Employees at ANECA Federal Credit Union in Shreveport, La., are heavily invested in their work. They’re expected to be dedicated, innovative self-starters who act like entrepreneurs and owners, not clock-punchers.

With that great responsibility comes an enviable flexibility. Many staff members take advantage of the option of working from home, and ducking out of the office to take a child to a doctor appointment or witness a school activity isn’t just approved of, but encouraged.

That’s the type of shop president/CEO Stephanie Sievers wants to work in—and that culture attracts the type of people she wants to work with.

“You’re making a difference for your family, not at the expense of your family,” Sievers tells the CUNA News Podcast.

“I would never ask an employee to value the company over their family because I know that I would lose. I would want to lose,” she says. “I want to employ the type of person who would be able to stand in front of me and say, ‘Forget this. They’re more important.’”

In addition to her job as leader of the $96 million asset credit union, Sievers is a member of the CUNA Board of Directors, chairs the CUNA Small Credit Union Committee, and serves on the executive committee of the CUNA CEO Council, which will host its inaugural conference Oct. 16-18 in San Diego.

It’s not unusual for Sievers to work 60, 70, or even 80 hours per week, but she arranges her schedule around her family. On the go all day in a community involvement and business development role, Sievers spends time with her husband and four kids—all under age 9—in the evening before hopping on her laptop and moving back into work mode at night.

“We have very high standards. We have very high expectations. We’re all very ambitious,” she says, noting her immense trust in her staff. “They love the freedom that allows them to be with their family, so they want to make sure they deliver.”

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