Jeanne Kucey, president/CEO at JetStream Federal Credit Union, has always been a believer in the philosophy that great risk leads to great returns.

"I do think that leadership and courage go hand-in-hand whether it's tough decisions on expense reduction and efficiency or going in a new direction. Taking risks is an essential piece of leadership," said Kucey. "And while I'm definitely a risk taker, at the same time I do my homework and understand the importance of implementation and follow through. You can't just throw a bunch of ideas without seeing the whole process of a project and what the end should be or look like. Don't let fear rule any aspect of your life."

Even the move to credit unions after working for two banks, one which was the most expensive bank failure and the other, which was the largest bank failure in history, was something she tried out at the suggestion of her very good friend, Deb Schwartz, CEO of Mission Federal Credit Union.