Nichole Goddard worked hard to align herself for success, and her efforts have paid off.
At the end of last year, Goddard was named director of retail administration at Commerce Bank, responsible for the overall administration and operation of branches in Springfield, Bolivar, Branson, Lebanon, Willard, Republic, Nixa and Ozark. She is replacing someone with 40 years of experience at the bank.
“This is the job that I have been preparing for my entire life, and I am most humbled to be given this opportunity to fill this position,” Goddard says.
She has spent 17 years in banking, 13 of them with Commerce, starting as a receptionist and working up to teller, a financial services representative, then assistant operations manager, mortgage processor and, eventually, branch manager. She later was named a group manager.
“I have taken several positions throughout my career to ensure that I am well-rounded,” she says.
Goddard was 20 when she started in banking. She hadn’t finished college, choosing first to get married and start a family.
But she was always committed to pursuing her education and graduated magna cum laude from Evangel University in 2011.
Goddard has been involved in helping Commerce update their systems, such as when the bank transitioned its teller transaction processing to an online system. She served on corporate committees and provided market-level feedback, traveling between branches to guide the rollout.
“I enjoyed the experience, because it allowed me to be very close to the challenges while demonstrating that it was very doable for the front-line staff,” Goddard says.
She also took the lead when the bank initiated a new customer relationship management tool, a challenging change to implement, she says.
“Change is always difficult, and as a manager it is one of the most challenging paths when coaching people,” Goddard says.
“However, as leader of this change, I was able to go out and coach our staff hands-on.”
Beyond work, Goddard is president-elect of the board of Ozarks Counseling Center, which operates almost exclusively on donations. When the organization faced financial difficulties a few years ago, she worked on a committee that affected several changes, including hiring a new director, cutting costs and maximizing donations. She co-chaired a fundraiser that helped stabilize finances.
“This was a difficult task and required a huge time commitment,” Goddard says.
“However our successes resulted in an additional $25,000 to the bottom line. This provided more than 200 additional hours of counseling for our clients. As national tragedies occur and ties are made to mental-health issues, it is all the more meaningful how our community supports organizations like OCC. One can never know the value of counseling, as it may mean all the difference in the world for the people it serves.”
Click here for full coverage of the 2013 40 Under 40.[[In-content Ad]]
