Wearing the One Hat: Deep Authenticity E18
At a point you think no one could love you, and here are strangers showing you love,” reflects James Christensen, CEO of Gateway Bank, on his personal growth journey, transforming severe depression and isolation into deep connectedness with himself and others.
Part of the way he leads now includes sharing in a profoundly genuine way, for example that he has moments when he feels completely worthless and moments when he feels incredibly strong. James builds a culture of deep honesty, care and service at Gateway Bank. “Service is what makes our life better. The people you serve fill you up so much. Service fills me up. It gives the energy I need to do what I need to do at work.” Listen to this episode of Rooted & Unwavering and discover more about the power of true authenticity and care.
Gateway Bank is the only community bank in Mesa, Arizona. Gateway represents a return to how banking used to be, where the staff knew everyone by name and treated customers like people instead of numbers in a database.
They bring this nostalgic approach into modern times and offer the best of both worlds: the fast, personal service of a local bank, plus the diverse products and services of a large bank. While Gateway’s branch is located in Mesa, they serve customers across the Valley.
With a nationwide network of fee-free ATMs, plus added conveniences like Remote Deposit for businesses, you can experience the Gateway difference no matter where you are.
James Christensen is the President of Gateway Bank, the only community bank in Mesa, Arizona. Under his leadership, Gateway has thrived through multiple economic downturns and grown to consistently be one of the strongest performing financial institutions in its peer group.
James is also very active in the local community and was named Mesa Citizen of the Year in 2023. He is a fierce advocate for small businesses, marginalized groups, and people in need. From one-on-one meetings to presentations and podcasts like this, James enjoys educating and inspiring diverse audiences to improve their financial health and overall well-being.
Connect with James on LinkedIn.
About Rooted & Unwavering
Peace, Compassion, Wisdom, Purposefulness, Creativity and Strength come online in us when we deeply connect with the true, unwavering greatness that lives within ourselves and others.
In this podcast and radio show, Hylke Faber, seasoned transformational coach and author of the award-winning Taming Your Crocodiles series, engages in deep inquiry with leaders from all walks of life about courageously connecting with our true selves, others and the world at large.
How do we stay connected to our true selves and our greatness, especially when we are challenged? How do we rest in the heart, also when our mind keeps us restless? What becomes possible when we truly stay committed to our own and others’ best selves, also when we don’t feel it? How do we practice staying connected to our true selves, in the midst of our busy lives?
Join us and leave inspired to act on your heart’s greatness and that of the people around you.
About Our Host
For as long as he can remember Hylke Faber has been curious about what this life is about. His ongoing inquiry has become his work: helping people individually and collectively to discover what is possible in life and express that authentically and fearlessly.
Hylke started his work life with Towers Perrin as consultant and then as Partner with Strategic Decisions Group, serving a wide range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, consumer electronics and life sciences companies. A major shift occurred during this critical phase of his life. He had become the typical, hard-charging, 16-hours-a-day strategy consultant, and was burning out at a rapid clip.
When he discovered meditation, everything changed. He was so taken by his new discoveries that he chose to bring to business what he was learning: that there is a way we can have it all – we can be fulfilled, do work we love, and create extraordinary results with others. He thinks of it as creating a sense of ease in business.
He learned how to coach and facilitate human transformation completing his coaching certification with Newfield Network and by working at Axialent, the culture and leadership company. After a few years, he founded Co-Creation Partners together with other leaders in the field of transformation and personal development. Then he formed Constancee to help people grow by creating the conditions where deep personal, interpersonal and organizational shifts happen routinely.
He leads Growth Leaders Network, the culture and team development consultancy. He has also taught coaching at Columbia Business School Executive Education and has contributed to Harvard Business Review. He is currently teaching a course on Climate Conscious Leadership at Arizona State University. His award-winning book, Taming Your Crocodiles: Unlearn Fear & Become a True Leader, was published by Dover in 2018.
His next book, Taming Your Crocodiles Practices for Leadership Depth, came out in 2020. Besides helping others grow, which he loves, he is a trained opera singer, enjoys hiking and writing, is an avid reader, in particular of biographies, and is always in the process of growing himself. He integrates all of what he learns in his work with executives.
Connect with Hylke on LinkedIn.
About Our Sponsor
Realizing Your Greatness
We are a team of experienced facilitators and coaches dedicated to helping individuals, teams and organizations thrive by helping them recognize their innate greatness and putting it to work.
- Executive Coaching: we work with clients individually to help them connect to their calling and use every challenge as an opportunity to help them grow more into what makes them great.
- Team Performance: we help teams evolve to their next level of excellence, connectedness and impact by working on the root drivers of team performance.
- Culture Development: we help organizations to evolve their culture by creating clarity about where they aspire to go, and by building role models, coaches and systems that catalyze people being energized to work the new way.
- Key Notes: we deliver powerful speeches at conferences and other events that help audiences become energized, more connected to themselves and each other, more open to discovery and ready to commit to the next stage of learning in their career and life journeys.
Growth Leaders Network (GLN) serves Fortune 500 companies, smaller organizations and non-profits globally.
GLN clients report that we catalyze significant business transformational impact and profound shifts in people, team and organizations at the root cause level.
Learn more about the Growth Leaders network here.
