The CUInsight Experience podcast: Alignment (#222)

Welcome to episode 222 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 The Sheeter Group - a leading executive benefits firm that meets your retention and succession needs. This includes non-qualified benefit plans, short and long-term incentive plans, compensation studies, scorecard design, performance evaluation, and more. Learn more at sheetergroup.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 talking all about the importance of alignment, the connection between what an organization claims that it values and what it actually does. We discuss how alignment shows up most clearly in leadership and how, when leaders' words and actions are misaligned, it can create confusion, distrust, and a lack of energy on a team.

Jill notes that true alignment is when "what we say and what we do match up” and gives examples of how misalignment can manifest in an organization. We examine what can cause leaders and organizations to fall out of alignment in the first place, identifying as a key factor. When leaders get excited about new opportunities, they can move too quickly without bringing the team along. Leaders under distress might also make hasty decisions aimed at pleasing rather than staying true to their values.

We also discuss how restoring alignment requires self-reflection—to understand how the misalignment occurred to begin with. Jill highlights the importance of being transparent and admitting mistakes—and recommitting to the organization's core purpose and values. We also stress the importance of defining and reinforcing the "why" behind your organization's goals. We advise leaders to trust their gut when something feels off and to dig deeper to uncover the root cause.

Ultimately, our discussion emphasizes the fact that alignment is not something that happens by accident—but is something that requires ongoing effort, self-awareness, and a persistent focus on ensuring that words and actions are in sync at both the individual and organizational level. Enjoy our conversation on alignment!

[0:45] – Today’s episode is all about alignment!
[2:16] – The quickest way for a leader to break down trust is for their words and actions to be misaligned.
[5:21] – Misalignment often happens when people’s goals don’t match their true values or actions.
[8:31] – Randy reflects on a past board misalignment story, exemplifying how unclear goals caused confusion and scattered focus.
[10:30] – Leadership misalignment leads to stress, confusion, and exhausting shifts for teams.
[12:27] – Jill argues that true alignment appears when every leader speaks to shared goals and not just their own roles.
[14:57] – Jill emphasizes the fact that both positive and negative stress can disrupt alignment.
[16:43] – Leaders excited by change could unintentionally abandon collaboration for faster results.
[18:53] – Jill encourages stressed leaders to question their motives, delegate wisely, and realign with their core values.
[22:11] – Jill asserts that a leader needs to investigate causes and rebuild trust with transparent reflection.
[24:45] – Randy advocates for constantly communicating the original “why” and align goals accordingly even as ideas change.
[26:54] – Jill argues for goal clarity, stressing that clear goals prevent small drifts from becoming catastrophic.
[29:04] – Jill emphasizes that leaders have to distinguish cultural fit from values alignment.
[31:18] – Randy points to the fact that long-term harmony stems from shared core values.
[33:45] – Self-reflection can help clarify when to give chances based on intent vs. alignment.
[35:49] – Randy encourages people to listen to their gut if something feels off because it’s usually right.
[37:18] – Jill stresses the importance of leaders taking time to identify their values.