Ten years from now, CEOs will do everything they do today—only faster and with more focus and greater depth.
In the past, the CEO’s role was to define an organization’s vision, set cultural standards, motivate staff, ensure accountability and, like a good bumblebee, cross-pollinate best practices.
Following the current trajectory, credit unions in the future will be bigger and more complex in scale. CEOs will be required to have an even deeper, more strategic understanding of their organizations: More functions, more business lines, more technology, and a more complex employee structure, all while facing vigorous competition from banks and non-banks.
Challenges facing only a small number of the largest credit unions today will become prevalent for credit unions that survive into the next decade. Data security and cybersecurity concerns will increase exponentially, requiring our curiosity and personal involvement.
‘We must be curious enough to step outside the industry bubble to find new ideas and solutions.’
Nader Moghaddam
Much like the CEOs of today, the future will require us to be laser-focused on our vision but be agile in refining our strategy and adoption of operative tactics.
We must study trends in consumer expectations and relevant technology and be nimble enough to pivot quickly in response to changing market conditions, new technology platforms, and consumer demands. We must be curious enough to step outside the industry bubble to find new ideas and solutions.
As CEOs we must be great communicators at all levels and through all methods and mediums if we are to inspire, engage, challenge, and motivate a more complex employee base—a diverse, distributed workforce of digital natives who value transparency, engagement, and collaboration.
Sync your strategy, vision, budget, and goals, advises the CEO of Financial Partners.
This group of digitally savvy employees will be well-compensated and in high demand, so it will be critical to continually recruit them for their hearts and minds.
Also, keep in mind that that board members will be younger, more professional, and dynamically involved in strategy. CEOs, as masterful communicators, will have to engage volunteers at a higher strategic level in a more complex, member-centric organization.
Tomorrow’s credit union leader must be able to connect people, ideas, and business partners to develop a collaborative network both within and outside of their organizations.
We will need to recruit employees, members, and influencers constantly to keep our organizations growing and functional.
Like a good chemist, tomorrow’s CEO must create the right formula for success.
Credit Union Magazine’s Spring 2023 issue features the 2023 Credit Union Heroes and examines CUNA-League advocacy priorities, board leadership, the impact of financial well-being efforts, fee-related compliance issues, predictions for the year ahead, and more.
