2 minutes
From the editor
We’ve all been bored at work. We’ve experienced Fridays that never seemed to end. Or mind-numbing Mondays. That’s normal and not cause for concern. Unless it’s every day.
If you’ve sat at your desk, bored to pieces, knowing you are ready for a new challenge, knowing your career is stalled but there’s nowhere up to go, try looking to the side. A lateral career move could jump-start your career. If you only focus on up, you could stay stuck in a job instead of building a career.
“There are too many tangible and intangible variables that explicitly, unintentionally or invariably influence the path our career takes,” says Peter Myers, senior vice president of Silver CUESolutions provider DDJ Myers Ltd., Phoenix, in our article “Stepping Sideways.” “CEOs change. Strategies shift. Markets move. Family needs evolve. Additionally, too carefully curating a career path may give an individual tunnel vision about the reality that there are many paths to the same summit.”
Bosses reading this, you need to have career goal discussions with your employees. If an employee is looking for a new challenge, why not encourage her to apply for an opening in another department? Of course, you don’t want to lose a high-performing worker, but if she’s bored and stuck, you’ll likely lose her anyway—to another organization.
With all the change in the CU industry, it’s hard to imagine getting too bored. In our cover story, “The New Financial Ecosystem,” we talk to several credit unions about how they are responding to—or working with—fintechs.
“Every financial institution needs to be a fintech,” says CUES member David Mooney, president/CEO of $10 billion Alliant Credit Union in Chicago. Partnering with these upstart financial services companies can be a way to get there, he says.
But working with unestablished startups can be risky. “Fintechs are attracting a lot of investment dollars. Not all of these companies will make it,” says investor Chris Winship, partner at FTV Capital, San Francisco.
“You do take chances, but you take greater chances if you wait for a sure thing. In fast-moving times like these, playing it safe is not playing it safe,” says Paul Parrish, president/CEO of $900 million One Nevada Credit Union, Las Vegas, which has worked with and invested in many fintechs.
Finally, I highlighted this quote as I edited the article: “In many ways, credit unions and fintechs are kindred spirits: flexible, innovative, member-centered,” says Richard Crone, CEO of Crone Consulting LLC, San Carlos, Calif.
Theresa Witham
Managing Editor/Publisher
P.S. Did you read the intro to this column and wonder: Who are these bored-at-work people?! If you’d welcome a bit of boredom in your all-too-hectic life, perhaps try these tips from leadership coach Laurie Maddalena, MBA, CPCC, PHR: cues.org/0218nextgen.
YOUR THOUGHTS
How is your credit union responding to the rise of fintechs? Email your answer to theresa@cues.org.
