Herron, 52, admitted that there are some definite obstacles for female bankers. The limitations that women place on themselves ls probably the biggest, she said.
Women must also learn to not depend so much on emotion in business, she believes. "We women think that's a prerogative of ours," she said, "but it's not something you can do and be effective as you'd like in your position."
Herron said she looks for women who talk less and listen more. The skill has to be developed if women expect to succeed, she said.
"It's difficult because women I tend to not be as good listeners as they ought to be," she said. "We tend to talk more. If you listen, you can pick up on the underlying things that people aren't telling you."
Herron started at the bottom of the banking heap more than 32 years ago. She was a bookkeeper who worked her way up, she said. She became executive vice president of the bank in 1966.
"At the time I started we only had· three employees,'' she said. "We all sort of juggled duties. "In a seven-year period I had five bosses. They would hire a CEO and that person would con tinue to move to higher ground. It made sense to hire me”
Balancing her traditional female’s role and her actual job was difficult at times, she said. Having it all require more give than take, she said.
"Juggling your career and your career at home can be a strain," she said. "It puts more demand on you than you sometimes realize.
"If I ever thought that there is a challenge as far as being a woman in this business or any business, that's it."
Looking back, Herron said she's pleased she matched career goals with her family life. Married 11 years to Cordy Herron, her daughter Robin Davenport is an assistant vice president of a Chicago bank.
Son Robert Davenport is an exercise physiologist with a health and fitness club in Evansville, Ind. Herron also has four stepchildren and three step grandsons.
"When my kids were growing up it got kind of confusing," she said, ‘but it really wasn't that difficult. "It's learning to communicate in your family, and my husband was always very supportive."
Taking time out for herself gives her work a boost, she said. Women need to gauge when they've had enough, she said. “The time you enjoy wasting ls not wasted time," she said.
Supportive of other women in her field, Herron said that she took many of her professional cues from a man. Former First National Bank of Danville president Al Schrlshuhn taught her how to deal with her clients and how to serve them, she said.
Those lessons have proved in valuable," she said. "The only thing we have to sell ls service. And so does everyone else, so we need to outsell, and care about the people."
Herron said that the doors of the banking industry have been open to women for a long time. "The opportunities for women on all levels are excellent," she said. "You have to prove yourself, of course. But, once you set out to accomplish the goals, the sky is the limit.''
