SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORPORATION 2
Synovus Financial Corporation
Synovus Financial Corporation success is centered and driven by the organizations
pledge and commitment to their culture and their values. The company believes in the Golden
Rule and Servant Leadership. (Hess & Cameron, 2006, p. 15). Synovus Financial Corporation’s
values and morals are a direct representation of the company’s founders and the current corporate
leadership. This value system and moral conviction drives the company in recruiting others that
are like-minded or possess similar qualities.
Synovus Financial Corporation did well to “take care of their people.” What could
Synovus have done better?
The article on Synovus Financial Corporation provided numerous examples of genuine
moral conviction, corporate values, and servant leadership. There were numerous examples
provided in the reading which portrayed the leadership investing and developing their
employees. Synovus Financial Corporation continues to motivate their employee’s desire to seek
additional needs though the natural bonding and mentorship established in healthy and respectful
senior-subordinate relationships. Synovus continues to motivate their employee’s by
encouraging and expanding their knowledge through leadership classes and seminars. In an
article on servant leadership the authors state that servant leadership is associated with better
employee attitude and behavior, creativity, increased performance, and lower employee turnover.
(Lu, Zhang, & Jia, 2019, p. 508). This supports Synovus Financial Corporations belief in
soliciting and encouraging feedback from their employees. This bottom up approach creates a
sense of unity and belonging through the act of listening, respecting, and valuing the opinions of
their employees. Simply stated, people want to be valued, respected, and taken seriously. They
SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORPORATION 3
want to be recognized, rewarded, and compensated for their efforts and contributions of
improving the company they work for. (Stewart, Nodoushani, & Stumpf, 2018, p. 73).
Employees from all levels of experience and tenure were interviewed and questioned
about their opinion of the company. The general consensus is that Synovus was like a family.
With that being said, recruiting and hiring people that are inclined to continue the corporate
mantra and traditions is critical. In an article on cultural values, the authors concluded that
individual and corporate values are important factors in determining an individual’s fit within an
organization. (Kim, Mori, & Rahim, 2018, p. 100). Many may debate this as an unethical
business approach to employment. Other will defend the practice as being strategic and
methodical in their approach to preserving their corporate values. They will contend that hiring
the wrong person creates friction and animosity and destroys respectful and courteous
environment.
What current company should or could display these same values in order to improve?
There are numerous companies today that could take a few lessons from the Synovus
Financial Corporation handbook. Not a day goes by that an example of poor customer service,
disrespectful speech, lethargic and apprehensive assistance is observed or encountered. The
examples of courtesy, respect, servant leadership, and moral direction are merely the beginning
of the long list of values that many organizations should acquire and implement within their own
corporate structure. The interesting perspective is that corporate posture today lacks a sense of
Biblical direction. These companies that lack direction can seek refuge in the word of God. “For
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many” (Mark 10:45 NIV). As Christian’s, we are directed in the Book of Philippians, “Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above
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References
Hess, E., & Cameron, K. (Eds.). (2006). Leading with Values: Positivity, Virtue and High
Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511753770
Kim, S., Mori, I., & Rahim, A. R. A. (2018). Cultural Values Matter: Attractiveness of Japanese
Companies in Malaysia. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management :
CCM, 18(1), 87-103. doi:10.1177/1470595818759570
Lu, J., Zhang, Z., & Jia, M. (2019). Does Servant Leadership Affect Employees’ Emotional
Labor? A Social Information-Processing Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 159(2),
507-518. doi:10.1007/s10551-018-3816-3
Stewart, C., Nodoushani, O., & Stumpf, J. (2018). Cultivating Employees Using Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs. Competition Forum, 16(2), 67-75.
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