Artificial intelligence is changing the way we think about leadership. Across the credit union industry, AI is becoming a part of every aspect of operations and member experience. This means that leaders must learn how AI can empower their strategic objectives. And while a lot of attention has been placed on the role of CIOs and CTOs, the best way to approach AI adoption is to involve every executive in your AI adoption strategy. This might sound like a bold statement, but AI will impact every aspect of your organization and leaders must get engaged to understand how these tools can empower organizational transformation.
In the work I’ve been doing with credit unions through my company Wide Open Ventures, I’ve seen firsthand how transformative AI can be when it’s applied strategically. Operational leaders are using AI to streamline member service, manage internal knowledge, and reduce manual workflows; lending teams are applying AI to automate underwriting, detect patterns in borrower behavior, and process documentation with more speed and efficiency; marketers are identifying personalization opportunities and optimizing member outreach; and finance leaders are exploring more dynamic ways to do reporting and forecasting. These aren’t just ideas for the future. These are AI solutions that can unlock new opportunities for empowering your employees and members.
What’s often missing, though, is leadership alignment around AI priorities. Every credit union executive team needs to be discussing the role of AI across the organization. This is not just a laundry list of “what we are doing with AI.” This is strategic thinking about why we are using AI and how it will help us accomplish our strategic objectives. Executive alignment will ensure more holistic, integrated adoption rather than the bolting on of tools through individualized initiatives. And it gets everyone involved in the process, so that the team sees AI adoption as a shared responsibility across the organization.
I see credit unions working with a number of “AI empowered” vendors, but no connective integration across departments. One team might be exploring AI for workflows, another testing it for marketing analytics, while the rest of the organization waits on the sidelines. This sort of approach usually results in siloed innovation, efforts that don’t scale, and a lack of holistic, organizational change. A good example of this is the role of Generative AI tools like a Microsoft CoPilot. These tools are not department specific, so the knowledge sharing should span every department and employee. How is Generative AI being deployed across the organization and what training is being provided to ensure that employees are encouraged to experiment with new forms of productivity? Just having an AI Risk Policy is more of a stick than a carrot. Credit unions need to incentivize and encourage their people to innovate with these new tools.
This is why I argue that every executive needs a strategic direction related to AI. I’m not talking about a 30-page roadmap or a 10 year plan. I’m talking about a clear perspective that aims to answer the following questions: What problems are we trying to solve? Where could AI help? And how do we bring our teams along in a way that’s practical and mission-aligned? In the work I’m doing, I try to help every executive develop a set of “AI Priorities” for their area of the credit union. This is not Strategy with a capital S, but just a starting point for getting the wheels turning and building some momentum. AI is going to transform Finance, Retail, Operations, Lending, etc., so the leaders of each of these areas should be trying to get ahead of that curve. Executives will need to develop a new form of leadership in the Age of AI.
A real-world example: What executive alignment looks like
Over the last several months, Wide Open Ventures has been working closely with a number of credit unions across the country. One such institution—let’s call it Credit Union X—approached us with a simple but urgent concern: AI was moving fast, and their teams were starting to experiment, but leadership lacked a shared vision. Everyone was curious, a few were testing tools, but the efforts were fragmented, and the risks of misalignment were growing.
We began by meeting with each member of the executive team individually to understand their challenges, their areas of opportunity, and their current exposure to AI. We spoke with the CIO about data and governance, the CMO about member personalization, the CLO about decisioning tools, and the CHRO about culture and training. Each of them had pieces of the puzzle. But what was missing was a coherent picture.
Through these interviews and facilitated team discussions, we helped them define AI priorities tailored to each executive function and then started to look for common themes. This gave leaders clarity on their own next steps, and confidence in the institution’s overall direction. Instead of ad hoc vendor pilots or AI fatigue, they now had momentum and mutual accountability. I love seeing how these conversations can bring about a sense of shared purpose among a leadership team. One other thing that has worked well is when we do this work with the executives and then facilitate a conversation with the Board, so that the directors can hear about these new ideas for AI applications across the credit union.
The lesson: transformation begins with alignment. And that’s what makes all the difference.
My challenge to credit union leadership teams
Most leadership teams I meet are intrigued by AI, but not quite sure where to start. They’re asking good questions, watching the headlines, maybe even running a number of applications across a few departments. However, they haven’t yet committed to a clear and unified direction. That uncertainty is natural; after all, the landscape is changing fast, and no one has all the answers. This is not the time to be a “fast follower” because the technology is simply changing and improving too quickly. If you don’t immerse yourself in the flow of this change, it will be harder to jump in later, not easier. Teams need to experiment to learn what’s possible, which will then spark ideas for the next iteration. Step by step you will learn about how to integrate AI into your workflow to achieve greater efficiency and a more streamlined member experience.
That’s why strategic thinking about AI is so important. Leadership teams should focus on setting specific goals, developing internal messaging for their teams, and brainstorming ideas for initial execution. You don’t have to know where AI will take your industry in 10 years, but you do need to show up today. Ask the right questions, involve the right people, and make AI a shared priority across your leadership team.
So, here’s my challenge to every credit union leader: take ownership of leading the AI transformation in your part of the organization.
If you lead lending, operations, finance, marketing, or HR, define what AI means for your domain. Identify a problem it could help solve. Carve out the time to learn, explore, and build something meaningful. You don’t need a perfect roadmap, but you do need a mindset rooted in curiosity, clarity, and collaboration. As you begin this journey, you will get more familiar with this new territory and your leadership instincts will sharpen to make more informed decisions. Involve your teams in the discovery process and you will begin to clarify the vision for what your team can become on the other side of this transformative moment.
That’s how credit union leaders can lead through the AI transformation together.
