Boost your bench

Internal leadership development programs elevate staff skills.

Erica Botka, left, and Lecia Roundtree say internal leadership development programs provide both strategic and cultural benefits.

Teaching leadership at credit unions can unlock strategic success, buttress succession planning, and build key bench strength at all levels throughout an organization.

Although credit unions have training programs to onboard new employees and develop current staff members, fewer target their talent development efforts specifically at building effective leaders.

But those that do report that leadership training benefits the entire organization and drives strategy forward.

“It’s rooted in our core philosophy that a leader is a trusted follower who develops trusted leaders,” says Erica Botka, talent development manager at the $1.2 billion asset University of Michigan Credit Union (UMCU) in Ann Arbor. “The goal is to see them become successors, move up within the organization, and give them skill sets that trickle down to the team members.”

 

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