ORLANDO, Fla.–Anyone who has ever travelled has heard or seen the mantra, “See something, say something.” But Samantha A.M. Beeler said that for credit union leaders to be effective, that mantra requires a third piece: “Solve something.”

Beeler, who is president of the League of Credit Unions, told the organization’s ENGAGE Conference that it’s the focus on the “solve something” that has been the “secret sauce” for the League of Credit Unions, which serves credit unions in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and now, following a merger with the Virginia league, credit unions in that state. 

“’See something’ is great. Have a vision, have an awareness of your surroundings,” said Beeler. “’Say something’ is phenomenal. Learn the language of influence. But what’ s the point? In internal meetings we say if you can see it, you should say it, and if you say it you should find solutions to solve for it.”

Making that work, Beeler pointed out, also requires creating a culture that empowers teams to find resolutions. 

Action: Cultivate the Fresh Perspective

Beeler said there are no members of an organization’s staff who have a clearer vision when it comes to “see something” than new employees. 

“t’s easy to see the problems when you are new, not as easy when you’ve been with an organization”  for an extended period of time said Beeler. 

“We want to celebrate the ability to see new things, to see things differently,” said Beeler. “How do you do that? Often, someone comes in and they see all the problems, and you’re like, ‘Yes, we’ve tried to solve them.’ Sound like a familiar conversation? But as they went straight from seeing something to trying to solve something, they missed a step.”

Beeler urged credit unions to create cultures that “celebrate fresh perspectives.” 

It’s one of the reasons she said she looks for input from new interns with The League, a practice she credited Brian Schools, CEO of Chartway FCU in Virginia, for creating as well. Beeler said she often tells interns, “We’re going to learn more from you.”

“Build something into the culture that creates freshness, that creates feedback,” Beeler said, noting that the feedback must also be welcomed.

Say Something

The missed step referenced above is the “say something” piece, according to Beeler.

Too often, she said, staff don’t speak up because they believe it’s not their department, not their place. If the culture isn’t right, Beeler added, staff feel they aren’t trusted to speak up and lack the authority to do so. 

Beeler, who shared stories and lessons learned from working earlier in her life in missionary in the Philippines, said she learned to do two things when working with teams:

• Always Ask Last, ‘How Are You?’ “I save for that for the end of the conversation. When someone contacts you, they need you, they need a solution. First thing I start with is, ‘What can I do for you?’ If you lead as a leader with what you need from them, you can do that, but I encourage you to meet them where they are at. In the advocacy environment we are so quick to go right to the request. Often, we need to meet a lawmaker where they are and tell them we are here to help them solve the same problems.”
• Have the Tough Conversations. Tough conversations require honesty and a willingness to see the other person as a person, Beeler said. That includes regulators and elected officials, she added. 

Solve Something

Beeler acknowledged the “solve” piece is complicated, jokingly asking, “Who’s created a solution that was amazing, landed perfectly, on time, under budget, the very first time with the very first idea?”

With no hands raised in her audience, Beeler said what often happens is a leader exit a meeting where the team has put together a PowerPoint presentation and assumption “that we know the right solution.”

Very often, those solutions “don’t end so well,” Beeler said, including in advocacy work.

One reason for poor endings, Beeler suggested, is that a critical group of staff aren’t included in the problem-solving.

“Do we include the frontline folks in the solution, the boots on the ground?” Beeler asked. 

Everyone needs to be involved in finding solutions and there must be transparency at every step, she stated.

“What often happens in credit unions or in any corporate environment is some people are like, ‘We found this solution,’ but they hide it. Ultimately, that is not successful,” Beeler said.

“At the League, at the foundation, at Leverage on the for-profit side, our job is to get us all in the room to make the solutions, to ideate, to dream for what the future of our charter and our system,” Beeler said. 

Action: Start With the Solution

“If we are solution-minded we are going to make some really good change,” Beeler said. “What’s important to know is you own it. This is your league. Without you we can’t do it. We have an amazing team, but we can’t do it alone. We are like you. Where your members own the credit union, you owe us. So, in the spirit of see something, say something–solve something.”