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Credit union leaders came together earlier this week for our annual Management Roundtable conference, engaging with one another through networking, education, and commitment to advancing Maine’s credit union movement. Our League team was thrilled to welcome our credit unions for this special event designed to inspire and connect colleagues from across the state.
Credit unions gather for the League and Synergent Open House.
Kicking off Monday afternoon, the League and Synergent greeted Roundtable attendees at an Open House, where participants received a tour of the Credit Union Service Center before heading over to the Sheraton at Sable Oaks for an evening of comradery at the social reception.
On Tuesday, credit unions heard from a range of industry speakers on topics of importance to credit union success and operations. Following opening remarks from League President Elise M. Baldacci, Caroline Vahrenkamp, Advisory Services Director for Filene Research Institute, started the day with an engaging presentation that highlighted the challenges and opportunities within the current workforce—largely related to remote, hybrid, and in-person work. Credit unions learned about the importance of maintaining a trustworthy, honest, and communicative culture to retain top talent alongside tactics for leadership to encourage vulnerability and flexibility for peak performance. Additionally, she touched on ways for credit unions to support members who have also experienced changes in the workforce, such as creating offerings to help entrepreneurs understand the complexities of operating a business.
Networking and collaboration helps Maine credit unions succeed.
After Vahrenkamp covered The Future of Credit Union Talent and Culture, attendees split into groups based on job titles and responsibilities for an interactive session of networking and collaboration.
Once the networking activity commenced, Celeste Cook, President/CEO of cuStrategies LLC., discussed Leading for Growth and Profitability—Ten Best Practices. During the presentation, she emphasized how knowledge is empowering and that credit unions should help members make informed choices that avoid unnecessary obstacles (i.e. understanding the concerns involved with predatory lending helps members stay away and protect their credit). She pointed out how important it is for members to recognize the impact that their available options may have on their credit score, future lending opportunities, budget, interest payments, and more.
She cautioned credit unions against becoming transaction-driven instead of relationship-driven. With insightful knowledge, she highlighted how members can create strong habits and stick with them—improving both their individual success as well as that of the credit union they belong to. Growth and profitability are a two-way partnership. One of the biggest ways credit unions can accomplish this is by investing in staff that are dedicated to making a difference and furthering the credit union philosophy of People Helping People. Grow membership through employees and a culture structured for success.
The cooperative spirit was on full display at Management Roundtable!
After lunch, credit unions were inspired by Ronaldo Hardy, President & CEO at Balance, when he explained how Small is a Mindset, Not an Asset Size. As Hardy said, “innovation is less about what you have and more about how you think.” What he calls the “limiting belief” is what occurs when people train their thinking around limitations—getting stuck where they are. For example, the scarcity mindset, fear of failure, time constraints, and the idea that innovation is only for big budgets are all ways people fall into restricting themselves and/or their organization within the framework of limitations. In fact, cultures that lean into innovation lend themselves to an appetite for failure and how to learn from and work through it.
Hardy suggests expanding mindsets through the power of creativity over capital. As he told credit unions on Tuesday, “creativity often begins where resources end.” Typically, when resources are limited is when people and/or organizations should be offering non-financial value, creating win-win initiatives, building relationships and trust first, leveraging technology for innovation, and empowering employees through a culture of innovation (including a healthy appetite for failure). Hardy wrapped up this discussion by sharing that leaders should “encourage experimentation without fear of failure” and “celebrate effort and willingness to try even when things fail.”
Finally, the day closed with a presentation on Connecting Strategy to Execution for Positive Results from Andrew Ravenscroft, Senior Advisor at FarWell. He addressed the disconnect between solid, strong strategies and actual implementation, noting that strategies often fail for several reasons, including a lack of clear objectives and undefined goals, poor communication and alignment, execution gaps and inadequate resources, lack of flexibility, and lack of change management. As Ravenscroft explained, the central aspect for accomplishing strategy implementation is investing in a purposeful, united team composed of leadership, peers, the project team, and even contributors outside of the organization. He suggests establishing how the team will work and operate together, such as team norms, responsibilities, various methodologies and processes, terminology, and tools used, will create a cohesive, successful team.
Additionally, Ravenscroft suggested simplifying processes as much as possible and tailoring them to be the best fit for your organization. Through all the project planning stages, teams can maximize their abilities, time, and thinking for successful and actionable strategic outcomes.
The League is grateful to all attendees who joined us for a wonderful Management Roundtable conference, and we hope your team will join us next year for more inspiration, connection, and collaboration.