Knowledge is power

During my recent presentation at Trellance’s Payments Academy, I spoke about the importance of embracing thought leadership in building a personal brand. I challenged the attendees to ask themselves, “What do I want to be known for?” This sparked a conversation among the presenters and attendees about what makes someone an expert. The consensus was that years of experience in your field is just one of the main ingredients in claiming expertise. The other very important ingredient is the expert’s ability to remain relevant and knowledgeable on his/her area(s) of expertise in this ever-changing landscape.

This got me thinking about the integral role the continuous pursuit of knowledge plays on the journey. As I listened to my colleagues’ presentations, I noted how much was still new to me. With the rapid changes in the payments industry and a continuous conversation around the war on talent in the credit union space, hedging your professional career with the requisite knowledge and resources needed is the only option to remain relevant and adding value.

There are so many educational options to help you grow and develop in your field. In the credit union space, there are several CUSOs that offer courses from the board level to specific operational areas. The question is … what should you be looking for in a training program?

• The Right Content: What content aligns with your current role or more importantly, a role that you see yourself growing into and adding more value to your credit union? Look at the areas that will be covered in the course and use the training opportunity to stretch yourself into other areas as well.
• Updated information: Are the presenters/trainers knowledgeable about what is happening today? Can they tie in their industry experience with today’s trends and what is on the horizon? Training is an investment in time and money. You want information you can use now, but don’t want it to be obsolete in a couple of months. This becomes even more important with data, which should be current and not several years old.
• Actionable strategies: Can you go back to your credit union and implement some changes right away? Does your credit union’s roadmap incorporate short, medium and long-term goals? If so, determine how the knowledge gained from the training program will equip you to achieve some corporate objectives.
• Expert presenters: Do the presenters bring the right mix of experience, current information and an awareness of what is on the horizon to the table? Can they provide guidance in incorporating what you learned into current or future projects within your credit union?

Embracing lifelong learning is an investment that requires justification, and it is not always easy to get into the student mindset, but it is worth it. The Trellance Payments Academy makes it easy by providing an innovative and collaborative learning environment. Knowing that your peers are also trying to gain more knowledge and resources to solve everyday pain points, and that there is a team of experts that will help you to apply the information, make the experience valuable. Visit Trellance.com/academy to view the training content or e-mail info@trellance.com for more information about the Payments Academy or other solutions to solve your pain points.