United Solutions Company is committed to helping credit unions become stronger, more efficient, and profitable. The Credit Union Rescue Team was created based on the philosophy of credit unions helping credit unions. Designed as a mentorship program, there is no charge to offer mentorship or receive a mentor! Learn all about our program at CreditUnionRescueTeam.com.
This week our CU Rescue Team mentors were asked the question “What was your most valuable learning experience?” Below is the response from some of our Mentors.
Terence Field:
My most valuable learning experience was when I first joined the credit union. It was my first opportunity to manage staff. I learned the hard way how to treat employees with respect and to allow them to do their job. I was not a very good manager in the beginning. Fortunately, early in my time managing at the Credit Union the CEO took the time to mentor me. He taught me some valuable lessons about how to treat people. I learned that I did not need to be a tyrant (although I was not that bad) to manage staff so they could meet expectations. Rather treating employees, the way you would want to be treated, went a long way towards building a more productive environment. I have always been willing to step in and do an employee’s job if I needed to. That was great opportunity to learn more about their role but also about them as a person. My management philosophy has evolved to “hire people smarter than you and let them do their job.”
Wesley Williams:
The opportunity to serve in an executive role was the most valuable experience to me. With this role, I have had to learn how to manage and coach my own staff and build vendor relations. This role has also allowed me to work through implementations of new products and services, while learning conference etiquette and project management skills along the way. I have grown professionally in many ways since acquiring this role, which is why I it is my most valuable experience.
Brian Smith-Vansergriff:
I happened to have a front row seat during the housing bubble and the financial crisis that followed, which provided an innumerable array of valuable lessons. As a firm, we had successfully observed and forecasted the housing bubble in 2004 and 2005, so our client credit unions were very well prepared for the disruption. Sitting in the middle of the credit union industry and Wall Street, we really had a unique point of view of the Corporate Credit Union crisis and its impact on Natural Person Credit Unions. In the years since the crisis, it has been inspiring to help client credit unions navigate the altered landscape and find many new ways to provide value to their members.
Do you have a question to ask our trusted group of mentors? Email USC-Marketing@unitedsolutions.coop with your questions and check back at USC’s blog to see your answers! Have a question about our mentorship program? Email info@unitedsolutions.coop.
Get to know our mentors and sign up for our program at CreditUnionRescueTeam.com!