< Back Help Your New Chair Move Up Michael Daigneault and Jennie Boden Jul 1, 2017 Here's what a top board leader needs to know to be successful—and what you need to know to help. Credit union boards often talk about ways to orient new directors. Many lament not having a defined process. Others have the CEO give an orientation on the credit union and its management team that doesn’t go so deep as a true board orientation. Such limited approaches leave new board members adrift in uncharted seas, and it can take years for them to find their governance sea legs. Another vital orientation process gets even less attention—the one for orienting new board chairs. Be honest. How much time have you given to thoughtfully defining the role of the chair and then—as objectively as possible—assessing and orienting the person who would best fit the role moving forward? If you are like most credit union boards, the answer is, unfortunately, “We really don’t do that.” Most CUs—maybe including yours—can do better with chair orientation. A first step for all directors to consider (since they could all become chair eventually) is to define the responsibilities of a chair, so your CU can map training to what the chair needs to know. Here are six key things your “board manager in chief” needs to be able to do or support. 1. Build a Positive and Healthy Board Culture and Structure Being able to meet this responsibility is driven partly by the chair’s character, values and beliefs. The culture of your credit union over the years also plays a critical role. But do not rely on your credit union’s culture alone. The incoming chair must buy into the current culture wholly and add to that his or her own commitment to a healthy and deepening culture. On the structure front, ensure that your board chair commands a keen knowledge of governance best practices, including roles and responsibilities of board members and officers, committee structures and charters, board meetings and information architecture. 2. Inspire and Engage the Board Inspiration is the ability to “fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.” Is your incoming chair an inspiration? Does he or she bring personality, charisma and values to the table? Are they, themselves, inspired to lead? Beyond the personal, ensure that your board chair is adept at building relationships, reading people and identifying a match between skill level and challenge. Add to these skills the right committee structure, clear charters and appointments to those committees based on talents and interest, and you have a great recipe for engagement. 3. Set and Model High Standards for the Board and Staff Some education about ethics and compliance issues will be necessary. We are finding more and more that credit unions would benefit from maintaining a code of ethics (also called a code of conduct), and we encourage you and your board to consider the development of one. Ensure that your incoming chair understands the difference between ethics (standards of conduct or principles arising from an organization’s core values about how we ought to act or decide) and compliance (following or obeying a law, rule, regulation, policy or procedure). Both are important and both need to be adhered to by the board and staff. Finally, ensure that your incoming chair embodies and adheres to the highest ethical standards and practices. Not only will your board members be watching, but the staff will take note (and follow suit), too. 4. Craft and Effectively Facilitate Meetings Everyone thinks this is the easy part of the job. But trust us, it’s not. Of the credit union board and staff that we’ve surveyed, only about a third believe that they do a very effective job of allocating enough time at board meetings to discuss important strategic issues, and more than a third of the same respondents report that they are doing a less than effective job of achieving the right balance between strategic versus operational discussions in the boardroom. Effective board meetings begin with the creation of the board agenda—a task best practice assigns to the board chair and the credit union’s CEO. How often do you ask “What’s the purpose of the next board meeting?” A board chair should be trained in strategic thinking and planning, to ask good (and hard) questions, and to keep the big picture in mind. Seldom, if ever, do board chairs receive formal training on meeting facilitation. This can be worthwhile. Also, consider exposing potential chairs to leadership roles at the committee level. To help develop potential chairs, you might also identify portions or segments of board meetings that could be facilitated by vice-chairs and other emerging leaders. 5. Act as the Key Liaison With the CEO Some management experience or awareness of basic HR principles will be helpful as your board chair gets started in the role. This difficult task is made more challenging by the fact that the CEO does not report only to the board chair. The board as a whole has the power to hire or terminate the CEO, and thus, the CEO reports to the full board, not just one individual or committee. But the chair does play a critical role in the board-CEO relationship. He or she should serve as the coordinator of activities between the board and the CEO—setting a tone for communications, helping to identify priorities and providing high-level guidance and counsel as needed. The chair should also ensure that a fair and effective process of evaluating the CEO’s performance is regularly conducted. Such a process should be transparently agreed upon by the board as a whole—and the CEO. The evaluation should be one where all board members provide genuine input—not just the chair or a small subset of the board. 6. Serve as One of the Credit Union’s Chief Ambassadors In partnership with your credit union’s CEO, your board chair will be expected to serve as an ambassador-in-chief. Rarely does a chair ascend to the position fully briefed and trained on how to deal with the public, let alone the media. This position will require that and much more. Consider formal training on dealing with the media and communicating with the public. 7. Ensure an ‘Optimal’ Chair Now that you’ve defined the job, you will want to ensure that your incoming board chair’s skill level matches the requirements of the job. Do not just assume that the current vice-chair is ready to be chair or is the best person to assume the position at any given time. Some vice-chairs are great in the vice-chair role but falter when they take the helm. This is particularly the case if they have not had the experiences or training designed to assist in making the transition as smooth as possible. Further, be mindful of the state of your credit union when identifying a new chair. If you are in the midst of a big merger or acquisition, it would be great to have someone in the chair role who has experience with such endeavors. Similarly, a candidate for chair with a background in human resources may not be the perfect person to lead the credit union through a financial crisis but might be a terrific resource if you are experiencing rapid growth or a major shift in the management team. Clearly, a great chair for one period of time in your credit union’s history might not be the right chair as circumstances change. It reminds us of the title of a great book by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There . Being board chair demands a high degree of responsiveness that is particularly vital in times of swift and unpredict-able change. Credit unions need a chair that can effectively steer the board in a manner consistent with the rapid changes impacting your credit union, as well as being the right leader for where your credit union is on its unique journey. Finally, be sure to institute a mentoring program for emerging leaders, including your chair. Consider including your immediate past chair or an effective chair emeritus in the process. Individuals who have “walked the path” can be tremendous resources for those just beginning their journey. It can be lonely to be chair. If a mentor is not available, consider a coach for your new chair. Much like executive coaches for CEOs and other credit union senior staff, coaches can be helpful in guiding new chairs to acclimate and flourish in their new role. Very few board chairs come to the job fully trained and ready to go. Most of what your current board chair knows was likely learned on the job. But you can change that for future chairs and help them (and your credit union) step up to success. Previous Next

< Back RIP RBG: The Thin, Strong String That Ties Women Together Jennie Boden Sep 21, 2020 Our foremothers paved the way for us; now we pave the way for the women now coming of age. This was written by the author Saturday morning, after the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I’ve been thinking about all of the stories of the strong women in my family today. This day. The day after Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died. I come from a line of very strong women. My grandmother, Ora, died when I was very small, but I’ve seen pictures of her. She was tall, broad and her hands were well worn. My mother and her sisters used to talk about her with fear and awe and love in the same breath. When Ora was raising her family, which included my mother and her two sisters, a cousin who was developmentally disabled and “the boarders” as my mother used to call them. It was the Great Depression, and she did whatever it took. Sometimes that meant moving from abandoned house to abandoned house, where they would crawl in through an open basement window or maybe it was a window that my grandfather, whom everyone called Hap, broke. Yes, they were squatters. But, if you listened to the Hathaway girls, as my mother and her sisters were known, it was all a great adventure. When the Hathaway girls grew up, they had babies. Lots of them. There were a few boys sprinkled in here and there, although not in my family’s case where four daughters were born. Our family has always been female-centric. My mother’s strength and certitude about who she was and how she would move through the world as a woman was formed during her childhood—coming home after school to find the family had moved one day from the house on Magnolia Street to one a block over on Maybrick—and later as a 20-year old mother when her first-born daughter, still an infant, came very close to dying. Toward the end of her life, she cared for my father as dementia took him and their love story faded slowly and painfully. As the country mourns the passing of Justice Ginsburg and honors her legacy, I’ve been thinking about all of the women who have come before us in all of our families, in all of our circles, in all of our workplaces, and in all of our communities. All of the women who have made us who we are. All of the women who have made things possible for us that we never knew were once impossible. I’ve been thinking about the thin—but strong—string that ties all of us together as women. I’ve been thinking about the paving they did for us. And the paving that we must do now for others. And about the paving that I will continue to do in memory of my grandmother, Ora, my mother, Katie, and the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Previous Next

< Back Being Chair Is More Challenging Than You Think Michael Daigneault and Jennie Boden Jul 23, 2019 In addition to playing an important role in managing the CEO, the chairman also plays a key role in managing the board itself. When we work with credit union boards, and in particular with chairs, we’ll often start by asking the provocative question, “Should boards manage?” Immediately the resounding response, of course, is “No!” But when we ask our clients to dig a little deeper, to think a little harder about the important work they do to govern their credit unions, ultimately one brave individual will, in a quiet, tentative voice say, “Yes … ?” That response is often more of a question than an answer—remembering that the board is responsible for managing its one employee, the credit union’s CEO. Go further, we implore them. Deeper. The board is also responsible for managing itself—for managing the work of the board, or ensuring that it effectively and efficiently fulfills its solemn roles and responsibilities. And to that end, we consider the chair to be the “Board Operations Manager in Chief.” But how many chairs are fully prepared to take up this important mantle? If you are, or have been, the chair of your credit union’s board, did you go to school to learn how to be effective? Did you attend board meeting facilitation training? Get schooled in board meeting agenda design? Public speaking? CEO relations? You get the point. It’s been our experience that many board chairs ascend to the position feeling not quite prepared to take on all of these responsibilities. In fact, many of them don’t fully understand the full breadth of the chair’s responsibilities. Consider the following job description. Today’s contemporary board chair is responsible for: Crafting & Effectively Facilitating Meetings Set the agenda for board and executive committee meetings in concert with the CEO. Call to order and preside over meetings of the board and the executive committee. Encourage and expect full and robust participation of board members at meetings. Help to maintain a healthy balance between operational and strategic discussions. Building a Positive & Healthy Board Structure & Culture Appoint committee and task force chairs as well as committee members. This “appointment power” is perhaps one of the most important responsibilities most chairs have! Work with the governance and nominations committee (if you have one—If you don’t have one, charter one now!) to ensure appropriate and effective identification, recruitment and onboarding of new board members. Work with the governance and nominations committee to create a positive and effective board and board member process. Serve on the executive committee and as an ex-officio member of all board committees. Acting as Key Liaison With the CEO Act as a representative of the board as a whole, rather than as an individual supervisor to the CEO. Help to establish the strategic direction of the credit union, working in partnership with board colleagues and the CEO. Work with the treasurer, the directors and the CEO to oversee the credit union’s budget and support the development of and adherence to sound fiscal policies to safeguard the integrity of the credit union’s financial management systems. Optional: Have the power to sign, in addition to the CEO, on behalf of the credit union, all contracts authorized either generally or specifically by the Board. Setting & Modeling High Standards for Board & Staff Oversee efforts to build and maintain an exceptional governing board by setting goals and expectations for its members. Convening board discussions on evaluating the CEO and ensuring the effective negotiation of the CEO’s compensation and benefits package, as well as serve as a key conduit for information to the CEO. Acting as One of the Credit Union’s Chief Ambassadors Serve as the official spokesperson for the board among community members and the media, in addition to the CEO. Encourage board members to act as credit union ambassadors and encourage board member participation in credit union events, as appropriate. Inspiring & Engaging the Board Inspire a shared commitment to the credit union’s vision, mission and strategic goals. Cultivate leadership among board members. Encourage board member development, including further education in the credit union’s governance. The good news is this: There is training for future or existing board chairs. In fact, we’re leading one for CUES. This will be a time and place where you can deepen your understanding about your fundamental roles and responsibilities and gain critical knowledge about building an effective board culture, evaluating your CEO and even facilitating great board meetings. We promise an engaging, provocative exchange that will push you to the edge of best practice in board leadership. Previous Next

< Back Resolutions for a New Year Michael Daigneault Jan 24, 2017 Taking the Opportunity to Make Changes It’s that time of the year again. The holidays are behind us, and the decorations are back in the attic. If you have kids, they are (thankfully) back in school. Most people began the new year with great hopes for what they will accomplish in 2017. How about you? Have you set (and already broken!) your own New Year’s resolutions? Are you eating better? Spending less and saving more? Working out more often? Achieving a better balance in your life? Here’s a New Year’s resolution that we would like to challenge you and your credit union’s leadership to make and keep: Spend 2017 focusing on improving your credit union’s governance and leadership. This resolution has the potential for such amazing impact that you’ll want to extend it permanently. Many credit union leadership teams spend the lion’s share of their time focusing on financial, fiduciary, and high-level operational concerns: asset growth, ROI, capital ratios, membership, services and, at least once a year, strategic planning. But how often do these leaders pay attention—meaningful attention—to governance? And what is governance, anyway? We define governance as “steering, directing, influencing or persuading from a position of authority. It deals with the legitimate distribution of authority throughout a system—whether that system is a country, a corporation or a credit union.” That means that for your credit union, you are governing not only when you are using your formal authority (passing policies or voting on procedures), but also when you are using your informal powers of persuasion (encouraging fellow directors to support a new venture or working in constructive partnership with the CEO to fine-tune your strategic priorities). Because governance involves the “distribution of authority throughout a system,” we encourage you to look beyond the board when you think of who is involved in governing the credit union. Working in constructive partnership to support the holistic governance of the credit union should be the board, supervisory or audit committee, board committees, and the CEO and management team. In your efforts to improve governance, consider at least these basic components: Governance assessment. If you haven’t completed an assessment of your credit union’s governance for two or more years, you should. It’s important to check in on your “governance health,” just as you would on your own physical health. An assessment can help you and your board colleagues: (1) develop common ground with each other; (2) push the board and management team to ask better questions and think more strategically; (3) develop a clear road map of how to move forward together; (4) form even more productive relationships among your board, CEO and management team; and (5) ultimately improve your governance and leadership efforts to better serve members. CUES offers a self-assessment tool to help boards evaluate their governance health. Board member and board officer job descriptions. It’s important to have clear, up-to-date job descriptions for both directors and board officers. Ensure that you review these on a regular basis (at least every two years) for relevancy. The danger of having out-of-date job descriptions (or worse yet, no job descriptions at all) is that board leaders will be falling short of their critical governance responsibilities . Committee charters. We find that many credit unions do not have charters in place for their committees, and most fail to review their committee structures on a regular basis. Be sure that you are doing both! Board committees , when they are well chartered, staffed and effectively operating, can be one of the most efficient ways to carry out the work of the board. At their worst, they can be a drain on your management team and leave directors feeling underappreciated and overwhelmed. Board meetings. Review your board meeting agendas, structure and functioning to ensure that you are addressing strategic and governance issues at every meeting. Be sure you are developing agendas that are engaging and generating lively discussions for directors, the CEO and management team. Board meetings are critical. They can make or break the health of your board, so give their structure and functioning the attention they deserve. If this work seems daunting, don’t be overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time. Perhaps start with a simple online assessment to establish a baseline. Regular evaluation of governance is both vital and doable for credit unions of all sizes. We have seen boards that are in trouble—real trouble—realize the benefits of focusing on governance in as little as six months. When board and management leadership roles are clarified, micro-management decreases, the quality of board meetings improves, committees add more genuine value, an approach to renewing the board’s composition is agreed upon, and the boundary of operational vs. strategic thought is better defined. For 2017 and beyond, resolve that you will make a commitment with your colleagues to improve your credit union’s governance and leadership—for the health of your board and management team and the good of your members! Previous Next

< Back Hudson Valley Credit Union’s Call for Board Candidates Refresh Jennie Boden and Dr. Alexander Stein Feb 1, 2022 As part of its board recruitment renewal project, Hudson Valley CU developed a call for candidates that outlined specific attributes that matched its changing governance needs and values. Before Nominations are being accepted through Nov. 1 for our 2020 Board of Directors Election. Board members are volunteers elected by the credit union membership and are responsible for the general direction of the credit union, leading us forward and positioning the credit union to respond to members’ future needs. Directors must carry out their duties in the best interest of the membership, conforming to all applicable rules and regulations, as well as sound business practices. Members with strong backgrounds in a variety of fields are needed, including business, finance or investments, human resources, marketing or information technology. A director must have a working familiarity with basic finance and accounting practices, including the ability to read and understand the credit union’s balance sheet and income statement. Board members volunteer an average of 10-15 hours per month to credit union business and are also required to attend a monthly meeting in Poughkeepsie, New York, as well as serve on one or two additional committees. After Nominations are being accepted now through Feb. 25 for the Hudson Valley Credit Union 2021 Board of Directors. Our Board members are volunteers elected by the credit union membership and responsible for working in partnership with our Management Team to lead the credit union to mission success: to create financial security and a better quality of life. Our Board provides governance and leadership; visionary, strategic direction; and fiduciary oversight, and we’re looking for members who are experienced critical and strategic thinkers, with a keen ability to focus on the future. If you are independent-minded but can also work to build consensus among a group of diverse people, we need your skills! And, while you don’t need a degree in finance, you do need to be comfortable reading financial statements and analyzing organizations from a strategic point of view. We are a fast-growing credit union, with a commitment to good governance and acting with integrity. If you think you have the right mix of skills, talents and attributes, can commit to an average of 10-15 hours per month in service of our credit union, plus attend a monthly meeting in Poughkeepsie, New York, and serve on at least one of our board-level committees, visit our website at hvcu.org . Alexander Stein, Ph.D . , is founder of Dolus Advisors , a consultancy that helps leaders address psychologically complex organizational challenges. Previous Next

< Back Gender Equity In The Boardroom: We're Not Done Yet Jennie Boden Aug 25, 2023 Boards still have work to do to support their female directors and wider DEI&B efforts. Gender politics, like all politics, can be polarizing. At the risk of taking a polarizing position, I can't ignore a string of recent encounters that prompt the question: Would that have happened if I (or she) were a man? If you’ve read my posts before, you may know I regret that as a society we still need a publication entitled Advancing Women , but I’ve come to realize that it’s an imperative. If we don’t call out the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) gender biased actions that minimize the voices of women, it’s akin to deferring to only the male perspective. After observing a recent credit union board meeting, I watched with concern as a female board member walked out with her head hung low. Later, I spoke with her as a part of our formal assessment process. I learned then that the board chair—a man—had admonished her about her behavior in the meeting—behavior that hadn’t even registered a raised eyebrow with me (and I’ve conducted hundreds of meeting observations over the years and seen and heard plenty of eyebrow-raising behavior). It’s interesting to also note that a male director had spoken very rudely to a fellow board member in that same meeting, and I don’t believe he received feedback from the chair regarding his behavior. While with another client, I witnessed a long list of follow-up and action items being delegated to the only female on the board, prompting a hearty round of laughs from her male colleagues. I, too, have had my own experiences in this regard. For example, I have recently been challenged by men both about my presentation and facilitation style, correcting my cadence and tone. These conversations are impossible to imagine if I were male. In these instances, I wondered: Would these men have acted in the same way toward us if we were men? The informal poll I’ve taken, among both men and women, resulted in a resounding “No.” Don’t Let DEI&B Efforts Disappear While gender is just one of the many elements of diversity, these three recent experiences tell me that a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging remains vital. And even more so now, given that LinkedIn released a report last year that found the hiring of chief diversity officers dropped in 2022 after “experiencing significant growth in 2020 and 2021.” An article on the Society for Human Resource Management’s website referenced the LinkedIn study and quoted Amy Hull, director and head of DE&I at Paycor, a global leader in human capital. Hull “said the LinkedIn and Revelio data shows that the pledge to impact change was not followed by genuine effort.” Even our own research at Quantum Governance suggests that our colleagues in the credit union space may not really value demographic diversity. One of our recent studies found that only 35% of credit union board members are women, compared to 51% of the total adult population in the United States. And when we asked those in the credit union community (board and supervisory/audit committee members, CEOs and members of senior management) what they valued most in their boardrooms, demographic diversity ranked sixth out of 13 . What’s of real interest, though, is that for two years running, Filene researchers Quinetta Roberson, Ph.D., and McKenzie Preston found that “creating governance and accountability systems” around DEI “are paramount to the development of a sustainable approach to DEI that activates real change and drives financial performance.” In the previous year’s study , those same researchers also noted that “diversity may create advantages in terms of market growth, enhanced member experiences, risk management and increased strategic performance. Yet … it is not enough to simply have diversity. Effective solutions for building and maintaining fair and inclusive work environments are needed to leverage the potential for DEI to achieve its performance objectives and develop sustained competitive advantage.” And, I would add, to truly achieve change. I will admit some people do need some coaching on their delivery, and I am always open to learning. Additionally, the board chair is certainly in a position to insist on civility in all manner of dialogue and address situations where it is lacking. However, it’s critical to apply “the rules” unilaterally—to provide a forum where every voice and perspective is heard and valued. Women serving on credit union boards are, like their male colleagues, professionals. They are not supporting members, taskmasters and coordinators. Their roles and responsibilities include the same level of strategic thinking, planning and inquiry as their male colleagues. And before you give a woman subjective and stylistic advice on her self-expression, consider whether you would be so bold as to provide the same advice or subjective feedback to a man. Previous Next

< Back Understanding the Importance of Ethics Michael Daigneault and Jennie Boden Nov 28, 2017 Principled leadership is a vital part of any cooperative’s DNA. For many years, my focus was on ethics – particularly organizational ethics. As an undergraduate at Georgetown University, I majored in philosophy and minored in psychology. My father thought it was imprudent to follow such a course of study, but I persisted. As such, I studied many of history’s greatest ethicists. I went on to law school, immersing myself in the study of law and justice. My favorite class was…yes, legal ethics. (Many of my law school colleagues were convinced something was seriously wrong with me at this point.) I then decided to double down and became the first person to receive a Masters in Law from Georgetown University Law Center with a concentration in Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility. I went on to found a consulting practice called “Ethics, Inc.” and then served as President of the Ethics Resource Center – the nation’s oldest, independent ethics center. I even had a license plate for my car that read “Ethics 1.” It’s safe to say, ethics was a really big part of my personal and professional life! And then…my central focus shifted. Over the course of my early career, I witnessed ethical lapses in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations that were attributed (by their senior leadership) to the actions or decisions of a “rogue employee” or “bad person” in their midst. Occasionally this was the case, but often it wasn’t the whole story. In helping many institutions in their quest to address the difficult ethical questions or situations that confronted them, I came to realize that many of their so-called “ethical challenges” were actually – at their root – issues of governance. As a result, in 2012 I️ and my wife, Alessandra, created a new limited liability low-profit firm dedicated to the public good firm – Quantum Governance, L3C – that reflects a substantially broader governance and leadership focus. (And yes, I also have a new license plate – which now reads “QNTM GOV.”) “A fish rots from the head down.” It’s a cliché, yes, but it’s a cliché because it’s repeated so often; and it’s repeated so often because it’s so often true. What I have continually observed over the years is a failure of genuine leadership at the Board or senior management level. These failings frequently resulted in organizational cultures that ignored (or even encouraged) unethical or unprincipled decisions. The likely causes were as varied as the organizations I came into contact with…a lack of clarity around tradition-bound leadership roles and responsibilities…too much authority in just a few individual’s hands…lip service by leaders to an ideal – and then actions to the contrary…the absence of proper boundaries…a lack of transparency and – yes – sometimes a systemic failure by leadership to set forth the ethical standards (and then clearly communicate, model and reinforce them) that are a vital part of a sustainable organization’s DNA. To govern is to steer, direct and influence or persuade from a position of authority. It includes at the very least both the Board and the Management team, and it addresses both their formal (directional and policy setting) and their informal (influence and persuasion) forms of authority. Ultimately, governance deals with the legitimate distribution of authority throughout a system – whether a country, corporation or nonprofit. As such, does governance include ethics? Yes! But just because you’re getting your “governance house in order” doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re paying sufficient attention to your ethics culture, standards and practices and that you’re regularly working to instill them throughout your credit union. At Quantum Governance, we are ever-mindful that there are a lot of things resting on the shoulders of today’s volunteer and staff-led credit union leadership, but we are growing more convinced that a first-in-class ethics program should be among them. Previous Next

Paul Dionne VP of Strategy & Lead Consultant Paul is a results-driven leader with a record of successfully promoting and nurturing innovation, growth and impact in a variety of contexts. With academic, global, and practical experience in governance, organizational transformation, and cultural anthropology, Paul brings a wealth of strategic thinking, research, facilitation and activation skills to his clients. Prior to joining Quantum, Paul served as Research Director at Filene Research Institute where he guided research design, execution, analysis, and the translation of findings into actionable insights. Paul helped conduct research, surface core findings and develop compelling content that supported organizational growth and transformation. Paul led the creation and delivery of research reports, keynote speeches, webinars, and closed-door engagements supporting credit union strategy; innovation; member experience; cultural alignment; operations; digital transformation; financial inclusion; and the future of financial services. Paul also served at Beloit College as their Associate Director of Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion. In this and other roles at Beloit College, he supported the development and implementation of institution-wide strategic initiatives, government and foundation relations, sponsored research, and equity & inclusion programs. Paul believes in giving back to his community and currently volunteers as Board Secretary for Rock Valley Credit Union . Paul received an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He pursued graduate studies in cultural anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a research focus on international development, nonprofit governance, and agricultural cooperatives in Indonesia. He received his B.A. from Middlebury College. Originally from Canada, Paul now lives in Wisconsin and cooks poutine at home for his family. Back

< Back Is Your Organizational Success An Accident? Gisele Manole & Jennie Boden Nov 22, 2022 New study suggests where to look for the answer. We’ve been studying credit union governance for more than a decade now and amassed mountains of data on credit unions of all asset sizes and from all over North America. Perhaps the most frequently asked question we hear is some variation of, “How do we know when we’re getting it right? Our assets are increasing, and our membership is growing so we must be governing ourselves well. Right?” As we prepare to publish The State of Credit Union Governance, 2023 Report, we looked closely at the data to see if it was clear to us what the key indicators were that a credit union was governing itself well—that as a credit union’s assets and membership grew, the organization’s governance practices were evolving too, both in terms of meeting changing regulations and best practices. What we learned focused our attention on four things: 1) board members meeting their roles and responsibilities; 2) members of the credit union’s governing system (board and supervisory/audit committee members and senior leadership) meeting high accountability measures; 3) strong levels of volunteer engagement; and 4) building and maintaining a leadership culture of trust. We found there is a significant positive correlation among each of these four areas of governance—meaning that if a respondent reports that their credit union is highly effective in one of the governing elements, they generally report that they are highly effective in the other three elements, too. Therefore, the four elements—accountability, board member roles and responsibilities, engagement and trust—are inextricably linked and together provide tremendous insight into the strength of your credit union’s governance. Figure 1: The Four Elements of Good Governance These findings identify the four elements as likely keys to unlocking the secret to good governance and creating a high-functioning board. In addition to pinpointing areas of focus, our findings suggest that actions to improve the effectiveness of one of the four elements may lead to improved effectiveness in the other three elements. So, as we begin to more succinctly answer the question, “How do we know when we’re getting it right?” we can look to these four areas of governance for some indication of whether your credit union’s board and executive leadership are “getting it right” or not, and whether further study is necessary to identify which element of your governance needs your focus to ensure the continued success of your vision and mission. Previous Next

< Back Know When It’s Time To Go Jennie Boden Feb 28, 2023 Holding onto your board position may be best for you, but what’s best for your credit union? In September 2021, I wrote an article entitled “Are Women Better Leaders?” Then, I referenced several studies and articles from sources including the Pew Research Center, Forbes and The Washington Post that seemed to suggest that maybe, just maybe, women might have an edge over their male counterparts when it comes to leadership. The Pew study found “few differences between women and men in terms of leadership, [but noted that] women are perceived as more compassionate, empathetic leaders.” The Forbes article cited “studies … [that state] ‘women tend to outperform men.’” And The Washington Post article reported that countries led by women “suffered far lower death rates” than those led by men during the first wave of COVID-19. That very article cited the leadership of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the pandemic. A study conducted by Alex Beatie at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, found that Ardern’s leadership during the pandemic “is considered … [among] the best in the world.” Beatie noted three key themes of Ardern’s daily press briefings and the government’s communications: “1) open, honest and straightforward communications; 2) distinctive and motivational language; and 3) expressions of care.” And Prime Minister Ardern has done it again. She is leading in an open, honest and straightforward way—this time with an expression of care for both her country and her responsibilities to and for it and for herself. On Jan. 19, 2023, I joined most of the world in surprise when Ardern announced that she would resign as her country’s prime minister just a month later. During her announcement, she said, “I’m leaving because with such a privileged role comes responsibility.” She continued, stating, “The responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not. I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.” Her words struck me. How many times have I heard credit union board members say, “They’ll drag me off this board feet first, if I have anything to do with it?” Or even been given a heads-up by a CEO that a couple of their board’s directors could have the beginning stages of dementia? We’ve even had clients who have experienced the wholesale turnover of their board and their CEO within two short years. Tell me, how is that considered responsible leadership? A Characteristic of Responsible Leadership With 83% of credit union board and supervisory/audit committee members, CEOs and other C-suite staff reporting in the 2023 edition of The State of Credit Union Governance that their credit unions do not have term limits, it’s no wonder that the average age of board members today is 76.3 years, and they have been serving on their boards for an average of 19 years. Holding on to your board position may be what’s best for you, but is it in your credit union’s best interest? What if more of our credit union directors took Prime Minister Ardern’s tack and asked themselves this important question: Are you still the right person to lead your credit union into the future? And if you’re not, consider the three themes identified above: 1) Be open, honest and straightforward; 2) use distinctive language to motivate your colleagues for the future; and 3) above all, consider every action that you take as a director an expression of care and concern for the credit union and your members. Previous Next

The Michael G. Daigneault Excellence in Governance Grant The Michael G. Daigneault Excellence in Governance Grant honors our Co-Founder Michael G. Daigneault and his continued commitment to developing exceptional leadership in mission-driven organizations through governance excellence. This grant initiative aims to strengthen the governance effectiveness of nonprofits and credit unions, providing them with the tools and advice they need to drive positive, lasting change throughout their organizations and enhance their impact on the communities they serve. The grant provides one credit union ($250M in assets or less) and one charitable nonprofit (operating budget of less than $5 million annually) with a pro bono Governance Assessment inclusive of the following: a proprietary online governance survey a report comprised of survey data and expert recommendations based on survey results a facilitated workshop for the board and executive leadership resources such as policies, job descriptions, charters and more How to Apply Guidelines Before you apply, take a look at the eligibility requirements and timeline. Funding Guidelines & Timeline Application The application window for the Michael G. Daigneault Excellence in Governance Grant is May 4, 2026 through June 30, 2026. You can start your application, save it and return to complete it at your own pace. Click Here to Apply Today Questions? If you have any questions, please use the form below or email gisele@quantumgovernance.net Contact Us About Michael G. Daigneault Michael brings more than 45 years of governance, strategy and ethics expertise to boards and C-suite executive leadership of nonprofits, credit unions, governmental entities and other organizations of all shapes and sizes. He is credited for developing a proven methodology for assessing governance and strategy, including a proprietary survey tool for a variety of organizational types. Prior to founding Quantum Governance, Michael was a Senior Governance Consultant for BoardSource studying and advising nonprofit board leadership and Director of Advisory Services at DeLeon & Stang, a preeminent business management and accounting firm. Michael was the Founder and President of Ethics, Inc. – a private consulting and training firm specializing in business ethics for the private, nonprofit and public sectors. He also served as President of the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) in Washington D.C. Michael is a three-time graduate of Georgetown University, holding a B.A. in Philosophy from the College and a J.D. and a Master of Law from the Law Center. He was the first person to graduate from the Law Center with a Master of Law with a concentration in Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility. A lifelong learner, Michael went on to complete the Corporate Governance Training Program at the Columbia Business School in 2021. Statement of Confidentiality: We will keep all information learned in this application process confidential. No information will be disclosed to any third party unless compelled to do so by law or regulation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may disclose information to our authorized contractors with an obligation to maintain confidentiality (e.g., Alchemer and data entry personnel) and personnel with a “need to access'' such information in order to review the grant applications.

< Back The Board And The CEO Should Play Doubles Tennis Michael Daigneault and Jennie Boden Apr 23, 2019 The constructive partnership between directors and the chief executive is a lot like teammates on one side of the court. If you’ve spent any amount of time with us folks at Quantum Governance—either at a large, general session at a CUES conference or in a private, retreat setting, you know that we talk a lot about the importance of the “constructive partnership” between the board and the CEO. We spend a key portion of our governance training covering this very issue—framing the dynamic balance of authority between the two and suggesting that a key to mutual success is that they focus on working together as “teammates.” What do we mean by that? Well, we often ask participants to picture the great tennis players Venus and Serena Williams playing together as a doubles tennis team. Yes, each should bring her unique abilities to the challenge, but that does not mean one sister should overwhelmingly dominate the play on their common side of the net. When out on the court playing a doubles tennis match, they cannot (in the moment) be focused on “Who is in charge? or “Who is the better tennis player?” No, they’re understandably focused on who is in the best position to return the next shot as it comes over the net. Indeed, they are hyper-focused on working together as a team to bring out the best in both of their abilities! The same is true in the board-CEO relationship. There are roles and responsibilities that fall into the board’s side of the court (i.e., hiring the CEO). In the same vein, it should remain the CEO’s sole responsibility to hire his or her management team and staff. But what about when it comes to determining the strategic plan that will drive the future of the credit union? Doubles tennis best defines this part of the effort to be sure, with the board, CEO and management team working in constructive partnership to co-create the best strategic plan for their credit union and its members. One of the key findings in our report “ The State of Credit Union Governance, 2018, Five Data-Driven Recommendations for Future Success ” was that this all-important team (the board and the CEO) frequently differ on their perceptions of governance. And that difference in perception is great, with little agreement on 84% of their responses on the vast majority of the survey’s key questions. This finding led us to recently add a new question to our governance survey: How effective is the board at maintaining a good working relationship with the CEO? On a scale of 0-4, the responses thus far have varied wildly, with one credit union scoring a perfect 4.0, and another scoring less than a 1.0. How would you rate your board’s relationship with your CEO? Consider all of the facets. Is your board appropriately staying out of the weeds? Are you working in constructive partnership in the areas that really count? Do you have a high level of trust with your CEO? Are you giving your CEO genuinely effective performance feedback? Is your board asking the hard questions that need to be asked, as you “trust but verify”? And is your CEO comfortable with your hard questions and in agreement with you in your collective understanding of the role and responsibilities of the Board? The law vests the ultimate authority and responsibility for the credit union in the board, Ram Charan put it this way in his book Boards that Lead , the real role of the board is to understand: 1) when to lead, 2) when to delegate and 3) when to partner with your CEO and his or her management team. Are these three areas crystal clear for you and for your CEO? If not, we fear that your score would be far from that perfect 4.0 on our new governance survey question, and this is likely one of the most important and critical governance challenges that your credit union must identify and overcome. Previous Next