4 minutes
Why Director Development Can’t Wait
Credit union directors are facing a new kind of leadership challenge. The issues on the table—economic uncertainty, regulatory shifts, digital transformation, and changing member behaviors—require more than traditional oversight. They demand strategic agility, a commitment to continuous learning, and the ability to lead with both clarity and courage.
Yet too often, board development is disconnected from the credit union’s strategic priorities and roadmap. Credit unions must seize this moment to evaluate and elevate their board’s role from a fiduciary body to a strategic asset that supports future growth.
High-performing boards don’t just monitor—they mobilize. They turn insight into impact. But that kind of leadership doesn’t happen by default. It takes intentional learning, peer knowledge sharing, and a commitment to evolve alongside a growing credit union movement.
That’s where focused director development becomes indispensable.
The Shifting Landscape of Board Leadership
The paradigm of governance is shifting quickly with the pace of change and the increased weight of responsibility. Traditional roles of directors are transforming in the following ways:
- The responsibility of “hiring a CEO” has broadened into overseeing succession planning, understanding the risks and rewards associated with organizational culture, and ensuring the organization’s talent pipeline is robust and diverse.
- “Representing members’ interests” has expanded into monitoring member experience metrics, understanding the impact of demographic shifts, and weighing in on brand and reputational risks.
- Board’s role of “approving vendors and third-party relationships” has evolved thanks to the variety of creative and strategic partnerships credit unions are forging with fintechs, CUSOs, and community partners. This also applies to the growing complexity and size of mergers and acquisitions.
These examples demonstrate the level of demand for board competencies that extend beyond experience. As the speed of business accelerates, so must the learning and preparation of a credit union’s board.
The challenge lies in preparing for this new level of leadership. In addition to required learning and standard conferences, how is your credit union preparing your board to lead into the future?
CUES director-focused events are built to help answer that question, but the secret to shifting and owning the future landscape requires progressive learning environments that provide directors with knowledge, tools, and discussions that challenge perspectives and empower action. Examples to look for as you invest in future board learning may include:
- Interactive environments that pair learning with sharing and discussion.
- Peer networks to share similar challenges and solutions that work.
- Explore future-focused issues and use models (such as horizon scanning or scenario planning) to help directors validate and weigh data against their unique challenges, risks, and opportunities.
High-performing boards consist of directors who are inspired by the road ahead and want to ensure the credit union remains an indispensable steward to its members and their financial health.
The opportunity and moment to meaningfully engage is here. But it can’t be met by cookie cutter presentations and one-way discussions that don’t stimulate new ideas and challenge old ones.
Continuous Learning is Contagious
When boards invest in their own growth, the ripple effects are powerful. Meetings become more productive. Relationships between the board and CEO deepen. Decisions are made with greater clarity, and oversight is exercised with confidence and care.
But the impact goes deeper. Well-developed boards help protect the values that credit unions are built on: access, equity, and member service. They’re better positioned to anticipate risks and opportunities, challenge assumptions, and guide long-term strategy with both empathy and expertise.
They also set the tone for the entire organization. A board that models curiosity, accountability, and a commitment to learning sends a powerful message throughout the organization: growth matters here.
That’s not just good governance. That’s great leadership.
A Call to Boards: Don’t Wait
Leadership doesn’t pause, and neither should development.
If you're a board director or supervisory/audit committee member, now is the time to reflect on how you’re preparing for the challenges and opportunities ahead. If you’re a CEO or board liaison, now is the time to champion your board’s continued growth.
Because in today’s environment, leadership can’t be reactive. It must be intentional.
And intentional leadership starts here.
Chad Helminak VP/Talent Development Programming at CUES brings two decades of leadership experience supporting purpose-driven organizations and leaders in the credit union industry. He has worked with notable organizations including the National Credit Union Foundation, TruStage, Filene Research Institute, and the Wisconsin Credit Union League. Chad facilitates experiential training for credit union leaders, leads boards and executive teams through strategic sessions, and drives growth in people, programs, and organizational capabilities.