Creating a “Wow” Credit Union Board Meeting

By Michael Daigneault

Consider a typical board meeting. There is a call to order, some chairman and CEO remarks, committee reports, a call for old and new business, then adjournment. Did you ever realize a vast majority of what is said aloud in the meeting is exactly the same information provided in written form, begging the question: Was that a “board” meeting or a “bored” meeting?

As financial services have evolved from a staid, conservative industry to a highly competitive sales and service focused marketplace, the conversations happening in the boardroom have not experienced a parallel transformation. As I work with credit unions, I challenge them to ask themselves:

• Are we addressing the right questions in the board room? If you answered no, the board might be stuck at the dysfunctional or functional level of governance.
• How should we think or act differently? A new approach can help the board evolve to the responsible or exceptional level of governance.

Here is my vision for leaving routinized (unconscious) meetings behind and evolving to “wow” (enlightened) meetings:

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