The other side of the coin

Has your credit union been feeling the pinch? The seemingly sudden tightening of the economic screws? Have any of us lived through more industry uncertainty?

For the past two years our credit union has placed additional scrutiny on backfilling open positions. We have used the tactic to not only slow operating expense growth but to encourage creative problem solving and optimize processes. As many of us in financial institution land have done, over this past summer we began to take additional measures to slow expense growth, including assessing opportunities to consolidate functions, and thereby teams, doing similar work with similar outcomes and expectations.

Change is hard and leading the effort to consolidate teams was, as you might expect, emotionally grueling. As leaders on my team and I struggled to help shepherd teammates through the transition, we searched for the right words to use, words to approach the situation with grace. After all, words create connection, elicit emotions, and generate understanding.

During this time, I came across a meme on social media and, I hate to admit, it spoke to me. So, I grabbed the language and used it in a discussion with the team. As we welcome 2024, which will bring new challenges and potentially more headwinds (especially as it is an election year – and everything seems to get even more crazy in an election year), I wanted to share the meme with you in the hopes it speaks to you as well.

cry has 3 letters, but so does joy

hate has 4 letters, but so does love

lying has 5 letters but so does truth

enemies has 7 letters, but so does friends

negativity has 10 letters, but so does positivity

Life is 2 sided … you choose

The science of positivity is real and rooted in self-care and well-being. We all walk emotionally grueling paths. When we choose joy, love, truth, friendship, and positivity even our darkest tunnel is one we can walk through – and help others do the same. Here’s to 2024 and change and challenge and choices!