Looking For More In The New Year

The past two years have been exhausting. The stress of the unknown, the anxiety of a pandemic, the desire for normalcy — they have all taken their toll. And I’m one of the lucky ones. Neither I nor my family has gotten COVID. My job is secure, my kids are in school, and my family is well-fed.

Yet I find myself looking for more. But more what?

It’s easy to go through the motions — to perform the same activities in the same way. After all, these activities brought past success. But doing the same thing will result in the same success, and I want a different type of success, one that is rooted in purpose and impact. That is my “more.”

To achieve a greater impact, I need to define what success looks like and hold myself accountable to spending my time on the activities that will drive such success. The probability I will succeed increases exponentially when others join me. The same holds true for credit unions, which is why Callahan & Associates started the Impact Network.

The Impact Network brings together like-minded professionals looking to make a meaningful impact on their teams, members, and communities. More than 500 credit union professionals have joined the Impact Network to date. I know without a doubt we are all at different stages in our impact journeys, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from one another and accelerate our progress. It’s about being intentional with how we engage.

Want to read stories about credit union impact? CreditUnions.com has them! Click here for a selection of stories that highlight strategies, initiatives, products, and services of credit unions making a positive impact for the members and communities they serve.

Here are a few ways to engage and do “more” in your year ahead:

1. Join Us! If you are a purpose-based, impact-focused leader and haven’t joined Callahan’s Impact Network, do it now. You’ll gain access to credit union leaders who focus their
   business on purpose and impact and learn how they operationalize their purpose within their organization.
2. Get Active! If you are a member of Callahan’s Impact Network — get active. Learn about non-traditional success metrics that measure purposeful impact and start tracking your
   success in new ways.
3. Be An Impact Champion! I know it takes a village to embed purpose within the credit union and make meaningful impact with stakeholders, but without one person championing the
   efforts, results will lag. Be that impact champion at your credit union — even if it’s self-appointed.
4. Share Your Data! Callahan has worked with progressive, impact-focused credit unions to compile a list of 40+ impact metrics segmented into impact on employees, members, communities, and the environment. Your credit union might not have data for all 40+ metrics, but I’m sure you have some and you likely have more than you think. Champion the collection of your impact data and upload it to Callahan so we can help you benchmark and grow your impact. Click here to download the worksheet.

I don’t make resolutions at the beginning of the new year, but I do think deeply about what success will look like in the year ahead and how I want to actively contribute to that success. I hope you will use purpose and impact as a lens for your future success and leverage the resources and network Callahan has built to amplify your impact.