The Clock Is Ticking

Summer is the perfect time to think strategically about how the credit union will tackle strategic planning in the fall.

In a world where we all have more to do than hours in the day, the summer usually provides a bit of a breather. Sunnier skies and a less intense meeting schedule means a more relaxed mindset. But summer is also a great time to make preparations to ensure a smooth strategic planning session in the fall.

It can be challenging for busy credit union executive teams to hit the pause button. Many priorities compete for your time and attention, and all of them seem to have urgency in today’s fast-paced business world. However, hitting pause could be the most important thing you do to ensure your credit union’s future success.

Why Now?

If yours is like most credit unions, your annual strategic planning season takes place in the fall —just around the corner. How much of that planning time will you use to get everyone on the same page? Or frame challenges in a way everybody can relate to?

Although all your team members likely understand the credit union language of creating member value, it is unlikely all team members have built an effective, common language to discuss broader strategic considerations or advanced conceptslike disruptive innovation.

One reason many credit unions lack of a common strategic language is that most executive development solutions are individual exercises that don’t necessarily translate into organizational benefits. Individual training and development can be greatfor more tactical areas and expertise, but it does not address the critical team dynamics that make your credit union run on a day-to-day basis.

Carving out time now for your team to discuss what they are learning together will allow you to jump directly into substantive strategic planning instead of allocating time to simply get to the starting line.

That’s why we developed Callahan’s Leadership Team Development program, a team learning experience offered in collaboration with HBX, Harvard Business School’sonline learning initiative. With the ability to learn at your own pace and participate from anywhere via a virtual platform, it is possible for even the busiest executives to make the time to develop their credit union’s most important resourceits team.

Why Team Learning?

An outside, expert facilitator can help your group come together in new ways. In today’s increasingly challenging financial services landscape, it’s not enough to simply have team members with dedicated expertise in their business silo. Teamsmust also have the tools to identify and effectively push new enterprise-wide strategies forward together.

Callahan’s Leadership Team Development (LTD) program does just that. Key learnings from the course, Disruptive Strategy with Clayton Christensen, includehow to avoid disruption, create new growth opportunities, and adopt a common language for framing problems and creating solutions.

Callahan & Associates has a proven record in developing teams for tomorrow by teaching them how to ask the right questions, collaboratively problem solve, and make better decisions as a team today.

How will you best serve and grow member relationships as technology continues to evolve?

How will you sustain an internal culture that fosters employee innovation for years to come?

How will you grow market share in an increasingly competitive environment?

These are just three of many questions your team should be asking and discussing together.

Learn more about how Leadership Team Development can help your credit union make the most of summer downtime and align your team going into planning season.

May 22, 2017

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