The CUInsight Experience podcast: Inner work with Tracie Kenyon (#209)

Welcome to episode 209 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight, and Jill Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei.

This episode is sponsored by Alacriti—a leading payments fintech helping credit unions compete with challenger banks and digital wallets. Alacriti delivers seamless, real-time money movement experiences for loan payments, A2A transfers, digital disbursements, and bill pay. With a single, cloud-native platform that connects to The Clearing House, Fedwire, ACH, and FedNow, credit unions can modernize without overhauling legacy infrastructure. Learn more at Alacriti.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 joined by a familiar voice—Tracie Kenyon, Executive Development Partner at Humanidei—to discuss the importance of leaders doing inner work: what we bring into the room before the meeting even starts. Even though it's often said that feelings do not belong in the workplace, nothing could be further from the truth.

Inner work is messy, ongoing, and, at times, uncomfortable—but it is also where the most meaningful improvements in leadership happen. Tracie helps us explore what it really looks like to lead from the inside out.

We also reflect on our own growth, and Tracie reminds us that leadership isn’t always about having the right answers but about staying curious, staying grounded, and letting go of the idea that we have to always be perfect and in control of everything.

Whether you are leading a team or leading yourself through a tough season, this episode is for you. Enjoy our conversation with Tracie Kenyon!

[02:31] – Tracie reveals how engaging an executive coach sparked her journey into leadership and personal change.
[03:39] – Jill explores what inner work means to her.
[04:57] – Discovering your values through assessments and inner work helps unlock authentic decision-making.
[08:27] – Coaching is about partnering in thought, not fixing problems or exploring deep emotional trauma; the latter requires professional therapy.
[10:45] – Randy points out that leadership growth demands continual self-reflection, curiosity, and the willingness to slow down when needed.
[12:08] – Inner work via coaching helps leaders confront vulnerability and bring feelings into professional spaces.
[14:25] – Tracie asserts that pain, burnout, or honest feedback often prompt the self-inquiry necessary for meaningful change.
[16:54] – Hear how Randy learned that reflection tools like journaling help align leadership choices with authenticity.
[20:20] – Tracie compares overwhelmed leaders to overdecorated Christmas trees requiring boundaries to avoid collapse.
[22:27] – Jill warns that leadership purpose can sometimes get buried under financial and operational stressors.
[25:14] – Tracie argues that straying from core values creates chaos, causing team confusion and possible loss of talent.
[28:30] – Hear how practicing positive intelligence helps Tracie quickly reframe negativity and stay centered with intention.
[31:06] – Body-based mindfulness techniques can help leaders pause, observe, and build trust.
[34:03] – Jill reflects on how she learned to ask “tell me more” to deepen understanding instead of making assumptions.
[36:48] – Collaborative conversations, rather than directives, can lead to stronger relationships.
[38:38] – Randy, Jill, and Tracie each share their key takeaways from this episode.