"Directors are at once our greatest strength and at once our greatest weakness," now-retired CUES CEO Fred Johnson told me in his exit interview. Unfortunately, it is uttered far too often and is far too true. Governance is a common topic of conversation, but I'm not confident much is being done to improve it among credit unions boards.

Governance is a frequent subject at conferences, and some really excellent speakers are acquired to discuss the topic. But like so many educational sessions, attendees go home and, as they say in New Jersey, fuhgeddaboudit.

Assessments are essential for the modern board, yet many boards won't use them. Some don't know how, some are comfortable with the status quo and some just don't want the rock the boat. If a credit union is scared to address the quality of the board, a major problem exists. The anticipated results are apparent. Being able to feign ignorance doesn't resolve the root of the issue.