Leadership & Culture

A collection of 41 posts

Branding

BEcause They Stay: The Five Conditions That Keep People

People don't stay for the paycheck. They stay for how it feels to BE there. Every time I talk with leaders about engagement and retention, I hear the same four objections. We're a small shop — no time, no staff, no program. We don't have

Leadership & Culture

Recognition That Matters

Every single day something noteworthy is happening at your credit union. Someone quietly goes above and beyond, someone solves a problem for a member or colleague, someone keeps things moving behind the scenes. Recognition is about noticing these moments. Most people don’t need parades or prizes because they are

Employee Experience

Inclusive Leadership: Building a Workplace Where Everyone Can Thrive

Along with shaping an organization’s strategy and performance, leadership also defines culture. Every decision, interaction and communication from leadership sends a message about what is valued within an organization. Employees naturally look to leadership to understand the organization's priorities and expectations, and to see firsthand how their

Leadership & Culture

Strategic Thought and Planning: Making Time for Moments That Matter

Opportunity Knocks, Again The calendar doesn't lie. Planning season is upon us, and if you lead a credit union, you already know what that means: offsites are getting scheduled, templates are getting dusted off and the SWOT exercise is about to happen in a conference room that probably

Leadership & Culture

Friday's Friend, Monday's Manager

On Monday morning, Maya walked into the office carrying the same coffee tumbler she’d carried for years. She parked in the same spot, laughed with the same coworkers in the hallway and sat down at the same desk she’d occupied since joining the company six years earlier. But

Leadership & Culture

Democratic Board Elections: Why They Matter

It’s the time of year for Vizo Financial’s annual board of directors’ election. Our election results are announced at the Annual Meeting in June. However, the process begins much earlier. At the beginning of each year, we send our call for nominations. The nominating committee then reviews the

Leadership & Culture

Quiet Leaders: Your Team's Hidden Superheroes

Superman is always easy to spot, with the bold cape, the flying, the tights. In your organization, you notice Superman-style leaders because they carry themselves with noticeable confidence. They tend to be outspoken and extroverted, and you definitely know when they’re in the room. They make a splash,

Leadership & Culture

Moving From Resistance to Results: Developing a Coaching Mindset

At a local credit union, an employee was stuck with a looming deadline and could not figure out how to take the next step. The manager stepped in and said, “Here, I’ll show you.”  The job was finished, the deadline met. In another department, a different team member was

Leadership & Culture

No Time, No Problem: Consistency Keeps Training on Track!

In today’s demanding environment, training can often feel like a luxury. Between limited staff, regulatory demands, service goals and ever-changing member needs, leaders are stretched thin. Yet, training and education are the foundation for member satisfaction, compliance and employee confidence and engagement. Well, I have good news to

Leadership & Culture

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success Hinges on Playing to Our Strengths

If you’ve ever watched the Apple TV mega-hit series, Ted Lasso, you’ve likely seen John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success hanging in Ted’s AFC Richmond office. Interestingly, Jason Sudeikis, who co-wrote the show and plays the character Ted Lasso, was heavily influenced by his basketball

Leadership & Culture

The Indisputable Power of Words: Thoughtful Ways to Inspire Your Team

You’re hired. You’re fired! Will you marry me? We need to talk. Words are our most powerful currency, with the capacity to inspire or deflate, clarify or confuse and even unite or divide us. Once we’ve spoken the words, they can’t be taken back, creating an

Leadership & Culture

How Workplace Culture Drives Team Engagement, Member Satisfaction and Business Results

When you think about previous places where you have worked throughout your career, what factors ultimately contributed to you choosing to pack up and leave that position? Was it a tough decision to make, or were you ready for a change? On the other hand, if you have continued to

Leadership & Culture

In a World of Change, Don't Just Survive...Thrive!

I have a confession to make. I originally set out to write this blog about change management – you know, how we once viewed it as something tied to big, fundamentally disruptive events like mergers, shifts in leadership, implementing new systems or even major life changes. Not too long ago, change

Leadership & Culture

Is It Time to Build Your Everyday Resume?

On New Year’s Eve 2023, each of my family members picked a word for 2024. Whatever word we chose is one we’d focus on and integrate into our lives for the year – a New Year’s resolution. When choosing my word, I thought about what the best coach

Leadership & Culture

The Art of Leadership Communication: Identify, Adapt & Listen

When it comes to your leadership communication style, there are so many assessments out there that can help you identify yours. Even a quick Google search brings up at least nine different communication style quizzes to determine your individual or preferred style. From my personal research, I found one that

Leadership & Culture

If You Dread Sunday Night, Your Job Ain’t Right

I hated my first ‘real’ job because it was counter to how I’m wired. A little background information…I worked in loss prevention for a large regional bank. As you can probably imagine, my days were filled with deception, confrontation and a continuous flow of details. Aside from the

Leadership & Culture

Investing in Young Leaders, Building Generational Wealth

As I put my thoughts together for this blog post, I find myself thinking back to the beginning of my career. I had just finished my first semester in college with a 1.38 GPA (not a lot of class time, but boy did I have fun!). My parents had

Leadership & Culture

Leading from Within: The Role of Self-Awareness in Leadership

When it comes to leadership, there are a lot of challenges and external forces that you may have to deal with that can affect your leadership — compensation, performance reviews, disciplinary actions, just to name a few. However,  there are also internal forces that can affect your leadership, and often times,

Leadership & Culture

One Small But Mighty Deed

Every year in early October, the seasons change, the days start out colder and thoughts turn towards cozy blankets and warm fires. During this transition, Vizo Financial leaves the office setting behind and gets out in the community to offer a Day of Service to our employees. This is a

Leadership & Culture

The Most Important Decision a Credit Union Can Make

There is one decision most credit unions make on a regular basis that can determine the success or sub-optimization of the credit union’s performance. It has nothing directly to do with which product to offer or which system to implement. It isn’t about what strategy to create

Leadership & Culture

Let Your Employees Bloom!

Before spring officially sprung here in Pennsylvania, we had the pleasure of experiencing a few days of early spring. In between the gray, cold and wet days, we had one or two days of beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine. The unexpected spring gave flowers the courage to sprout from

Leadership & Culture

The One Trait That Can Make or Break Your Team

Do people on your team feel safe? I’m not talking about physical safety (which, of course, is supremely important). No, I’m talking about psychological safety. This term was coined and popularized in 1999 by Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor, when she was researching and working with

Leadership & Culture

End of Year Motto: Finish Well

While visiting with family recently and reliving memories, I was talking to my niece about a one-mile fun run she participated in back when she was nine. There were a few practice sessions to help the kids prepare for the final race, and she started out really enjoying the

Leadership & Culture

Be Careful Where You Spend Your Leadership Energy

A few Sundays ago, I was sitting in church and, a couple of pews in front of me was a family of four. The family consisted of a mom and dad, a little boy who was about four years old and a little girl who was about six years old.

Leadership & Culture

Are we "Trick or Treating" Ourselves?

It’s almost Halloween! This is the time of the year where we embrace all things spooky and get to take on a new identity. Pirates, ghosts, princesses, superheroes and all kinds of creative characters appear! For one night (or maybe more if you’re a real thrills and chills