Erin Pryor of First Horizon Bank: The Mindset Shift of Observing the Room and Listening That Helps Overcome Being Perceived as Intimidating

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Erin Pryor.

Erin Pryor currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for corporate-wide marketing, brand management, and client experience. She leads a team charged with creating and executing marketing and client experience strategies supporting the First Horizon Bank brand and business objectives. Prior to joining First Horizon, Erin led the brand and go-to-market strategy development for USAA Bank. She graduated from Southern Methodist University where she played volleyball for the Mustangs.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I grew up in Round Rock, Texas with my parents and younger brother. I loved growing up there. Round Rock has become an extension of Austin, but at the time it was a much smaller town. I played sports most of my life and chose to focus on volleyball my sophomore year in high school. I went on to play for Southern Methodist University (SMU) where I still hold the record for kills. That being said, don’t ask me to play on your team these days because I’m not sure you’d be able to fit a credit card beneath my jump!

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

After graduating from SMU I was either going to play professional volleyball in Europe or move to NYC. I found an apartment in the city before my volleyball contract came through and I informed my parents that I was selling my car, moving to New York, and that I would either make it there or run out of money and be home in six months! While in New York, I worked in journalism/communications for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and CBS. I took a position with a publishing company that moved me to Los Angeles where, in addition to writing, I was involved with advertising, sales and marketing.

In 2010 I was offered a position with a start-up bank called Opus Bank. The CEO hired one or two people in the beginning who knew nothing about banking as a management trainee. I rotated through the lines of business and ultimately into marketing where I worked for an incredible CMO who is still my mentor today. I learned so much from that experience and I would not be where I am today without having taken that chance. From there, I went on to a wealth management platform mid-stage company that was acquired by Goldman Sachs, and then to USAA before joining First Horizon.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I’m not sure if it’s interesting — but if you told me 12 years ago that I would be working in banking today I probably would have laughed. Life is an interesting combination of twists and turns!

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Authentic (people oriented), Flexible (open to change), Problem solver (action-oriented).

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

Women have been conditioned to be the caretakers, not the corporate playmakers. Men have held the positions of power forever, and according to CNBC women held less than 15% of executive officer roles as of 2021. I’m not sure that society overall feels uncomfortable by strong women — I definitely see a shift happening. Vulnerability and authenticity have become more common and, even welcome, in the workplace. In my experience, women generally tend to be more empathetic and in touch with their emotional self which gives them the ability to build trust and see situations from varying perspectives. There is definitely an opportunity to continue to promote women into leadership positions.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

Financial services is a predominantly male industry. As of 2021, only 28% of C-Suite roles in the North America financial services industry were held by women according to the same CNBC article I referenced earlier. I’ve been fortunate in my career to have primarily worked for institutions promoting equity and inclusion within the workplace. However, there was a situation where the leader of a company did not surround themself with women at the highest level. This person would place qualified women in “opportunity” positions and then ignore, and even undermine them, to the point where they would lose self-confidence and begin to second-guess themselves. Ultimately, many incredible and smart women left due to the toxic culture in the company. The silver lining is that experience bonded many of us together and some of those women remain my good friends to this day.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

I stand nearly 6’0 tall (even taller with heels) and am high energy. I learned through a 360-review process that I can be perceived as intimidating — which was news to me! Since then, I’ve focused on observing the room, listening to people and ensuring they feel heard. Now that I’m aware of the misperception, implementing those three actions has made a huge difference for me.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

We need to continue supporting and encouraging one another. There is a stigma about women tearing other women down. We can eliminate that by celebrating one another’s success and providing mentorship and sponsorship for the next generation of strong women.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

Nothing of that nature immediately comes to mind but I recognize that many women have had uncomfortable experiences. I respect and appreciate the women who have come before me and paved the way so I have a seat at the table without having to endure those things.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Oftentimes women leaders are not heard. Women will speak up in a meeting only for their idea to be dismissed. Then, a man will make a similar statement and be told it’s a great idea or thought. That, and mansplaining.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I have moved across the U.S. for my career, which has been both wonderful and challenging. It’s always exciting experiencing new places and meeting new people, but logistics become an issue when you are working in one place and your friends and family are in another. Balancing all of the travel has been a struggle. There have been months where I have not stayed in one city for more than a few days at a time in order to make it work.

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

Recently I fell ill for the third time in as many months and I typically don’t get sick. At that time I had been traveling a ton and really pushing myself hard. I realized that in my quest to fulfill every obligation and be everywhere, I was running myself into the ground. I’m an ambivert, a balance of extroverted and introverted tendencies. I get a lot of energy from being around others, but I’ve realized I also need downtime to recharge. I’ve since made a point to go easier on myself, have better control of my calendar, and make time for the people I care about and the things I love to do.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

I put time and effort into my appearance, but I don’t believe it’s a requirement to be a powerful female or a good leader. I like to start my day by working out as it sets the tone and gets me in a good headspace. I love fashion (I’m definitely not saying that I’m fashionable!) and sometimes I’ll pick out what I wear based on how I want to feel that day — that could mean four- inch heels or it could be pairing a dress with sneakers. It varies. At the end of the day, I want to feel good about myself both inside and out.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

• Be authentic — stay true to you
• Find Mentors and Sponsors — both male and female
• Don’t be intimidated. You have a voice — use it
• Know there will both good and bad days — keep pushing forward
• Surround yourself with smart people who challenge your way of thinking

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would love to meet Indra Nooyi, the former chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo. I’ve listened to her interviews on a few podcasts and think she’s amazing. She has broken barriers, achieved career success and has incredible insights and advice.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.