Shannon Johnson, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, shares some of her greatest career challenges, her proudest accomplishment and what she’s done to improve the climate for women in business both at UMB and across the Kansas City metro.

The path to banking and career growth

I like to say that I didn’t choose banking, but that banking chose me. My background is in psychology and criminal justice, and I got into social work straight out of college. I have always wanted to make a positive impact and work with people and took an interesting path to get where I am today. After a few years in social work, I took an Human Resources internship at a credit union in Nebraska before moving to Kansas City and working at the HR call center at UMB in 2002. Working in HR helped me find a way to do what I always wanted to do.

I never thought I’d be where I am today, and UMB has played a pivotal role in all of that by affording me opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways across very diverse businesses. UMB continually adapts, innovates, and evolves after more than 110 years in the industry – and it’s energizing to be a part of that. I like to think of career growth and professional development as following a similar course.

I’ve been with the bank for more than 21 years and have held nine different positions, all of which have helped me grow and expand my opportunities to learn about the business. I’m currently executive vice president and chief administrative officer where I’m responsible for leading and developing the strategy for our corporate support and oversight functions. I oversee the human resources, corporate and credit risk and legal divisions, and help support the audit function for the enterprise. Learning about the businesses we support and finding ways to improve our effectiveness in doing so, is a rewarding challenge.

Prior to my current role, I was chief human resources officer for four years, and before that I led the talent acquisition, development, business partner and associate relations departments. Earlier in my UMB career, I was head of compensation, responsible for designing and implementing new executive compensation and equity programs.

During my career at UMB, I have been given exceptional opportunities to grow, develop and challenge myself and to contribute to our organization. The lessons I’ve learned and relationships I’ve made in my time at UMB have shaped me into the person I am today. I believe the best way we can help others grow is to share our experiences and challenges with one another, especially as women. I hope other women can learn from the challenges I’ve overcome as well as from how I’ve worked to bring people together and be a mentor to women both at UMB and in the community.

Know your value

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my career was when I took on my role as chief administrative officer at UMB to oversee various departments within the bank. When this announcement was made, a colleague asked what value I could add if I wasn’t an expert in their field. Now, this was a fair question, as my new role would oversee some deeply technical departments that differ from my subject matter expertise—uncertainty was understandable.

What I know about leadership is the importance of being able to clearly articulate a vision and direction with clarity of purpose. I explained that my role was to leverage and position the expertise in the various functions to align with the greatest value to the businesses we support – not serve as the expert. I helped identify meaningful ways to strengthen our functions to enable the continued success of our organization.

A leader works to remove obstacles, set a clear strategy, build a good team, and get out of the way. Another key practice I have always leaned on, is to ask for advice and to seek challenge from my peers and team members. Feedback is an opportunity to see things you cannot, and where you can improve. Learning that I don’t have to be the expert, but rather a perpetually curious learner and champion of others has been one of the most important leadership lessons I have learned.

Find your niche

You may have heard the familiar advice to “find your passion,” but beyond enjoying your job, there is also worth in finding your niche: know your strengths and put them into action. In my work at UMB, I find the most satisfaction in bringing people together and building enterprise-wide solutions, whether it’s streamlining corporate-wide training, establishing guidelines for all our businesses to leverage, or identifying efficiencies. When I’m able to make those contributions and peel back some of the administrative workload, it can make a real impact on our business’ output, which lends meaning and significance to my day-to-day contributions.

My advice to younger professionals is to find what you are passionate about and align them with your professional strengths. Don’t focus too much on a job title, or what you think you should be doing. Find something that makes you excited to get out of bed every morning and go do it.

Stay connected to community

It’s also important to get involved both at work and in the community. I am part of the inclusion and diversity efforts at UMB, which include eight business resource groups (BRGs) that are self-managed and comprised of more than 20% of UMB associates with common interests.

Currently, I am executive champion of the Pride BRG. We have more than 50 associate participants and our mission is to help UMB achieve an inclusive culture that embraces equality and engages LGBTQIA associates and customers. The initiatives we tackle are meaningful and varied, from supporting LGBTQIA community programs to launching a company-wide preferred pronoun signature block option.

I am currently privileged to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for the United Way of Greater Kansas City, as a board member for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and as a board member for the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission – and previously served on the boards of CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties and WIN for KC.

Additionally, I am a regular speaker for the Central Exchange Emerging Leaders‡ program, which is designed to connect and empower women across generations and emerging leaders and help them find their voice. In this outreach and in my mentoring, my goal is to show women how qualified they really are and instill confidence in them to go after their dreams.

Be a mentor

My maternal grandmother shaped who I am today. She was the CEO of my family’s commercial construction and oil company in New Mexico until she was 81 while also being a mother to her five children. When I would go to work with her, I loved watching her connect with those who worked in the office – building lasting relationships with them and their families. She rarely sat behind a desk or in meetings all day; rather, she learned what others did and how she could make their work easier. She taught me the importance of being an empathetic, supportive and servant leader and I think about what she would do when I’m faced with tough decisions.

Her approach to work and life helps shape my active mentorship of several women throughout different areas of UMB and within Kansas City. As a woman at the executive level at UMB, it is my responsibility, privilege, and joy to work to empower other women at the bank to achieve and excel in what is often a very male-dominated field. Our mentoring relationships are focused on career trajectory and paths, as well as fulfilling passions and interests.

In the feedback I receive from my mentees, they share that a significant help to them is my work-life balance transparency—which not only creates shared experiences, but also demonstrates the value of UMB as an employer. By being open and transparent with the challenges of balancing life with three amazing, yet busy kids and a rewarding job, it gives others permission to have a better work-life balance, too.

I love that I get the opportunity to develop and positively impact others. I am humbled and grateful every day to teach people about our brand and help remind people about our values and allow them to be their best selves at work.

Shannon has been recognized several times for her impactful roles at UMB, including:

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