Leading through change

Last week, I had the honor of speaking at Fintech South in Atlanta, the largest gathering of FinTech companies and investors in the East. I spoke about what it means to lead through change.  

When I joined Deluxe in November of 2018, our main concern was reversing two decades of organic revenue decline, stabilizing a shaky situation internally, building a world-class team and foundation to transform our proud 100-year-old printing business into a modern payments and data company. I knew change was ahead but had no idea just how much challenge we would face.  

In the earliest days, we made big strides towards our goals. We seated an entirely new leadership team, re-segmented the company and even had the company’s first-ever investor conference in New York.   

Just 75 days later, the new team went home to work in their basements and fight through the COVID crisis. Overnight, priorities shifted, roles were redefined, and expectations and timelines were thrown out the window. We ensured the company remained strong and made progress on our historic transformation anyway.   

While our transformation is not yet complete, we are a fundamentally different company today. Payments will be our largest business early 2023, eclipsing our Check business for the first time in 107 years. We now process about $3 trillion in payment volume annually. We are on-track to deliver our second consecutive year of organic growth in 2022, something that hasn’t happened since 1996. We’ve achieved this by taking care of our team too. We’ve been recognized as a Best Place to Work and achieved 100% scores on the Disability and Equality indexes – all firsts for Deluxe.

Through all of this, I have the benefit of hindsight to see what was critical to leading through change—any change—lie in communication, flexibility, and grit.  

• Communication: First, it is impossible to over-communicate when you are driving change. I’ve heard it said people need to hear a message seven times before they “get it.” In my experience, it takes more than 10 times for a big message to fully land. Effective communication requires delivering timely information, in the right tone and via the appropriate channels – again, and again, and again. We launched a bi-weekly video series called “What we know, when we know it” in which I share what’s going on a regular cadence. We also produce additional videos and content in between as required. This builds trust and demonstrates transparency. 
• Flexibility: You’ve got to be nimble and adjust plans as you go. Rarely do things go as planned. Expect that to be your reality. Change is hard and even the plan to change has to be flexible and change too.
• Grit and Optimism: Perseverance and grit have become our mantra at Deluxe and is one of our recently updated core values. When Deluxe decided to do the hard work and shift investment dollars, resources, and focus on a new direction, everyone on the team had to commit. And the fruit of that is evident today. No complaining: just focus, hard work and a commitment to persevere. As the great football coach Vince Lombardi said, “Confidence is contagious. Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

So, as I approach three and a half years at Deluxe and all we’ve been through with a pandemic, historic transformation and more, I’m reminded of a quote by President John F. Kennedy, “leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” I’ve learned so much throughout this time – about people, about myself, and about what real change takes. However, I’m certain combining great communication, flexibility to adapt and leading with grit and optimism will lead Deluxe and any team to a brighter future.