We’ve all been there. You return to your desk after an intensive training program—whether it’s a compliance framework, sales methodology, leadership development, or executive education at a prestigious business school—brimming with new models, frameworks, and “best practices.” Your notes are meticulous. Your mind is racing with possibilities. You’re ready to implement everything exactly as prescribed.

And therein lies the trap.

The Post-Training Authenticity Crisis

What typically follows is what I call the “post-training authenticity crisis”—that uncomfortable period where you attempt to force-fit someone else’s methodology into your natural style and strengths. Your client conversations become stilted. Your decision-making slows as you mentally check whether you’re “doing it right.” Colleagues notice something’s off, even if they can’t quite identify what’s changed.

This is particularly challenging in banking and financial services, where structured methodologies and compliance frameworks are ubiquitous—whether you’re a banking professional implementing new risk models or a solution provider selling technology to financial institutions. The results rarely match the promise. Not because the training was flawed, but because perfect implementation of someone else’s system will always yield suboptimal results compared to an authentic adaptation that leverages your unique strengths.

My Journey Through Methodology Adaptation

This challenge has followed me throughout my career, across multiple domains within the financial sector. As a sales professional selling to banks, I encountered highly structured methodologies like SPIN selling—a framework designed to guide sales conversations through Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff questions. Later, working with banks implementing transformation initiatives, I witnessed banking professionals struggling to implement prescribed frameworks without adaptations for their specific organizational cultures.

In both contexts, I discovered the same truth: the systems contained genuine wisdom, but their value emerged fully only when adapted to leverage authentic strengths.

For instance, while SPIN prescribed a methodical linear progression through question types, I found greater success flowing naturally between them based on genuine curiosity and conversation dynamics—particularly important when navigating the complex stakeholder environments of financial institutions. I maintained the essence—understanding problems deeply before proposing solutions—while adapting the implementation to incorporate my relationship-building strengths.

The results spoke for themselves. Within six months of adapting the SPIN methodology to my natural style, I won the UK-wide “Parcel Power” sales competition against representatives from major courier companies with years more experience. This wasn’t despite adapting the methodology, but because of it. Later, these same adaptation principles helped me successfully sell complex financial compliance solutions to banks when others struggled with rigid implementation of sales processes.

This pattern continued throughout my career across multiple roles—from selling banking software to leading cross-border banking transformation initiatives. The most valuable frameworks weren’t those I implemented perfectly, but those I adapted thoughtfully to align with my authentic approach while respecting their core principles.

The Adaptation Imperative in Banking and Financial Services

This experience revealed what I now consider a fundamental truth about professional development in the financial sector: effectiveness comes not from perfect conformity to established systems, but from thoughtful adaptation that respects principles while leveraging personal strengths.

The most successful professionals I’ve encountered—from banking executives to fintech sales leaders to risk management specialists—all share this ability. They don’t reject methodologies outright, nor do they follow them blindly. Instead, they:

1. Study frameworks deeply enough to understand their underlying principles
2. Distinguish between essential elements (especially compliance requirements) and flexible implementation details
3. Adapt the approach to leverage their authentic strengths
4. Validate their adaptations through measurable results
5. Continue refining based on feedback and outcomes

 

This isn’t about ignoring valuable training or dismissing expert guidance. It’s about integrating new knowledge with your existing strengths rather than abandoning your uniqueness to follow someone else’s exact path—whether you’re a banking professional implementing new operational frameworks or a solution provider selling to financial institutions.

The Courage to Adapt in Risk-Averse Environments

Adapting methodologies requires particular courage in banking and financial services—environments where conformity is often valued above innovation and “following the process” is equated with professionalism and compliance. When I’ve trained both banking teams and those selling to banks, I’ve noticed that many participants are actually seeking permission to adapt rather than instruction on perfect implementation.

This applies across domains:

• For Banking Professionals: The most effective transformation leaders adapt methodologies to fit their institution’s unique culture and regulatory environment rather than forcing generic approaches.
• For Sales Professionals: The most successful financial services solution providers adapt sales frameworks to align with the complex decision-making processes of banking institutions.
• For Risk and Compliance Teams: The most impactful specialists implement frameworks in ways that accomplish regulatory objectives while fitting their bank’s specific operational reality.

 

The alternative—attempting to transform yourself into a perfect practitioner of someone else’s system—almost always leads to diminished performance, reduced authenticity, and eventually, abandonment of the valuable principles the methodology contains.

Finding Your Way in Financial Services

So how do you navigate this challenge? How do you extract maximum value from training while maintaining your authenticity in banking or when selling to financial institutions?

Start by asking these questions after any training or development program:

1. What are the underlying principles that make this methodology effective in financial services contexts?
2. Which elements are non-negotiable (especially compliance-related) and which are flexible in implementation?
3. How can I adapt the approach to leverage my natural strengths while meeting all regulatory requirements?
4. What specific modifications would make this more authentic to my style and more effective in banking environments?
5. How will I measure whether my adaptations are effective while ensuring compliance?

 

The goal isn’t to reject structure or ignore wisdom—it’s to integrate that wisdom in a way that enhances rather than suppresses your authentic strengths while meeting all necessary requirements of the highly regulated financial sector.

Win Your Way, Not Theirs

This philosophy—adapting methodologies to leverage your authentic strengths rather than forcing yourself to follow someone else’s exact path—has guided my journey from professional sports to corporate leadership in banking technology to building a 90,000-member banking community using unconventional approaches. It’s a principle I call “Win Your Way, Not Theirs,” which forms the foundation of my upcoming book scheduled for release this summer.

The book traces this principle through various phases of my life—from developing an unorthodox cricket technique that led to championship success in England, to adapting corporate methodologies across multiple financial institutions, to building The Banking 50 community using unconventional approaches, to navigating life-threatening illness and war-driven displacement through a uniquely positive approach.

Throughout these diverse challenges, the consistent thread has been finding the balance between respecting valuable structures and adapting implementation to leverage authentic strengths. It’s about winning your way, not someone else’s.

As you return from your next training program or development experience—whether in risk management frameworks, digital transformation methodologies, or financial solution selling—remember: the greatest value comes not from perfect implementation, but from thoughtful adaptation. Study the system, understand its principles, then make it your own. That’s where true excellence emerges, even in highly structured financial environments.

Morten Kriek’s book “Win Your Way, Not Theirs: Unconventional Lessons in Leadership, Resilience, and Transformation” will be released in Summer 2025.