CEO Guide to Effective Leadership
CEO Guide to Effective Leadership

Getting to the top of the corporate ladder can take years and is an impressive accomplishment if you can get there. As a CEO in the credit union industry, you find yourself in the ultimate leadership role with greater responsibilities, and an obligation to live up to the credit union standard. This means that your ability to effectively lead a team of individuals and also keep your members happy is extremely important. Usually, success or failure reflects the people at the top and while we don’t doubt your skills as a leader, there are a few points to always keep in mind when it comes to effective leadership. Here is Oak Tree’s Credit Union CEO Guide to Effective Leadership:

1. Strategic thinking

As a leader, you should always be two steps ahead and have a clear focus on what you are effectively trying to accomplish. Keep your focus on a few main areas, track progress, and measure growth. Also, being aware of and recognizing efficient strategies is beneficial. In order to think strategically, you have to learn how to do so. Stay up to date with new leadership methods, attend conferences, and take in information.

2. Authenticity

The ability to be authentic helps develop trust and makes it easier to motivate. People are much more likely to follow someone’s example when they have complete trust in him. This trust is gained when leaders speak from their hearts, rather than what they think others expect them to say. In addition, a leader’s true colors can be seen in the actions of his private life. These actions should be mirrored in your public life to demonstrate transparency.

Make it a point to be focused on results and be mission-driven. This shows that you are more interested in a collective goal, rather than personal gain. Listen to your instincts, and always come from a place of genuineness.

3. Stay in touch

Keep a close eye on members and what they say about your credit union… whether it is good or bad. A bad review just means you know what to do better next time. A good review means you know what to keep doing. Take everything into account and always listen. This goes for employees, as well. Cultivate an environment that shows you are willing to work together and hear anyone out. Great customer service begins with happy and engaged employees. Make it a point to keep this engagement high and you will see it carry over to member satisfaction.

4. Stay prepared

Staying prepared is a major cornerstone of success. Take it from Roman philosopher Seneca who said “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” As a CEO you are often expected to make decisions under pressure, so it is essential to be ready for anything. Being “lucky” won’t help you make decisions; you have to create your own luck. You do this by creating a success or action plan. Action plans provide accountability to strategic thinking. A properly mapped-out success plan allows for ideas to be set in motion.

Strategic planning should include these 7 steps. See the example for each step:

  • Step 1: Write a Vision Statement
  • Step 2: Write a Mission Statement
  • Step 3: Perform a Gap Analysis
  • Step 4: Write SMART Goals
  • Step 5: Prioritize Assignments
  • Step 6: Monitor Progress
  • Step 7: Evaluate Performance

Small and large projects tend to be more effective with a good plan and teamwork. A perfect example would be the recent strategic plan released in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is their most recent development project for their community. Their vision is to expand opportunities for residents and tourists with the mission of having a well-balanced community. Extensive analysis has been done, but more research needs to be done, such as analysis of land use, quality growth, housing options, transportation reports, and more. Each goal is meticulously outlined. According to the Las Vegas city council, the last strategic planning meeting was in March 2014. Such meetings typically occur every four to five years, which is crucial to prioritize and project ahead. Monitoring a large-scale project will be key to a good performance outcome.

To relay this strategic planning module into the credit union world, we can look at the example of credit union executive management with the vision to expand by opening a new branch. The mission would be to provide better member services by increasing branch locations and ultimately growing the credit union. In the GAP Analysis, management will have to analyze the current state of the credit union and identify the future state. Two popular modules used to perform this analysis are the SWOT Analysis and the McKinsey 7S Framework. Once the need for an additional branch can be justified by either of these methods, management can begin to prioritize assignments such as choosing a location, hiring and training staff, purchasing equipment, and furniture, etc. It is the project manager’s responsibility to track the progress of the project to see that all assignments are on time and that the project will be ready for its set launch date. In this example of opening a new branch, management will circle back to examine metrics such as loan volume, branch traffic, member satisfaction rates, etc. to determine if the vision and mission have been met.

When it comes to developing strategies, be prepared for all outcomes and have a plan in place for any successes or failures. As we mentioned earlier, it helps to stay two steps ahead.

There are plenty of other things that contribute to the success of a leader but you should never stray from the basics.

Oak Tree has been a leading provider of credit union forms and disclosures for almost 40 years. We offer other services to credit unions, as well. Contact us for information regarding our documents and forms for credit unionscompliance support, or any other general questions you may have.