By Jennifer Hunt
Does your credit union have an internal training program in place and still find yourself asking how to more intentionally prepare future leaders? That’s precisely the question our credit union began exploring as we looked for ways to complement our existing development efforts and create a far more focused experience for developing our next generation of leaders.
At CAMPUS USA Credit Union, we have long believed that our people are our greatest asset. We invest heavily in certifications, supervisory training, online learning platforms, and professional education. Yet our internal research revealed a clear truth: while employees were gaining skills, they were not being systematically developed into leaders. Our existing development investments were strong, but they were largely role and skill-based, prompting us to complement them with a more intentional focus on leadership growth as our credit union navigated increasing regulatory complexity, evolving member experiences, and organizational growth.
To meet the leadership capability challenge, we shifted from asking whether we were developing talent to how deliberately we were building leaders capable of translating strategy into action. That shift led to the creation of the CAMPUS Leadership Program, an 18‑month, cohort‑based experience designed to grow leaders from the inside out.
Three Phases
The program follows three progressive phases:
- Leading Self
- Leading Others
- Leading the Organization
The sequence is intentional. People cannot lead others until they understand themselves, and they cannot lead the organization until they know how to lead people.
Two-thirds of all sessions are presented by external speakers, while the remaining one-third are delivered by our internal team. This balance ensures participants benefit from both industry expertise and in-depth organizational knowledge.
The program spans 18 months, with monthly full‑day sessions followed by reflection meetings two weeks later. Participants complete evaluations, assignments, and impromptu speaking exercises to build confidence and accountability.
Each participant is also paired with a senior‑level mentor, creating a personalized development relationship that continues long after the classroom sessions end. These relationships reinforce accountability, accelerate readiness, and create visible leadership continuity across the organization. Finally, Collaboration Points provide exposure to all areas of the credit union.
Phase One: Leading Self
This phase blends internal expertise with external facilitation in a carefully sequenced journey. As part of this phase, participants move through sessions on Discovering Your Strengths, Communication Skills, Demonstrating Ethics and Integrity, Developing Adaptability and Resilience, and Goal Setting.
By the end of Phase One, participants are more self‑aware, more confident, and more intentional in how they lead. To participants, this early focus on strengths and communication often becomes a turning point in how they see themselves as leaders. As Eva Del Valle, our recruitment and compensation manager, shared: “Shifting my focus from fixing weaknesses to leading from strengths was a game-changer, shifting my approach from correcting weaknesses to intentionally leveraging strengths to influence others.”
Phase Two: Leading Others
Phase Two shifts the focus outward – toward leading people, teams, and culture. In this phase, we focus on Delegation, Time Management, Leading through Strengths, Team Building, Influencing, Conflict Management, and Developing Talent.
As participants move through Phase Two, they are no longer simply focused on being strong individual contributors. They are leaders who know how to prioritize, influence, resolve conflict, and develop others.
Phase Three: Leading the Organization
Phase Three expands the lens from “my team” to “our credit union.” This phase includes Understanding and Navigating Our Organization, Managing Change, Taking Risks and Innovating, and Setting Vision and Strategy.
In Phase Three participants are thinking beyond their departments and taking ownership of the organization’s future. Our vice president of finance and accounting, Samantha Wolfe, shared “Through diverse, external perspectives and cross-departmental collaboration, I was challenged and motivated to think differently, strategically, and with a long-term perspective.
Growing Leaders, Strengthening the Organization – A Model for the Future
The impact has been significant, with nine of the 16 individuals in the first cohort earning promotions. Beyond advancement, the program has strengthened communication across departments and a shared language for what effective leadership looks like at CAMPUS USA. As Training Analyst Manny Roberts stated: “Through this experience, I have learned that effective leadership involves asking insightful questions, embracing vulnerability, and empowering others to assume leadership roles.”
Developing leaders from within is not a “nice-to-have” – it is a strategic imperative. At CAMPUS USA Credit Union, the Leadership Program is more than a training initiative; it is a long-term investment in culture, continuity, and performance. By intentionally developing leaders who understand themselves, know how to lead others, and think holistically about the organization, CAMPUS USA is building a resilient leadership pipeline prepared to navigate complexity and change.
The CAMPUS Leadership Program has strengthened our leadership bench, aligned our culture, and ensured that as our credit union grows, our people are growing with it. As the financial services industry continues to evolve, our commitment remains clear: sustainable growth depends on leaders who are developed in-house, not just hired. The CAMPUS Leadership Program ensures that our leadership capacity grows alongside our members and our mission.
Jennifer Hunt is Chief Financial Officer of CAMPUS USA Credit Union, where she guides the credit union’s financial strategy and partners with executive leadership on enterprise strategy and talent development. She created the organization’s 18-month CAMPUS Leadership Program to develop current and future leaders across the credit union and brings nearly three decades of executive financial leadership experience in mission-driven institutions. Ms. Hunt can be reached at [email protected].
