What is your credit union’s personality type?
Personality types are mainly only attributed to humans, but what if we applied these same characteristics to your Financial Institution? Credit unions are made up of many different personalities (members, employees, volunteers), but those in leadership positions and the internal culture that they create generally dictate the overall personality type of a given credit union. Is your credit union highly competitive and extremely status-conscious? Or does your credit union like exploring new ideas and tend to work more steadily and laid back?
There is never a right or wrong type to be, but exploring some of the benefits as well as some of the drawbacks associated with each type may help build a solid foundation for the future of your credit union.
The type A personality is most often thought of as the alpha, the go-getter, or an aggressive type. There are many great benefits to running your credit union as a type A, including being extremely ambitious and proactive. It’s great for those who have a vision of becoming a larger, more progressive, credit union. When there is an objective to be met, you WILL meet it. Your ship is run on a rigid schedule and the staff knows these schedules and rules and follows them to your satisfaction. While there are many benefits to being a Type A credit union, there are also a few major drawbacks. Does it sometimes feel as though you have taken on more than you can handle? While you may want to be an over achiever, sometimes it just won’t be possible because you’ve spread yourself too thin by taking on too many projects at once. Also, while you view your credit union as an outgoing and highly ambitious brand, others may view it as a bit over the top, too aggressive, or even inconsistent. Those members and small businesses who are adverse to working with big banks may be discouraged by your type A personality traits. While you may be the nicest and friendliest credit union around, it is possible that your take-charge, hard line attitude may scare off some potential members. They can perceive your credit union as less personal and empathetic because of your bank-like demeanor.
Type B personalities are characterized as more laid back, quaint, and easy going. This tends to be the general stereotype for most single sponsor or SEG-based credit unions because they serve a select group of members, which in turn makes those members feel more engaged. Type B credit unions tend to work at a steady pace without many distractions because they are less likely to be concerned with meeting hard deadlines and sometimes have less aggressive goals. Members already have certain expectations of type B credit unions because their peers and business associates also do business with the credit union and years of very little change has allowed everyone to get comfortable with status quo. The employees of type B personality credit unions also live at lower stress levels because the competitive nature is much less than those with a type A personality, and many times the sales pressure is non-existent. One drawback to being recognized as a type B personality is that you may be viewed as lackadaisical or less driven and therefore considered a perfect candidate for a merger by other credit unions. How potential members perceive you may also be affected by your type B personality traits. Because you’re not aggressively growing or making changes, your brand may gain reputation as less progressive or behind the times, and members may fear that you’ll be unable to provide them with the products and services they are looking for.
So what personality type is your credit union? There is no clear cut line as to where one type ends and where one begins, which means your credit union could be both. You could be highly proactive and have a strong ambitious attitude, but you may accomplish your goals in a less stressful, more reflective way. Or, you may have little competitive drive but be highly status-conscious and rigidly organized within your financial institution.
What type do you strive to be? What traits will help your credit union get to where you want it to be, and what changes will make to get there?
