Musings from the CU Suite

Apr 18, 2017

The 8 "Must Haves" of Leadership

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

I found this gem from a few years ago. Back in 2012, a large group of credit union industry leaders gathered for NAFCU's 2012 Management and Leadership Institute.  

The day's facilitator, John Spence, gave them a task.  Each attendee had to draft his or her "leadership style."  In other words, every attendee had to write down the leadership qualities that they wanted to guide their career. 

The class gathered into six different groups, and the bounced leadership qualities off of one another. Later, each group made a short presentation about what qualities leaders must have.

John Spence listened, and furiously took notes.  When each group was done, John saw a pattern.  Here were the group's qualities of an ideal leader.

  1. Honesty and Integrity
  2. Visionary
  3. Accountability
  4. Communication
  5. Execution
  6. Lifelong Learner
  7. Passion + Energy
  8. Empowerment

John spoke at length about these qualities in the video below.

 

If you don't see the video above, you can watch it via this link.

So, here are two questions for you.

  1. How do you and your credit union measure up against the list above?
  2. If you agree with that list, how do you attract colleagues with those skills?  How do you promote those attributes throughout your credit union?

If this sounds like your kind of discussion, please consider joining us this year in San Diego for the 2017 NAFCU Management and Leadership Institute.  Click here to learn more.Â