Time for a Team Tune-Up
by: Walt Laskos, Principal, The Laskos Group
Hear that clunking under the hood of your car? When was the last time you had it serviced?
It used to be you could change your own oil and plugs but nowadays, being that a car’s motor has become so complex and sophisticated, one needs a degree from Chilton just to find the plugs or the PCV valve—that’s if cars still have a PCV valve!
Such complexity requires constant attention because when you think about it, all those moving parts are working together in unison to create the energy that turns the flywheel and driveshaft. If suddenly a spark plug failed to produce a spark or a clogged air filter impeded the flow of oxygen, the engine would no longer hum but grunt, and its performance would wane and falter.
The same applies to your credit union staff. Just step outside of your office and listen . . . don’t hear anything? Oh no! That wasn’t a backfire, was it?
Just as an engine has many moving parts, so does your credit union. While each of those parts has its own function, their ability to work together in a cohesive fashion determines the quality and amount of drive your organization can produce. Keep all the moving parts in tune and your credit union will hum. Allow poor morale to douse the sparks of creativity or silos to choke off the flow of energy and you’ll be left puttering along in the dust of those who want to idle your engine for good.
To help keep your credit union engine not only humming but buzzing, here are a couple tips to consider in building your strategic business plans for 2013.
Emphasize Cooperation
Listen closely to the tide of conversation taking place across America today. More and more, I am hearing conversations about cooperation and the kinds of benefits it offers as opposed to being mired in a mindset of competition. Although we’ve all been brought up to compete from the earliest days of our childhood, many are now challenging the impact that such conditioning is making on our behavior. Instead, they are calling for a focus on cooperation and the behavioral influence it has on individuals and collectively on societies as well.
Cooperation requires that we let go of a mentality entrenched in competition; one that shouts out my success is your failure. Instead, cooperation looks to find pathways that contribute to win-win situations, a kind of integrated bargaining so to speak.
Tom Shadyac, a very successful Hollywood producer and director, offers a rather scintillating perspective on the benefits of cooperation in his documentary film, I Am. Shadyac sees cooperation as a higher value, one that is much more conducive than competition to the human condition.
Additionally, let’s also not overlook the fact that we are working in a business model structured by cooperative principals. It seems to me that we should be taking to heart the values that such a model espouses, and additionally, expressing them in our actions as well.
Finding ways to emphasize and build a deeper appreciation for cooperation among your team can be a great remedy for integrating cliques into the group and breaking down the silos that so often divide and stymie the performance we all seek.
Think about it. Even if you don’t buy this thesis, doesn’t it make more sense to see the team expend its energy by collectively cooperating with one another to compete against those striving to take business away from you, rather than to remain in silos to simply compete against each other?
Expand and Diversify your Communications
Today’s sophisticated automobiles see their many engine parts wired to a computer, allowing them to communicate with one another to produce maximum efficiency. The same must occur with your team.
It’s not enough to just have departmental meetings where everyone focuses on their own objectives or to just have a monthly print newsletter that doesn’t give staff a chance to share their ideas or interact with one another. The more you can engage staff and bring them into the conversation about all parts of the business, the more they’ll be able to understand how each department relates to one another and especially, how they themselves contribute to the grand picture.
To cultivate this process, it’s critical to communicate constantly and continually across a variety of delivery platforms to ensure your message is being heard. But that’s not enough! It’s equally as important to provide staff with a way to respond that ensures them that they are being heard and that their ideas count.
Employee portals, informational videos, large group meetings, discussion groups, and CEO lunches, are just some of the many tactics that will help get communications flowing like new oil throughout your entire credit union engine.
Celebrate your Credit Union Heritage
Drive an SUV and you know it doesn’t handle like a car. Drive a Maserati and you’ll experience performance that will take your breath away.
Performance has a fundamental association with craftsmanship. It’s all about the skill, knowledge and care that’s applied to ensure every piece of the machine is designed and maintained in optimal working order. Craftsmanship determines the kind of experience a driver receives at the wheel. The same applies to the credit union experience.
Credit unions that champion the cause of the underserved; that incorporate community development into their business mix; that respect and treat their members like owners; that base their decisions on the principles and values of their cooperative enterprise; and that celebrate their credit union heritage not just one day or one month a year but everyday are those that perform like a Maserati.
Your illustrious heritage defines your brand and what you represent to your staff and members, and what you stand for as a “credit union” within the community as well. Find ways to promote your brand that will attract news media attention. Imagine the excitement your members and staff will have after watching the TV news and seeing a story about their credit union making a difference in the lives of people. Don’t think they’ll be saying with pride, “That’s where I work,” or, “That’s my credit union!” Tell your story day in and day out, and most of all, celebrate your heritage.
As you participate in your upcoming strategic planning session, be sure to include cooperation, communications and your credit union heritage among the strategies and initiatives you’ll design in support of tuning up your team. Any master craftsman will tell you it’s among the best things you can do to ensure optimal performance for the road ahead. And, you already know what they’re saying about 2013!
Walt Laskos, C.U.D.E., M. Div., is a relationship-building executive with more than 30-years of experience in public relations, corporate communications and video production. As principal of The Laskos Group in Temecula, California, Walt provides consultation to credit unions and cooperatives designed to foster morale among staff and members by improving rapport with the news media and the quality of organizational communications. For more information, visit www.TheLaskosGroup.com.
