2 minutes
From the editor
“Nothing is as painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change,” writes Mary Shelley in the novel Frankenstein.
I would argue that small and slow changes can also be troubling. But they are necessary for personal, professional and corporate growth. Companies that don’t evolve don’t survive, so we must learn to be adept at change.
I have a complicated relationship with change. When I do embrace change, I tend to go all in. The best example is when I decided, rather on a whim, to move from Madison, Wisconsin, to Baltimore at the end of 2004. I felt my life in Madison was stuck, and I didn’t see a path forward there. But moving across the country—away from my family—was a drastic change. And moving without a new job in place would have been much too scary. Instead, I found a way to safely embrace the big change my life needed. Fifteen years later, I am so grateful and happy that I was able to keep working for CUES as a telecommuter.
That move was just what I needed: I met my now-husband just three days after landing in Baltimore! Unsticking my personal life allowed me to reinvest in my professional life with CUES, and I am extremely fulfilled today. This experience taught me that I’m willing and able to embrace change so long as I have a foundation of stability and a little bit of control.
Of course, some people are more comfortable with change than others. You will have employees who are ready and eager to jump in feet first. Others will be wary. And some will be hostile. Your job as a leader is to help your staff along the path of continuous improvement and transformation that all companies need to follow if they want to thrive.
If you want to explore your relationship with change, I invite you to join us for the CUES Pathway of the Quarter: Change Agility. We are using the CUES Learning Portal to complete lessons about change management and then discussing what we learn on CUES Net. Visit cuesnet.cues.org and look under “Communities” for the group devoted to this pathway. I hope to see you there!
In the financial world, fintech has been an agent of change for the past few years, and it shows no signs of stopping. In “Souped-Up Tech” we look at options for buying, building or partnering for new solutions. Our cover story, “Text Time,” discusses the changing ways members want to communicate with you. At CU Management, we work hard to make sure you have the information you need to lead in these ever-changing times.
Theresa Witham
Managing Editor/Publisher
YOUR THOUGHTS: How do you lead through change at your credit union?
Email your answer to theresa@cues.org.
