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The CUInsight Experience

The CUInsight Experience podcast: Paradox with Greg Michlig (#210)

“You establish trust with your team by acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers.” - Greg Michlig

Greg Michlig WordPress

Welcome to episode 210 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com, and Jill Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei.

This episode is sponsored by Alacriti—a leading payments fintech helping credit unions compete with challenger banks and digital wallets. Alacriti delivers seamless, real-time money movement experiences for loan payments, A2A transfers, digital disbursements, and bill pay. With a single, cloud-native platform that connects to The Clearing House, Fedwire, ACH, and FedNow, credit unions can modernize without overhauling legacy infrastructure. Learn more at Alacriti.com.

In this season, Jill and I will have conversations centered around leadership, credit unions, and living our best lives. We will have some of the most respected leaders from around credit unions who we are grateful to call friends join us in the discussion from time to time too.

In this episode, we are joined by CUInsight’s CEO Greg Michlig, who joins us to talk about the power of paradox. Leadership, after all, isn’t always about having the answers. What does it look like to lead with both confidence and humility, to show strength while also admitting to what you don’t know? Greg brings some personal stories and honest reflections, and we explore what it means to lead in uncertain times without pretending to be certain, and how the best leaders learn to embrace complexity rather than run from it.

We also get personal when we look at the idea of “being right” vs. “getting it right” and we reflect on the uncomfortable (and sometimes hilarious) experience of feeling like an imposter and a winner . . . at the same time!

If you have ever felt the pressure to perform, to decide fast, or to prove yourself worthy of your title, we encourage you to listen in. Enjoy our conversation with Greg Michlig!



How to find Greg

Greg Michlig

Greg Michlig

CUInsight.com

An advocate for the credit union movement, Greg brings a wealth of experience from roles including EVP/chief engagement officer at America’s Credit Unions (formerly CUNA), New Jersey Credit Union League President/CEO, senior director at CUES, and a 9-year tenure in payments processing. ...

His background spans communications strategy, marketing, sales, business development, customer relations, digital, enterprise operations, and industry supplier relations. He has also worked on a variety of strategic and operational matters as a credit union consultant.

Outside of his work with CUInsight, Greg enjoys spending time with family, playing golf, and performing music, primarily as a drummer. Over the years, he has coached youth baseball, basketball, football, and softball. Greg and his wife Stacy have three children – an adult son and daughter, and a high school son. He also enjoys attending sporting events (Badgers, Brewers, Bucks and Packers), boating, and spending time outdoors.

Shout-out: New Jersey Credit Union League
Place mentioned: New Jersey
Shout-out: Chris Abeel
Shout-out: Nicola Foggie
Shout-out: Harvard
Shout-out: CUES
Shout-out: Pemco
Shout-out: Brad Campbell
Shout-out: David Miller
Shout-out: Lauren Culp
Shout-out: America’s Credit Unions
Shout-out: Jim Nussle
Shout-out: Mollie Bell
Shout-out: Maps Credit Union
Shout-out: Shane Saunders
Shout-out: Mocse Credit Union
Shout-out: Velera
Shout-out: EDGE 25 Conference
Shout-out: Filene
Shout-out: CUDX
Shout-out: Steve Carell
Character mentioned: Michael Scott
TV series mentioned: The Office

[02:14] – Hear how Greg led by listening and relying on experts while adapting to unfamiliar responsibilities.
[04:26] – Balancing confidence with humility has shaped Randy’s growth from solo work to team leadership.
[06:09] – Preparation and listening help Greg manage imposter syndrome and lead teams despite having some gaps in knowledge.
[08:56] – Greg argues that admitting to not knowing something actually builds trust.
[11:10] – Modern leadership demands being adaptable and collaborating over rigid administration, especially during uncertainty.
[14:35] – Jill points out that new leaders need to balance urgency with patience to avoid burnout.
[16:24] – Hear how Randy has learned patience and awareness of others’ work rhythms.
[19:04] – Greg has learned that even though being eager is powerful, true leadership requires pacing and patience.
[21:42] – Leading change demands balancing urgency with empathy and strategy to move organizations forward.
[23:38] – Jill asserts that leaders need to balance realism about obstacles with optimism to motivate their teams.
[24:45] – Advocating both upward and downward helps ensure balanced decisions that honor team input and leadership priorities.
[26:20] – Legacy means letting go so that others can evolve what you built after you’re gone.
[28:53] – A lasting legacy must evolve, just like credit unions must adapt to serve changing communities.
[30:55] – Randy embraces CUInsight’s evolution, seeing its growth beyond the original vision as a success.
[32:03] – True leadership means combining deep empathy with high expectations to bring out the best in people.
[35:15] – Mastering paradoxes enables leaders to stay balanced and adaptable in complex situations.
[37:09] – Greg says servant leadership means equipping others to succeed—not doing their work—but empowering their success.

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