Credit/Shutterstock
One of the NCUA’s most recent points of emphasis is succession planning. Amending their regulations on succession planning, the NCUA is essentially saying credit unions must identify, develop and retain key personnel across the organization.
In other words, credit unions must prepare now to pass the baton to the next level of leadership.
But succession planning is more than just a regulation. It’s good business practice. As Jim Collins says in “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,” “One responsibility we considered paramount is seeing the continuity of capable senior leadership.” In his exhaustive study of organizations that have the most continual success, on which the book is based, Collins found that great companies build leadership from within. He goes on to say, “Visionary companies develop, promote and carefully select managerial talent grown from inside the company to a greater degree.”
What are you doing now to develop the next generation of leadership? You need to examine and take steps this year to grow four key groups: Your board, your executives, your mid-level managers and your rising stars.
Leadership development does not just happen by osmosis: It takes intentionality. You need to formalize your leadership training and give staff tips on moving to the C-suite.
Formalizing Your Leadership Training
John Maxwell of Maxwell Leadership says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Apply that to your credit union: Everything at your board will rise and fall on its leadership; everything at your branches will rise and fall on leadership; everything in _________________ department will rise and fall on leadership.
Leadership training is a process – not attending a one-time seminar. You need to consistently train your board, your executives, your mid-level managers and your rising stars.
Your credit union needs a formal leadership training program.
That training starts with your board. Your board has the potential to be your greatest asset (or your greatest weakness). One the best things you do for your board is conduct a board assessment. Through this process you can quickly determine the knowledge gaps your board has. Then you create a plan to address those shortcomings.
But leadership doesn’t just start and end with the board. As the NCUA noted, you have to develop all key positions. This includes your executives and managers.
One credit union that successfully implemented a multi-year leadership development program is Centric Credit Union ($385 million; 39,000 members; West Monroe, La.). “We’ve been able to move several of our people into management roles and I believe that’s because of our leadership training. Because of that training, we were able to develop our managers and promote from within.”
Through their leadership program, they covered issues like “How to Lead Change,” “A Mind for Leadership” and “Leadership Blind Spots.”
It’s equally important to also train your “rising stars.” A recent study from a recruitment firm noted that 40% of Gen Y and Z do not want to enter management or leadership roles because of the perceived extra work, time and stress. The credit union movement will only be as strong as the leaders who help shape it and ensure it continues its legacy.
UniWyo Credit Union ($735 million; 57,000 members; Laramie, Wyo.) initially started their leadership training with their executive team. They quickly included their management team and for the past two years have invested in their “rising stars.” Dave Krause, UniWyo’s CEO, said, “The most surprising thing about leadership training was how fast our managers grew. Now these managers have contributed to our strategic plan and work cross-functionally together.”
Formalizing your leadership training grows your bench and increases your managers’ effectiveness. And an added bonus: It shows the NCUA what you’re doing to follow their regulations.
Give Your Staff Tips on Moving to the C-suite
Today’s current managers, loan officers and member service reps are tomorrow’s C-suite executives. And they often wonder, “How do I get to the next level?” You should continually coach your employees on how to attain those growth opportunities. It’s so much better to grow from within than hiring externally.
I often get asked by our leadership training percipients, “How do I get to the C-suite?” Here are tips you can share with them:
- Become a linchpin: In this book “Linchpin,” Seth Godin notes that a linchpin is someone who is so valuable in the organization they almost can’t replace you. Before you are an executive, you’re often first a linchpin.
- Think outside your silo: Executives see the big picture. Managers just see their own department. Make sure you are training your managers on how to think strategically.
- Bring process and idea improvements: If you want to move up in the organization, look for ways to improve the credit union. Idea generators grow the organization and grow themselves.
Does all this emphasis on growing leaders increase expenses and negatively impact the bottom line? After all, investing in leaders is a long-term play when credit unions have yearly net income and ROA numbers they are trying to achieve.
The truth is that investing in leadership training does indeed impact the immediate bottom line – in a positive way. Accordingly HR Cloud, a highly engaged workforce increases profitability by 21%. That statistic is critical because it’s your management and leadership team that have the greatest impact on employee engagement.
As Collins concluded in “Built to Last,” “The issue is not only how well the company will do during the current generation. The crucial question is how well will the company perform in the next generation.”
You want to build a credit union not just for this generation … but for the generations to come. And that means we must pass the baton to the next level of leaders.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
