SAN DIEGO–It’s a touchy question: What can a credit union do when the only turnover it’s seeing on its board is those who are exiting feet first?
It’s a delicate issue that has flummoxed many a credit union, when board members give themselves lifetime appointments on the board and there is no turnover, no fresh blood, no new ideas and often, no future for the credit union as a result.
During the CUES Directors Conference, an attendee in the audience at a session on how one CU board had undergone a drastic turnaround observed that the last six people to leave his credit union’s board did so only because they had died, and he wondered how one goes about having conversations with directors on the thorny issue of when it’s time to leave.
The question was posed to Darius Wise, CEO of the $331-milion Red Rocks Credit Union in Colorado, who responded that he believes “crucial conversations are a byproduct of culture.”
The Value of Self-Assessment
“The more trust that is present, the easier those conversations are,” Wise said. “I would say there is probably a subtext you’re struggling with that you probably want to deal with first before telling someone to move out of their seat. That’s where we started in talking about how we want to work together (as a board and management team). When the culture is established, then that conversation doesn’t feel off the rails, because it’s happening in a caring way. We want to dignify the long-term service they have offered to the credit union, but we do need to shift and change, as well. I think the conversation is necessary and how it is had is important.”
Added Joeri Carty, chairman of Red Rocks CU, “I would encourage you to do a self-assessment of the board. Are you being effective in driving the outcome of the organization. Are you effective as a board? It’s not about board member X or Y, it’s about the board. It can be an open and candid and honest conversation.”
The CU Daily has a full story on the board modernization effort Red Rocks CU put in place here.
