To mentor or not to mentor?

You may be familiar with the Credit Union Development Education (DE) program from The Foundation. Here’s a recap from The Foundation’s website for those of you who are new to the movement: “Through transformative education, immersive events, and collaboration, DE builds awareness of the development issues that prevent people from achieving financial freedom—and how credit unions are uniquely positioned to address them.”

I was lucky enough to have earned my CUDE designation in 2003 in the Best Class Ever (IYKYK). While I completed my follow up project and held my experiences and friendships close to my heart, it wasn’t until 10 years later that my life was impacted and changed even further when I was tapped on the shoulder to mentor a DE class. Because of the exercises and discussions that transpire over the week-long DE program, groups are assigned mentors to guide them through the process. It was life-changing in ways I had never expected, and I’ve since mentored 8 times in the United States, Kenya, and Botswana.

Recently I was contacted by a participant that was in a past class that I had mentored. She had been asked to provide a business case of sorts for mentoring. Because mentors volunteer their time, credit union leaders are justified in wondering why someone would want to spend yet another week in a training session that they’ve already completed. Specifically, her leaders are wondering how mentoring DE benefits the credit union and its members.

So glad you asked! Mentoring makes you a better leader in so many ways:

1. Mentoring grows your coaching skills: As a participant, you are focused on the content and on your team. You learn about the movement and your role in it. As a mentor, the focus is on the participants. Your role is literally to observe the interpersonal interactions between group members and to help participants “trust the process” in ways large and small. Your job is to intervene if you see someone struggling as well as if you sense your team is getting off track. You learn to challenge the participants to achieve great things in a compressed timeline. Because we’re all working managers, this kind of freedom to coach without outside distraction is a priceless gift.
2. Mentoring grows your conflict resolution skills: DE can be stressful. Participants are thrown together with a group of strangers and expected to perform quickly and efficiently under pressure. As a mentor, you hone your skills of observation. You learn when to let conflict resolve inside the team and when to step in and provide guidance. You learn to provide input that is neutral and focused on a positive outcome for all. Your member and staff interactions will greatly benefit from enhanced experience in resolving conflict in this manner.
3. Mentoring builds empathy: As a DE mentor, you will find parallels between the participant’s experiences and your own, deepening your empathy as you reflect on how you overcame similar obstacles or felt similar emotions during your own DE experience. Empathy creates a supportive environment that encourages open communication and trust. Guiding someone through their credit union journey as a leader or helping a member overcome financial obstacles often requires patience and compassion. By empathizing with challenges and providing support without judgment, you cultivate a greater sense of empathy as you become more attuned to others’ emotions and experiences.
4. Mentoring fosters innovation: At DE, you leave your titles at the door. That levels the playing field for tellers, CEOs, marketers, lenders, and the entire credit union roster to work side-by-side without preconceived notions of what anyone else can accomplish based on their job function. That is difficult – if not impossible – to simulate in our credit unions. Mentoring encourages innovation by nurturing creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, sometimes where we least expect it. Mentors leave the DE classroom with a new perspective on their home team’s ability to explore new ideas, experiment with different approaches, and take calculated risks. As a result, mentors become more innovative and adaptable, driving positive change and progress within the industry.

Overall, mentoring DE will contribute to the development of your own credit union’s talent, the fostering of innovation at your credit union, and the building of a supportive community and membership. By investing in the growth and success of the next generation of DEs, mentoring can serve an important role in ensuring that the industry continues to thrive and remain competitive in the long term.

If you have your CUDE designation, the question isn’t whether or not you should mentor, but when will you grab this opportunity to grow your leadership skills and benefit your membership and colleagues alike? Apply to mentor today. You’ll be so happy you did!