On Oct. 3, Meridian Bank hosted its CEO Series event at the Radnor Hotel, featuring Guest Speaker and former Navy SEAL Commander Rich Diviney. The audience was filled with local business leaders to hear Diviney’s presentation, which was followed by cocktails, food, and networking. As a takeaway, each attendee received a signed copy of Diviney’s book, The Attributes. 

Diviney’s presentation emphasized the principles behind creating high-performing teams, drawing from his 21 years as a Navy SEAL. He focused on the attributes described in his book, specifically the attributes of adaptability, trust, and optimal performance over peak performance, and stressed the need for teams to dynamically adjust to changing environments. For example, during a mission in Afghanistan, Diviney’s team successfully adapted to unexpected shifts in their target’s movements, leading to a successful capture without bloodshed.

“We’re not peak performers; we’re actually optimal performers,” he stated. “Optimal performance means ‘I’m going to do the very best in the moment,’ whatever the best looks like at that moment.”

Diviney also introduced the concept of “dynamic subordination,” where leadership fluidly shifts depending on who is best suited to address the problem at hand, stating that the leader of a team is whoever the leader needs to be in the moment. Ultimately, the person closest to the problem and who is the most capable immediately steps up and takes the lead.

He contrasted skills, which are learned, with attributes, which are inherent qualities, explaining that attributes such as resilience, courage, and adaptability are what guide behavior under stress and uncertainty.

Finally, Diviney emphasized that trust is the foundation of any successful team and highlighted four domains of trust —competence, consistency, character, and compassion — and noted that trust is earned through behavior.

“Trust is, in fact, a belief,” he said. “All we can do is behave in a way that allows someone to choose to trust us.”

The Meridian Bank CEO Series connects local CEOs and business owners with innovative, world-class speakers through high-quality events each year. Meridian Bank has been hosting its CEO Series since 2010 when it began as a gathering of just a dozen people in the Malvern-based bank’s conference room. Since then, the series has successfully grown, featuring prominent speakers like Pat Toomey, Jeff Hunter, Brian Beaulieu, and others.

About Rich Diviney

Diviney is a bestselling Author, Leadership, and Human Performance Expert, and retired Navy SEAL Commander. During his 20+ career in the U.S. Military, Diviney has completed more than 13 deployments overseas.

As the officer tasked with training others for specialized command, Diviney was intimately involved in an extremely specialized SEAL selection process, paring down a group of exceptional candidates to a small cadre of the most elite optimal performers. He also spearheaded the creation of a directorate, employing a strong emphasis on physical, mental, and emotional discipline to optimize the team’s performance. Diviney led his small team to create the first-ever “Mind Gym” that helped special operators train their brains to perform faster, longer, and better in all environments — especially high-stress ones.

Since retiring from the Navy, Diviney has worked as a Speaker, Facilitator, and Consultant at the Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek Inc. In 2020, Diviney founded The Attributes Inc., where he currently serves as the corporation’s CEO.

Today, Diviney speaks and consults on leadership strategies, assessment and selection processes, and optimal performance techniques. He has worked with thousands of businesses, athletic organizations, and military leaders including American Airlines, Meijer Inc., the San Francisco 49ers, Pegasystems, Zoom, and Deloitte.

Learn more at Meridian Bank. Founded in 2004 and based in Malvern, Meridian Bank specializes in business and industrial lending, as well as retail and commercial real estate lending.