Sheree Hendon leads women’s group and family with heart
Sheree Hendon, Synovus’ director of wholesale relationship service, inherited her nurturing demeanor from her parents. “I lead with my heart,” the mother of two explains. “That can get in the way sometimes.”
As the Women Inspiring Success and Empowerment Employee Resource Group (WISE ERG) chair, she facilitates building an open forum for its members that’s inclusive and supportive.
There are more than 475 members of WISE, including allies, throughout the bank’s five-state footprint. Monthly virtual gatherings focus on empowerment, professional development, community outreach and personal growth. “My goal with WISE is to provide information and tools members can use to improve their skills and feel part of a community that supports their journey at Synovus,” Hendon shares.
Hendon addresses specific challenges women might face in the workplace and celebrates achievements. Some WISE team members have voiced issues of not knowing how to express their value within the company. Through mentoring and sharing best practices, they see the importance of keeping track of accomplishments and project achievements that reflect when they’ve gone beyond job descriptions, as well as building relationships with team members to initiate collaboration and strengthen teamwork.
These conversations help Hendon achieve her goals and purpose, which align with Synovus’ purpose of enabling people to reach their full potential. Group members have diverse personal and professional backgrounds, and each adds value to the WISE ERG discussions.
Hendon learned how to nurture and lead at home. Her parents and first mentors, Troy and June Bramlett, taught her to see the value of diversity in everyone’s talents. Her late father was a teacher, and her mother is the family’s matriarch.
“My parents taught me to embrace the differences in others and appreciate them for who they are,” Hendon shares. “To this day, I’m intrigued by what makes people who they are and why they do what they do.” This lesson was a start in being an effective, compassionate leader and team member.
“My parents taught me to embrace the differences in others and appreciate them for who they are. To this day, I’m intrigued by what makes people who they are and why they do what they do.”
Hendon still relies on her mentor for advice and encouragement. For years, making tough decisions was difficult for her. “She reminded me that being a manager is not always fun. It’s hard sometimes and you’ll face different challenges,” she recalls. “I sometimes have to not let a problem be a problem.”
This advice, coupled with the examples from her parents, allows her to have as much of, or even a more, significant influence on her children. She and her husband of 23 years have taught their children the same lessons. With her son majoring in finance and daughter studying communicative disorders to help others, her influence is evident in their selected career paths.
Hendon has found ways to expand her compassion and the group’s influence through volunteer opportunities with community organizations and national nonprofits. WISE has volunteered with Girls Inc. to encourage and mentor young women to build confidence and leadership. Hendon donates her time and resources to her church, First Baptist Church Trussville, as well as Junior Achievement and the Visiting Allocation Team for United Way of Central Alabama.
Her parents created a strong, empathic foundation that developed the leader she is today. “WISE gives you a networking connection where we can share ideas, strategies and experiences to strengthen engagement and collaboration,” she explains.
Learn more about how Synovus is enabling people to reach their full potential.
