Salute to Service: Larry Glasscock

Our customers and communities benefit greatly from the perspectives, commitment, and drive to succeed that our veteran team members deliver – and we’re proud they chose Synovus for their post-military career.

From serving our country to serving our customers, we spoke with several of our Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG) team members to see how they utilize the knowledge gained in the military in their roles.

Reporting for duty

“I told myself I’d stay in the Army as long as it continued to be fun,” says retired Lt. Col. Larry Glasscock. From his days in the Corps of Cadets and Army ROTC at Texas A&M, the Army trained the Houston native to evaluate situations and people. In 2015, after two decades of service took the Aggie everywhere from Anchorage to Afghanistan; he decided it was time for his first civilian assignment. He says, “I took about six weeks to find myself. Then my wife told me to find a job.”

“One of the most crucial aspects of the military is the ability to work as a team and to care about that team.”

Unfamiliar career terrain

Since Larry had chosen to retire from his military career at Fort Moore, he looked at several major employers around Columbus, GA. He’d earned his MBA while in the Army, and banking intrigued him. The military was helpful, up to a point. “For a career officer like me, military transition services are pretty good,” he says. “But they’re also designed around transferring technical capabilities. My skills as an officer – leading people and solving complex problems – are harder to quantify.”

Larry chalks up his arrival at Synovus to perseverance and “flooding recruiters all over Columbus with my resume.” A recruiter at Synovus told Larry to contact him directly if he saw a position that interested him. When he saw an opening for an operations manager, he thought, “I can do that.”

Having commanded a battalion of more than 1,000 soldiers, Larry was an expert at bringing along the right tools for any obstacle. However, when he arrived at Synovus, he discovered he’d also brought a few misconceptions that would be of little use. “I was overselling myself to myself. I didn’t realize the step back I would have to take. I had the education, but not the experience. I presumed my skills would translate to the corporate world. The business world is very different. You don’t know what you don’t know.”

A new mission, a new team

In his current role as Director, Project Delivery and Execution, Larry credits Synovus with supporting him as he found his niche in project management. “In project management, you just have to know who the experts are. You don’t have to be one yourself.” This support also helped him avoid becoming one of the many veterans who leave their first post-transition jobs within one year. “They’re dissatisfied, in part because of their unrealistic expectations of what they can contribute. You need to know yourself and not take anything too seriously.”

Shortly after Synovus promoted Larry in 2018, he recognized he and other veterans needed to assemble a new team, the Veterans ERG. He says, “One of the most crucial aspects of the military is the ability to work as a team and to care about that team.”

After six years at his first civilian employer, Larry offers this bit of reconnaissance to veterans interested in following his lead. “There is a job at Synovus for anyone motivated to find it. If you’re looking for a veteran-friendly organization that recognizes your potential to perform, Synovus is a place you genuinely need to consider.”