How do you build trust in a compliance-driven environment?
For most companies, employee engagement is a buzzword. For National Exchange Bank & Trust (NEBAT), it became the foundation of cultural transformation — but not by accident.
When Tami Christian joined the organization, the bank had over 30 branches and a strong customer-first mindset. But internally? Leadership development was under-leveraged, coaching wasn’t normalized, and employees weren’t fully empowered. The bank needed more than an HR initiative. They needed a shift in how people saw themselves — and each other.
“We’re not just getting engagement. We’re getting beyond compliance. That’s what’s fueling our success.”
— Tammy Pitts
A Language That Rewrote the Culture
The turning point came when NEBAT partnered with Dr. Tom Nebel and the Leaders Rising Network, introducing the Five Voices framework to their leadership team. What started as a one-time training quickly became something deeper. Leaders were seeing themselves and each other with new clarity — and recognizing the relational gaps that had gone unspoken for years.
“You could feel the room shift. Vulnerability created a trust breakthrough.”
— Dr. Tom Nebel
Branch managers discovered that most of them were Nurturers, driven by care and trust — an unexpected insight in a finance environment often assumed to be dominated by Guardians. And as voice diversity became more visible across teams — Guardians, Connectors, Pioneers — trust and friction started to co-exist in healthy tension.
“I fell in love with the language very quickly.
– Tammy Pitts –
And I’ve seen a lot of tools over the years.”
From Training Space to Embedded Culture
One of the most strategic shifts was moving beyond events. What began in “training space” evolved into a full embed. Every manager now has 1:1 development rhythms. Every new employee completes the 5 Voices assessment and has conversations with their manager about what it means. The internal program, branded Team Essentials, became the container for a growing cultural movement — not just a rollout.
As Pitts shared, “We were able to pair the GiANT tools with our employee engagement surveys and start solving real problems. The language helped, but the rhythms are what made it stick.”
Measurable Impact
Engagement scores jumped — more than expected. Manager favorability hit near-perfect levels. Cross-team understanding became stronger. And crucially, what was once HR-led became leader-owned.
The president of the bank even stopped a leadership meeting mid-session to say, “I’ve just realized I’ve undervalued our Connectors. We lost two good ones. I want to lead differently going forward.”
That’s what happens when leadership culture isn’t just taught — it’s practiced.
Embedding Measurable Impact at Every Level
The bank didn’t stop at training. They wove the 5 Voices and Intentional Multiplication models into their people systems:
- Every new employee now takes the 5 Voices assessment.
- Managers conduct structured 1:1s using Team Essentials tools.
- Employee engagement surveys use culture vocabulary for action planning.
- Leadership development is now a rhythm, not a one-off.
And the results speak volumes. Employee engagement scores rose by meaningful margins. Manager relationships scored close to 100% favorable. Leaders across the bank began solving problems, not just managing processes.
One Bold Move You Can Make
If you’re leading in a regulated or compliance-heavy space — and you want to raise engagement, trust, and ownership — start with voice.
- Run a 5 Voices workshop with your team.
- Use the Support Challenge Matrix to reflect on how your leadership is experienced, not just how it’s intended.
- Invite feedback. Practice vulnerability. Build language.
Trust doesn’t come from programs. It comes from process, rhythm, and intention.
