Breaking the “Way We’ve Always Done It” Habit

In many organizations, the challenge isn’t resisting change; it’s knowing when tradition has stopped being effective. 

In the credit union system, legacy is a point of pride. Many of the most trusted practices have been passed down through decades of collaboration, shared learning, and member-centered service. That history matters. It gives us credibility, identity, and purpose.

But sometimes, legacy habits outlast their usefulness and become a liability when it goes unexamined. 

Today’s member expectations evolve faster than policy cycles. Technology advances faster than governance models. Workforce norms shift faster than organizational charts. Yet many leaders are still operating inside structures and assumptions designed for a world that no longer exists. 

The challenge isn’t that the systems are broken. It’s that leaders have become comfortable with them. 

And comfort, while reassuring, can quietly limit the ability to adapt. 

The Weight of “We’ve Always Done It This Way” 

Every leader has heard it. Maybe you've even said it. Sometimes it sounds like: 
        “This workflow has always been owned by that department.” 
        “We tried something like that years ago.” 
        “Our members are used to this experience.” 

These statements don’t signal complacency, but rather they signal comfort. They’re usually rooted in risk management, efficiency, or respect for history. But when legacy becomes the default, innovation stalls. Decision-making narrows. Creativity shrinks. And over time, organizations that don’t experiment become organizations that get left behind. The replacement for innovation then becomes something more subtle and even more challenging: inherited risk. 

Inherited risk shows up when: 

• Policies are enforced long after their original purpose is forgotten.
• Workarounds become normalized because “the system is just how it is.”
• Committees exist mainly because removing them feels disruptive.
• Leaders protect processes they no longer personally believe in. 

Over time, organizations don’t just stop evolving; they stop questioning. And when questioning stops, creativity has no place to land. 

A Need for Creativity & Innovation 

Creativity and innovation are often misunderstood as bold reinvention or breakthrough technology. In reality, they show up far more often in quiet, everyday leadership moments: 

• A leader who asks, “What problem was this rule originally meant to solve?”
• A team that pilots a new workflow instead of perfecting the old one.
• A manager who invites critique of a process they personally designed.
• A board that focuses less on protecting precedents and more on testing assumptions. 

Innovation doesn’t begin with ideas; it begins with permission. Permission to test, to try, to ask questions, to fail and learn. When you create that permission, curiosity becomes an operational advantage, not a disruption to efficiency. 

Why Breaking Legacy Habits Matters Now

• Competitive pressure is accelerating, especially in digital journeys. 
  McKinsey’s latest Global Banking Annual Review highlights how individuals are more digital and far less loyal, with only 4% of U.S. checking account openings now coming from the “loyalty loop.” The report argues that traditional, scale-driven strategies are giving way to precision, personalization, and targeted use of AI—areas where incumbents that cling to old playbooks will lose ground to faster movers.
   
• Real-time experiences are reshaping “good enough.” 
  Filene’s recent work underscores that innovation is directly linked to member loyalty and growth, and that payments are a frontline for differentiation. Credit unions that embed real-time, everyday experiences, and design around how people actually pay, can sustain loyalty that outperforms peers perceived as less innovative.
   
• Global relevance depends on adaptive capacity. 
  WOCCU’s 2024 Statistical Report pointed to modest global growth, while emphasizing digital transformation and relevance as system-wide imperatives. The takeaway: innovation is not “nice to have”; it’s central to our long-term standing in competitive financial ecosystems. 
   

What Leaders Can Do Now to Start Breaking Legacy Habits 

Breaking old habits doesn’t require wholesale transformation. It requires deliberate leadership behavior. 

1. Publicly Question What You’re Most Comfortable With 
Choose one long-standing process and ask your team a simple question: “If we were starting today, would we design this the same way?” If the honest answer is no, don’t rush to fix it, but study why it’s still protected. 

2. Experiment Where Failure is Visible but Contained 
Pilot change where learning is fastest, not where risk is lowest. One department. One team. One product. Visibility accelerates insight. 

3. Build Reflection into the Work 
Instead of adding more meetings, embed short reflection moments: 

• What felt harder than it should have this week?
• What workaround did we rely on?
• What assumption when unchallenged? 
  Innovation begins with noticing friction. 

4. Reward the Question, Even If the Answer is “No” 
If leaders only celebrate successful outcomes, teams will stop proposing ideas. Acknowledge inquiries as a leadership act, even when change isn’t possible yet. 

5. Remove One Rule Before Asking for One New Idea 
Nothing kills creativity faster than asking teams to innovate while preserving every outdated constraint. Signal seriousness by letting go of something first. 

6. Use Peer Networks to Spark Ideas 
Creativity grows when we see what others are doing. Connect with peers through: 

• CUES member networks such as CUESNet
• Learning groups offered by your state credit union league 
  Ideas don’t have to be invented from scratch; they can be adapted and evolved. 
   

The Mindset Shift 

Breaking the "way we’ve always done it” habit isn’t a one-time initiative. It’s a leadership stance. It says: 

• We respect the legacy that built us.
• We are honest about what no longer serves us.
• We are willing to trade comfort for relevance. 

The world your members live in is changing whether your organization adapts or not. The most enduring organizations will not be those that hold most tightly to their past, but those that carry the best of their past forward by continuously reimagining what’s possible. 

Creativity and innovation are not departures from the credit union system’s cooperative roots. They are expressions of leadership at its most responsible. 

As Senior Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of CUES, Tony Hill is an experienced, visionary leader who leads with a vision of not only today, but tomorrow.

With over 30 years experience, he has served in industry leadership roles at Velera and Trellance. Outside the credit union movement, he has experience at startups and Fortune 100 companies including AT&T and Occidental Chemical Corporation.

Tony holds an MBA and bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University, and while hailing originally from Silicon Valley, he now calls Tampa, Florida his home.