about $2.9 billion. Analysts at Raymond James and Piper Sandler saw the Atlantic Union-Blackstone deal as 'positive.' 'The transaction frees up liquidity to support loan growth, purchase securities and reduce wholesale funding and should be supportive of the bank's [net interest margin] outlook,' Raymond James analysts wrote. They expect 'a significant improvement in financial performance over the next 12 months as the loan pipeline continues to build, core NIM appears likely to expand, and asset quality remains strong.' Recommended Reading Citi acquires Deutsche Bank's Mexico license
