{"id":28195,"date":"2023-11-01T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/?p=28195"},"modified":"2023-11-16T08:19:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T14:19:46","slug":"outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/","title":{"rendered":"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee"},"content":{"rendered":"

When faced with an unknown, one can either embrace what comes as an opportunity \u2014 or wallow in angst. Highland Bank\u2019s Director of Operations, Sue Lee, prefers the former.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lee\"
Sue Lee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lee had been branch manager at Ridgedale State Bank in 2008 when she learned it was being acquired by St. Paul, Minn.-based Highland Bank. \u201cI was personally excited, because the organization was larger and I could have more opportunities to learn and get involved in things I hadn\u2019t done before,\u201d she reflected.<\/span><\/p>\n

That time continues to inform Lee as Highland has pursued growth by acquisition, including most recently when it acquired Ely, Minn.-based Boundary Waters Bank, a deal that closed a few months ago. \u201cI knew it was important to communicate that enthusiasm to the team at BWB,\u201d Lee said. \u201cTo help them know that because Highland is a family-owned bank that truly cares about its employees, they weren\u2019t going to just be a number. They were going to have a voice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In both cases, Highland brought customers of the old bank some new tech solutions along with that high-touch service, something that excites Lee, one of several women honored this month as a BankBeat<\/em> \u201cOutstanding Woman in Banking.\u201d The biggest additions? Real time transactions, cash recyclers and teller scanning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I know, customers are responding,\u201d Lee said. In fact, one customer recognized a customer service representative by name, commenting on the \u201ccourteous service and knowledge\u201d with which he\u2019d been provided.<\/span><\/p>\n

With six direct reports and leading a team of 28 people, Lee oversees deposit and loan operations, wire and ACH, and customer service. The customer service team is particularly critical when it comes to onboarding new customers through acquisition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee served as project manager for the merger transition plan, said Kathy Wachter, head of marketing and public relations at Highland Bank. \u201cSue and her team have worked through technical conversion mapping, testing, training and communicating,\u201d Wachter reported. \u201cThe changes she has implemented have created possibilities for employees to learn and grow professionally and has enabled Highland to serve its communities with branch locations that are responsive to the way customers prefer to engage with their bank.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Staying up-to-speed on customer preferences has led Lee, with a professional history skewed toward operations, to apply her project management skills to unexpected tasks, such as construction and remodeling. In 2016, her introduction to bank design and remodeling came as Highland modernized its flagship St. Paul office, which looked very much like one might expect a 1990s bank to look. \u201cYou\u2019d walk through the front door and you had to cross this vast expanse of granite flooring to even reach a teller,\u201d Lee explained. \u201cWe knew banking wasn\u2019t conducted that way any longer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To gain insights into transaction technology and customer preferences, Lee relied heavily on banking peers, industry webinars, and Minnesota Bankers Association conferences. She also needed to learn the language of construction, since her experience with remodeling was limited to home projects, including how to best manage contractors (and teach them why banks are organized the way they are). For that knowledge, she turned to the bank\u2019s commercial lenders active in CRE. What she did in St. Paul worked, and Lee was selected to spearhead a multi-year initiative that included extensive remodeling at the other Minnesota branches: An office in Bloomington and new construction in Minnetonka, Maple Grove and St. Michael.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sue
Sue Lee\u2019s outreach efforts on behalf of St. Paul\u2019s Highland Bank include community days in Minnesota suburbs where the bank has branches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keeping it all organized requires Lee to take copious notes, communicate and meet deadlines, and be available to her team. \u201cYou have to be able to communicate with them,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd give them the tools and resources to succeed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like she was given what she needed when she was still a branch manager looking for new challenges. Lee was selected to be a participant in the selection and implementation of a loan processing tool called Decision Pro. \u201cThis was my first entry into a large project. I was able to see how project management plays out, from choosing a vendor to developing a system the way the bank needed it to work, to developing a training program,\u201d she said. Whether learning by seeing or learning by doing, or both, Lee isn\u2019t afraid to jump in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But she\u2019s also committed to the communications piece. \u201cYou can roll out any product you want, but you have to communicate to the customer why you are doing it, or why they need it,\u201d she said. Putting all the pieces in place requires a team, and Lee is quick to credit hers. \u201cI could never accomplish what I [do] without the support of my direct team members and other departments, as well as the president and CEO.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When faced with an unknown, one can either embrace what comes as an opportunity \u2014 or wallow in angst. Highland Bank\u2019s Director of Operations, Sue Lee, prefers the former. [Continue] <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":28196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[112],"yoast_head":"\nOutstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee - BankBeat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee - BankBeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When faced with an unknown, one can either embrace what comes as an opportunity \u2014 or wallow in angst. Highland Bank\u2019s Director of Operations, Sue Lee, prefers the former. [Continue]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BankBeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-01T11:00:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-16T14:19:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Wilmes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bankbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bankbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Wilmes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sam Wilmes\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288\"},\"headline\":\"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-01T11:00:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-16T14:19:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\"},\"wordCount\":826,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png\",\"keywords\":[\"00 Feature Top - Row\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Features\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\",\"name\":\"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee - BankBeat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-01T11:00:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-16T14:19:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Sue Lee\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/\",\"name\":\"BankBeat\",\"description\":\"A Service of NFR Communications\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BankBeat\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg\",\"width\":476,\"height\":249,\"caption\":\"BankBeat\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/bankbeat\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288\",\"name\":\"Sam Wilmes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sam Wilmes\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee - BankBeat","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee - BankBeat","og_description":"When faced with an unknown, one can either embrace what comes as an opportunity \u2014 or wallow in angst. Highland Bank\u2019s Director of Operations, Sue Lee, prefers the former. [Continue]","og_url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/","og_site_name":"BankBeat","article_published_time":"2023-11-01T11:00:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-11-16T14:19:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Sam Wilmes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bankbeat","twitter_site":"@bankbeat","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sam Wilmes","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/"},"author":{"name":"Sam Wilmes","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288"},"headline":"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee","datePublished":"2023-11-01T11:00:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-16T14:19:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/"},"wordCount":826,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png","keywords":["00 Feature Top - Row"],"articleSection":["Features"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/","name":"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee - BankBeat","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png","datePublished":"2023-11-01T11:00:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-16T14:19:46+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/owb-sue-lee.png","width":400,"height":300,"caption":"Sue Lee"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/outstanding-women-2023-sue-lee\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Outstanding Women 2023: Sue Lee"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/","name":"BankBeat","description":"A Service of NFR Communications","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#organization","name":"BankBeat","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fb-share-logo.jpg","width":476,"height":249,"caption":"BankBeat"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/bankbeat"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/87f08247e66c77528f6b364ab3fa8288","name":"Sam Wilmes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5a6bcc2d5ea851040879c2ddc27e4ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Wilmes"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28195"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28198,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28195\/revisions\/28198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bankbeat.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}