Are you leading a credit union transformation?

My job as the CEO of CUES has an important goal in common with the jobs of many of our members: Transforming an organization rich in history and prestige into one that’s positioned to meet the evolving needs of current and future members.

Like many credit union CEOs and top executives, I’ve tackled this challenge in part by tapping into the knowledge of existing staff—and that means developing outstanding internal communication has been critical. Recently, I sent this email to all CUES staff members to explain my perspective on how we can best get our messages across to each other. If you know me, you won’t be surprised that I used an analogy from sports to explain:

“To me, communicating with others is like passing a basketball. When someone passes their teammate the ball, if the intended result of their pass doesn’t happen, it’s the passer’s fault, not the recipient. If there is a mistake, perhaps the passer should have thrown a bounce pass versus a chest pass. Maybe the passer should have waited until the recipient got in a better position before he passed the ball.

The same principles hold true when I communicate to others. I want every communication to result in the other party clearly understanding my message. How I deliver my message depends on the individual(s) listening and the situation.

At CUES, we’re making significant progress with our communication. We’re addressing silos, providing constructive feedback and engaging in tough conversations to address the true opportunities or challenges at hand. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, and know we will continue to improve as we continue to embrace effective communication.”

This internal communication effort means we know what CUES members are going through—and we’re positioning ourselves to help. As examples, check out our new CUES Elite Access™: Virtual Classroom courses on Transformational Leadership (free to CUES-member CEOs;  June 6, July 18 and Sept. 12) and How to Influence Others (Sept. 19 and 26). And of course our flagship CEO Institute III: Strategic Leadership Development (next to be held Aug. 20-25 at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business) continues to be a program graduates consistently say molds them as professionals who effectively lead others.

Please let me know how your efforts to lead your history-rich organization into a successful future are going. I’ll have more stories and additional resources and programs to share when we talk.

John Pembroke

John Pembroke

As president/CEO of CUES, John Pembroke came full circle in his career. His first exposure to business was a high school internship working in his father’s church credit ... Web: www.cues.org Details