MAUI, Hawaii — Whether your board is "rubber stamp" or "watchdog," what you want it to be is a "challenger," according to Mary Beth Spuck, CEO of The Paragon Group.

Spuck cited various types of board members, as defined by the Filene Research Institute. The rubber stampers just passively approve everything without researching and asking the right questions on management. The scouts are very in-tune to the membership's needs but exhibit less strength in oversight. The watchdog, Spuck explained, is "when you overuse your strengths, they can become weaknesses and meander into micromanagement."

Finally, the challenger board is one that can serve as the necessary monitor of credit union activities while also remaining sensitive to changing member needs. "While it is difficult to bring that together, it is possible and one of the ways to do that is the board assessment," Spuck said.